Innovation & Tech Today - CA (2020-10)

12 INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | 2020 YEAR-END ISSUE

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The Ice Melter

The more scientists learn about Antarctica, the grimmer

the predictions. Data compiled by the Potsdam Institute for

Climate Impact Research shows sea levels around the

world will rise about two and a half meters as the Antarctic

ice sheet continues to melt.

Although scientists expect the sheet of ice to be around

for a few more centuries, there is an expiration date now

as the global average temperature continues to rise.

Researchers concluded that melting will likely take place

over a long period but may be irreversible because of the

way the ice cap is expected to melt.

While the ice sheet has looked relatively the same for the

last 34 million years, scientists from the Potsdam Institute

sayitsfutureformwillbedecidedwithinourlifetime.

The Plastic Pig

Bylinkingtwoenzymesfoundin a plastic-eatingbugat a Japanesewastesite

in 2016,scientistsat theUniversityof Portsmouth,UKhaveengineereda new

superenzymecapableof degradingplasticbottlessixtimesfasterthanthe

contemporaryrate.

Toboot,expertsbelievecombiningit withenzymesthatbreakdowncotton

couldalsoallowmixed-fabricclothingto berecycled.Accordingto theresearch,

millionsof tonsof suchclothingis eitherdumpedintolandfillsor incinerated.

Derivedfrombacteriawiththenaturalabilityto eatplastic,therobust

enzymemakesthefullrecyclingof plasticbottlesa reality.Currently,thereare

newplasticsbeingcreatedfromoilasit is difficultto breakplasticbottles

downintotheirchemicalcomponentsto createnewfromtheold.

Thenewsuper-enzymeworksat roomtemperaturewhileexpertssay

combiningdifferentapproachescouldspeedprogresstowardscommercialuse.

This illustration shows Jezero Crater — the landing site of the

Mars 2020 Perseverance rover — as it may have looked billions of

years ago on Mars, when it was a lake. An inlet and outlet are also

visible on either side of the lake. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Lakefront Property on Mars?

While Earthlings have long speculated whether or not something’s

scurrying about the surface of Mars or patrolling the desert skies in twirling

Unidentified Flying Objects, few have ever considered the likelihood of

lakefront property somewhere on the red planet.

Recently, researchers from the University of Rome say they’ve confirmed

the presence of a large saltwater lake beneath the ice on the Martian

surface, and at least three more. The discoveries were made using radar

data from the Mars Express, an orbiting spacecraft launched by the

European Space Agency.

According to the study, areas of high reflectivity were detected, indicating

bodies of liquid water trapped under more than one kilometer of Martian

ice. Scientists say the lakes are spread over about 75,000 square

kilometers — an area roughly one-fifth the size of Germany.

The largest lake measures 30 kilometers across and is surrounded by

three smaller lakes, each measuring a few kilometers wide.

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Bernhard_Staehli

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Dr_Microbe