Australian_Science_Illustrated_Issue_52_2017

PALAEONTOLOGY In rock from Chitrakoot
in Central India, scientists from The Swedish
Museum of Natural History have discovered
1.6-billion-year-old remains of multicellular red
algae, making them the oldest known plant-like
fossils. The find shows that multicellular life
originated much earlier than thought. The first
evidence of mono-cellular life on Earth is 3.5+
billion years old, but current knowledge says
larger organisms did
not evolve until 600
million years ago. So,
the ancient red algae
force scientists to
alter their theories
about evolution.

MEDICINE Spinach leaves

are ideal for growing heart

tissue, according to the

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

which managed to grow

functional heart cells in the

green leaves of a local vegetable

market. In the experiment, the

scientists first injected a

"detergent" into the spinach

leaves to wash out the plant

cells. A skeleton remained –

complete with the fine vascular

network which normally supplies

the leaf cells with water and

nutrients and has the same

structure as blood vessels. Then

scientists grew human heart

muscle cells in the vascular

system of the leaf, converting

the leaf into a beating heart

with functional blood vessels.

Tissue for the treatment of

injured hearts is difficult to make

in the lab due to its complex

vascular network, but the new

method brings us closer to

artificial heart tissue.

Scientists Find Oldest Seaweeds

A scan shows that like modern algae, the ancient

algae had organs, which could absorb CO 2.

Crater on the Utopia Planitia plain

Spinach leaves' fine vascular network

can bring nutrients and oxygen to

artificial heart tissue.

30 million

years before humans became

farmers, ants began to farm

fungi, according to studies

of the behaviour and DNA

of modern ants.

Spinach Turns

Into Heart Tissue

STEFAN BENGTSON

Proto-plant life forms

were multicellular algae

living in the ocean. Land

plants evolved 475

million years ago.

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Editors: Babak Arvanaghi & Christian Juul

NAUTILUS MINERALS & MIKKEL JUUL JENSEN

CLEARER

PUMP

COLLECTOR

CUTTER

Remote-controlled

robots dig for gold

The Nautilus Minerals company has

started a new gold rush with its

revolutionary technology for

collecting raw materials in the abyss.

PIPELINE

The collector

robot directs the

collected rock to

a large pump,

which pumps it

to a hold aboard

the PSV.

FREIGHTER

Approximately once a

week, a freighter docks

with the PSV. Large

cranes load the rock

onto the freighter, which

brings the precious

material ashore.

MINING VEHICLES

The three robots

are up to 7.6 m tall

and weigh almost 200

tonnes each. They are

powered by electricity

supplied by the PSV

via cables.

PSV

The PSV, which is

227 m long and 40 m

wide, can be manned

by a maximum of 180

people. The three

robots are controlled

by joysticks.

ALGA CELLS

CO 2 -FIXING ORGAN

WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

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