Sure, we’re already almost two months into 2023 (somehow?) but we are just now catching up with all of the amazing discoveries made in 2022, so please join us on our journey.
Ameca debuts at Consumer Electronics Show 2022
(image via: news shield)
In January, Britain’s Engineered Arts introduced Ameca, a robot of unprecedented humanlike appearance. Complete with teeth, a gender-neutral body, and “eerily lifelike expressions,” Ameca can respond to questions and engage in conversation. Engineered Arts hopes it is just the first in a line of increasingly advanced humanoids the company plans to produce. (source)
Very truly, we cannot imagine a more nightmarey nightmare than waking up to discover that this bot has replaced our sleep paralysis demon in the corner.
Resurrecting Dying Organs
In a medical first, scientists at Yale University preserved the function of multiple pig organs including the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys a full hour after the animals had died. The research could one day help extend the viability of human organs intended for life-saving transplants, thousands of which are discarded annually because they aren’t immediately preserved. (source)
Breakthroughs in Fungus Communication
(image via: inaturalist)
New studies have revealed that mushrooms – specifically ghost, caterpillar, split gill, and enoki fungi – can “talk” to each other by sending electrical impulses to each other through a web of underground mycelium similar to the human body’s nervous system. Though the mushrooms were found to utilize up to 50 “words” closely resembling human language, researchers are not yet ready to directly link their communication to human speech. It is hypothesized that the fungi transmit information to each other about injuries and food sources. (source)
Enormous Stingray Sets Record for Largest Freshwater Fish
Since 2005, National Geographic Explorer Zeb Hogan has been searching the world to find the world’s largest fish. In mid-June, a team he leads in Cambodia got a call from a fisherman named Moul Thun who was fishing in the Mekong River when he accidentally snagged a giant freshwater stingray “much bigger” than any he had previously seen.
Upon arrival, the researchers found this female ray measured 13 feet from snout to tail and weighed in at a whopping 661 pounds, making it the largest freshwater fish ever recorded, certified by Guinness World Records on June 24. (source)
Human Brain Cells Were Successfully Implanted Into Rats
(image via: grounds) It has historically been very difficult to study neurological dysfunction in humans since living human brain neurons can be neither directly tampered with nor replicated fully in petri dishes. However, scientists have successfully transplanted and grown them in rats. Early-stage application demonstrated that the introduced human cells became nourished by the rat’s own biology and grew to cover one-third of its total brain area and function normally. The milestone presents a promising opportunity to study little-understood disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. (source)