Electrified slime with real-world potential
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CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
How preserved blood vessels found in Saskatchewan's most famous T. rex is opening doors for researchers
'Scotty' is the largest dinosaur skeleton ever found in Canada. (Tourism Saskatchewan) Preserved blood vessel structures discovered in Saskatchewan's most famous Tyrannosaurus rex fossil has opened doors for researchers when it comes to learning how extinct animals healed from injuries. The preserved blood vessel structures were discovered in a rib bone from Scotty the famous T. rex, who was found in Saskatchewan in the 1990s. Jerrit L. Mitchell, a PhD student in the University of Regina's (U of R) Department of Physics and the study's lead author, discovered the vessel structures while finishing his undergraduate honours thesis research. Mitchell joined the ongoing research project in 2019 when Scotty's rib was scanned at the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan for the first time. 'I remember showing my supervisors, Dr. Barbi and Dr. McKellar, a strange structure inside a scan of the rib that I originally didn't give much thought to. They were quick to point out that what I discovered could possibly be preserved blood vessels, which has since led to a much more expansive research project,' Mitchell said in a news release. Synchrotron X-rays produced by the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan gave researchers the opportunity to create a detailed 3D model of both the bone and soft tissue structures inside it without damaging the 66-million-year-old fossil, the release said. 3D printed blood vessel structures 3D printed blood vessel structures. (Canadian Light Source, University of Regina) 'Then, using chemical analysis, the researchers determined what elements and molecules make up the vessel structures, allowing them to hypothesize how the structures were preserved over millions of years.' The X-rays of the fossil's rib also showed a healed fracture that could have been sustained in a fight, according to researchers. Scotty T. rex. healed rib fracture A rib bone from Scotty the T. rex showing a healed rib fracture. (Canadian Light Source, University of Regina) 'The discovery could provide important, evolutionary information to researchers, such as the healing potential of a T. rex,' the release said. 'Preserved blood vessel structures, like we have found in Scotty's rib bone, appear linked to areas where the bone was healing. This is because during the healing process, those areas had increased blood flow to them,' physics professor Mauricio Barbi said in the release. 'This work also provides a new way to compare how injuries healed in extinct animals, like dinosaurs,' Barbi added. The findings were recently published in Scientific Reports, an open-access journal that publishes original research from across natural sciences, psychology, medicine and engineering. The U of R says the multidisciplinary study grew to involve researchers from the school's departments of physics, biology, and earth sciences, along with the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM). RSM curator of palaeontology and adjunct professor at the U of R Ryan McKellar said the discovery proves how fossils like Scotty are much more than museum exhibits. 'They continue to advance science in ways we never imagined when they were first unearthed,' he said. 'Part of our role at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is to ensure these specimens remain available for research, so it's exciting to see new technology and collaborations between the RSM, the University of Regina, and the Canadian Light Source revealing discoveries, while keeping the fossils intact for future generations,' McKellar said.
CBC
12-02-2025
- CBC
Electrified slime with real-world potential
Researchers at the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon are working hard to develop an electrified slime with real-world applications. Erica Pensini joined Saskatoon Morning to talk about how this slime could work and what it could be used for.
CBC
17-12-2024
- CBC
U of S synchrotron testing next-gen EV batteries that could go 25x longer before replacement
Social Sharing Electric vehicle manufacturers are using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron in Saskatoon to develop batteries with a lifespan pushing eight million kilometres, roughly 25 times the average life of batteries currently in use. Researchers used the ultra bright synchrotron light at the CLS particle accelerator at the University of Saskatchewan to take a microscopic look at the inner workings of a regular lithium-ion battery and the new "single-crystal electrode" battery. Tesla Canada co-funded the research. When they peered inside, the researchers saw the single-crystal electrode battery resisted the microscopic cracking caused by repeated charging cycles. This cracking degrades the ability of regular EV batteries to hold a charge. Prior to testing, the single-crystal electrode battery analyzed at the CLS was continuously charged and depleted in a lab, said Toby Bond, a senior scientist at CLS who conducted the research with Dalhousie University professor Jeff Dahn. "We charged it and discharged it 24/7 for about six years," Bond said in an interview with CBC News. "We brought it here and scanned it and we saw absolutely no signs of degradation. So this is after 20,000 charge discharge cycles, which is the equivalent of driving about eight million kilometres." The main difference between the two batteries is in the electrodes. On a standard battery, the electrodes are made of particles 50 times smaller than the width of a hair, which in turn are made of even tinier crystals. The new battery is just one big crystal, meaning it's a more solid structure that is resistant to mechanical stress. WATCH | New electric vehicle battery could run for 8 million km: New electric vehicle battery could run for 8 million km 3 days ago Duration 4:22 Scientist Toby Bond says a new type of lithium-ion battery material called a single-crystal electrode can last decades, and be used in 'second-life applications' such as storing wind and solar energy for the electrical grid. This is the first time scientists have analyzed a single-crystal electrode battery that was continuously cycled for so long, Bond said. "What we do is take CT scans, which are kind of like a 3D X-ray you might get in the hospital," Bond said. "We can do that on a microscopic level with a battery without taking it apart.… We can actually look at features that are much smaller than human hair inside the battery without even disassembling it." EV manufacturers are keen on developing batteries with longer life. Current standard batteries last anywhere from 10 to 20 years, or 160,000 to 320,000 kilometres, before replacement. Bond said the new type of battery could outlive most other parts of an electric vehicle and that fewer battery replacements means reducing the carbon footprint of a vehicle. There is also potential for secondary uses, such as grid storage for wind and solar power. Bond said these new batteries are already in commercial production and he expects they'll be used more often in the next few years.
