Latest news with #ChineseUniversity
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists extracted water and oxygen from moon dust using sunlight. Could it work on the lunar surface?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Soil excavated from the moon could be used to produce oxygen and methane, which could be used by lunar settlers for breathing and for rocket fuel. This is the conclusion of a team of scientists from China who have found a one-step method of doing all this. Whether it is economically viable, however, is up for debate. But the Chinese team thinks that it is. "The biggest surprise for us was the tangible success of this integrated approach," said team-member Lu Wang, who is a chemist from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in a statement. "The one-step integration of lunar water extraction and photothermal carbon dioxide catalysis could enhance energy utilization efficiency and decrease the cost and complexity of infrastructure development." They point out that studies have shown that transporting supplies from Earth to any future moon base would be expensive because the greater the mass of cargo, the harder a rocket has to work to launch into space. Studies have indicated that it would cost $83,000 to transport just one gallon of water from Earth to the moon, and yet each astronaut would be expected to drink 4 gallons of water per day. Fortunately, the moon has plentiful water, although it is not automatically apparent. Brought to the moon by impacts of comets, asteroids and micrometeoroids, and even by the solar wind, water lurks in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles, trapped within minerals such as ilmenite. Extracting the water for drinking is relatively easy and there are numerous technologies that describe how this can be done, including heating the regolith by focusing sunlight onto it. However, the Chinese team has been able to take this one step further. "What's novel here is the use of lunar soil as a catalyst to crack carbon dioxide molecules and combine them with extracted water to produce methane," Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist from the University of Central Florida, told Metzger was not involved in the new research, but he is the co-founder of the NASA Kennedy Space Center's 'Swamp Works', a research lab for designing technologies for construction, manufacturing and mining on planetary (and lunar) surfaces. Methane would be more desirable than liquid hydrogen as a potential rocket fuel because it is easier to keep stable, thereby requiring less machinery and less cost to keep on the moon. Liquid methane, when mixed with oxygen as an oxidizer, is a potent rocket fuel. Many commercial companies such as China's Landspace are already launching methane-powered rockets. The water-bearing ilmenite is also a useful catalyst for reacting the water with carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and methane, and the Chinese team have developed a one-step process for doing so. First, they heat the regolith to 392 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) by focusing sunlight to release the water inside. Then, carbon dioxide such as that which could be breathed out by astronauts is added to the mix, causing the ilmenite to catalyze the reaction between the extracted water and the carbon dioxide. Researchers tested this process, known as photothermal catalysis, in the laboratory using a simulant based on samples of lunar regolith returned to Earth by China's Chang'e 5 mission (the lunar samples are far too previous to destroy in such experiments, which is why a simulant is used instead). While previous technologies have also been able to accomplish this, they required more steps and more machinery, and used a catalyst that would have to be transported up from Earth. This, the research team believe, makes their process more efficient and less expensive than the alternatives. However, Metzger is not wholly confident that it will work. For one thing, lunar regolith is a proficient thermal insulator, so heating a sample all the way through would not be easy. "The heat does not spread effectively deeper into the soil, and this greatly reduces the amount of water that can be produced in a given time," Metzger said. One option could be to 'tumble' the regolith, turning it over repeatedly so that the heat is more evenly applied, but this slows the extraction of water and increases the mechanical complexity of the process. In an environment where lunar dust gets into every nook and cranny, and where temperature fluctuations between night and day can be as great as 482 degrees Fahrenheit (250 Celsius), the risk of breakdown only increases as more moving parts enter the equation. "It may be doable, but more maturation of the technology is needed to show that it is actually competitive," said Metzger. There's also a problem with the application of carbon dioxide, something recognized by both the Chinese team and Metzger. Specifically, there's a question mark over whether astronauts could produce enough carbon dioxide through their normal exhalation. Metzger calculates that astronauts could only provide a tenth of the carbon dioxide required. Alternatively, carbon dioxide could be shuttled up from Earth, but this would rather defeat the purpose of the proposed technique, which was to develop a lot-cost means of obtaining water, oxygen and methane with resources largely already available on the moon. However, in the long-run, perhaps shipping some materials up from Earth will be beneficial. Metzger points out a similar experiment that used an exotic granular catalyst – nickel-on-kieselguhr (kieselguhr is a kind of sedimentary rock) – rather than lunar regolith. Metzger suspects that a material specifically designed to be a catalyst, such as nickel-on-kieselguhr, would be more efficient than lunar regolith. Plus, although it would be expensive to transport from Earth, the nickel-on-kieselguhr can be re-used so you would only need to transport it to the moon once. In a cost-benefit analysis, in the long term it might be more efficient to do this instead. Regardless, the research team has convincingly shown that using lunar regolith as a catalyst to produce fuel and water works. The next step is to show that the technology can be scaled up to sustain a base on the moon more efficiently than other techniques, and that it can operate in lunar conditions where the gravity is weaker, the temperature swings to large extremes, and there is intense radiation from space. "I think these are highly interesting results and there may be additional applications to use lunar soil as a photocatalyst," said Metzger. "More work will be needed to show whether this concept can be economically competitive. I am skeptical, but all good ideas have their detractors and you can never really know until somebody does the work to prove it." RELATED STORIES: — Water mining on the moon may be easier than expected, India's Chandrayaan-3 lander finds — Astronauts could mix moon dust with old satellites to make fuel — Scientists find hydrogen in Apollo moon rocks, suggesting astronauts can harvest lunar water There is certainly no immediate rush for the technology. With NASA's Artemis III mission, which aims to finally return astronauts to the surface of the moon in 2027 at the earliest, and funding made available for Artemis IV and V at some indeterminate time in the future, we're not yet in a position to build a permanent lunar base. However, the Artemis missions are the perfect opportunity to trial some of these technologies and will be greatly important for showing whether we really can live on the moon or not. The research was published on July 16 in the journal Joule. Solve the daily Crossword
The Star
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Star
Tiny robots could soon clear sinus infections without drugs
BEIJING: Scientists from China and Hong Kong say they have created tiny robots that can help clear serious bacterial infections deep inside the sinuses, without the need for surgery or drugs. Published in Science Robotics , the study explains how these micro-robots, smaller than a strand of human hair, can be guided using magnets and light. They work by breaking down tough bacterial layers and creating substances that kill bacteria. A sinus infection, also known as sinusitis or rhinosinusitis, is an inflammation of the sinuses – air-filled spaces in the bones around the nose and eyes. When these tissues inside this space become swollen or infected, they can cause symptoms like a stuffy or runny nose, facial pain or pressure, headaches, and sometimes a reduced sense of smell or taste. In tests on animals, researchers injected these micro-robots through the nose into the sinus cavity. Once inside, the robots were guided to the infection site and activated to produce heat and chemical reactions to destroy the bacteria. These robots were able to safely remove infections in rabbits, with the dead bacteria being cleared naturally. The scientists at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, and universities in Guangxi, Shenzhen, Jiangsu, Yangzhou and Macau expect the new approach might to reduce the need for antibiotics and other common treatments. The researchers believe that within five to 10 years, micro-robots could also be used to treat infections in the bladder, intestines, and other hard-to-reach areas. Scientists from around the world are working on even more advanced versions that could travel through the bloodstream, offering new ways to fight infections and deliver medicine more precisely. – dpa
South China Morning Post
02-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong must raise its game to attract multifamily-office operators, study says
Hong Kong's government needs to dig deeper for the next stage of the city's development as a hub for family offices by creating an ecosystem capable of supporting more multifamily-office operators, according to a white paper. 'Hong Kong has been very successful in attracting single-family offices, and the next step forward should be how to attract more multiple-family offices,' said Marshall Jen, executive director of Chinese University of Hong Kong's Centre for Family Business, which published the paper on Wednesday. The government should offer services and a broader range of incentives to attract talent capable of managing wealth for different generations of multiple families, said the paper, which was based on more than 30 interviews in the first quarter with family office owners and ultra-high-net-worth individuals – those with at least US$30 million to invest. In his first policy address in October 2022, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced a goal of attracting at least 200 large family offices by the end of 2025. He unveiled eight measures to attract such offices, which manage investments, succession planning, art collections and charity work. Jen said that while the city already had tax incentives and other measures that had made it the home for 2,700 family offices, most were single-family offices, with only a few large multiple-family operators. 'None of the Hong Kong multiple-family offices manage to squeeze into the ranking of the top players worldwide,' he said. Multiple-family offices create more job opportunities and attract more capital, because some of them hire hundreds of professionals and manage billions of dollars for many wealthy families.
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Swarms of tiny nose robots could clear infected sinuses, researchers say
Swarms of tiny robots, each no larger than a speck of dust, could be deployed to cure stubborn infected sinuses before being blown out through the nose into a tissue, researchers have claimed. The micro-robots are a fraction of the width of a human hair and have been inserted successfully into animal sinuses in pre-clinical trials by researchers at universities in China and Hong Kong. Swarms are injected into the sinus cavity via a duct threaded through the nostril and guided to their target by electromagnetism, where they can be made to heat up and catalyse chemical reactions to wipe out bacterial infections. There are hopes the precisely targeted technology could eventually reduce reliance on antibiotics and other generalised medicines. The tiny devices are part of the expanding field of micro- and nano-robots for use in medicine. They have also been developed to deliver drugs and to remove bacteria from medical implants such as stents and hernia meshes. Experts believe they could be in clinical use for treating infections in bladders, intestines and sinuses in five to 10 years. Scientists in China, Switzerland, the US and the UK are developing more sophisticated versions capable of moving through the bloodstream. The latest development came from a collaboration of academics at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, and universities in Guangxi, Shenzhen, Jiangsu, Yangzhou and Macau. Researchers in the emerging field acknowledge risks include some of the tiny micro-robots being left behind after treatment which could cause longer-term side effects. Another potential problem, cited by technology experts, is public suspicion at the thought of welcoming robots into the human body and conspiracy theories arising around fears the robots could be activated without consent. The latest breakthrough, based on animal rather than human trials, involves magnetic particles 'doped' with copper atoms which clinicians insert with a catheter before guiding to their target under a magnetic field. The swarms can be heated up by reacting to light from an optical fibre that is also inserted into the body as part of the therapy. This allows the micro-robots to loosen up and penetrate viscous pus that forms a barrier to the infection site. The light source also prompts the micro-robots to disrupt bacterial cell walls and release reactive oxygen species that kill the bacteria. The study, published in Nature Robotics, showed the robots were capable of eradicating bacteria from pig sinuses and could clear infections in live rabbits with 'no obvious tissue damage'. The researchers have produced a model of how the technology could work on a human being, with the robot swarms being deployed in operating theatre conditions, allowing doctors to see their progress by using X-rays. Future applications could include tackling bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, stomach, intestine, bladder and urethra, they suggested. 'Our proposed micro-robotic therapeutic platform offers the advantages of non-invasiveness, minimal resistance, and drug-free intervention,' they said. Prof Sylvain Martel, director of the Nano Robotics Laboratory at the Polytechnique de Montréal in Canada, who was not involved in the research, said the science seemed effective. 'It's like a rocket that you can direct with a magnetic field,' he said. He predicted micro-robots could be available for treatments in three to five years but possibly not for another decade, as regulators still need to approve their use and the manufacturing processes, which differ from those of standard pharmaceuticals. 'The main advantage with micro-robots is the targeting,' Martel said. 'Instead of taking medicine that goes into the bloodstream and a small quantity goes to the right location, you can target.' He said the public would soon set aside any fears over the idea of having robotic devices in their bodies. 'Maybe at the beginning [they will be afraid],' he said. 'But they will get used to it pretty quickly.' Dr Andrea Soltoggio, a reader in artificial intelligence at Loughborough University, said: 'The public may be suspicious about non-biological objects like nano-robots being inserted into our bodies. It may even trigger conspiracy theories. 'But it is important to look at what nano-robots are designed for. In this case, we see an example of a targeted intervention to reduce or eradicate an infection with a localised action. 'Nano-robots' behaviour is often simpler and more targeted than many drugs and they could effectively complement a wide range of therapies.'
South China Morning Post
21-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How to answer Xia's call for Hong Kong? Tap global ties and lure talent, experts say
Hong Kong should maintain its international connectivity and attract talent to speed up its economic transformation, analysts and figures from the commerce sector have said, as they hailed the enactment of the national security law for improving the business environment. Some political analysts also called on government officials to take bolder steps and adopt new thinking, taking advantage of the social stability and order brought by the security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020. Their suggestions came after the director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, said the implementation of the law was a 'watershed' for the financial hub that brought order after chaos. But Xia, who made the remarks at a forum on Saturday marking the anniversary of the implementation of the national security law, also warned against complacency, calling for unity to support the government and urging the administration to come up with innovative governance concepts to enhance effectiveness. Political scientist Hung Wing-lok of the School of Governance and Policy Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: 'Hong Kong should seize the opportunity to attract more foreign talent to speed up its economic transformation. 'As tensions between China and the United States remain high, Hong Kong should continue to keep its international connectivity to maintain its status as a global financial hub.
