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A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that she says could last 400 years

"This thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going." ⚡️⚡️

Steve Zylius/University of California, Irvine.

UCI doctoral candidate Mya Le Thai has developed a nanowire-based technology that allows lithium-ion batteries to be recharged hundreds of thousands of times.

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There's no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

A team of researchers at UCI had been experimenting with nanowires for potential use in batteries, but found that over time the thin, fragile wires would break down and crack after too many charging cycles. A charge cycle is when a battery goes from completely full to completely empty and back to full again.

But one day, on a whim, Thai coated a set of gold nanowires in manganese dioxide and a Plexiglas-like electrolyte gel.

batteries, renewable energy, energy, renewable batteries, rechargeable batteries, innovationBatteries being recycled at WRWA, London. Nov ‘21Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

"She started to cycle these gel capacitors, and that's when we got the surprise," said Reginald Penner, chair of the university's chemistry department. "She said, 'this thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it's still going.' She came back a few days later and said 'it's been cycling for 30,000 cycles.' That kept going on for a month."

This discovery is mind-blowing because the average laptop battery lasts 300 to 500 charge cycles. The nanobattery developed at UCI made it though 200,000 cycles in three months. That would extend the life of the average laptop battery by about 400 years. The rest of the device would have probably gone kaput decades before the battery, but the implications for a battery that that lasts hundreds of years are pretty startling.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

“Mya was playing around, and she coated this whole thing with a very thin gel layer and started to cycle it,” said Penner added. “She discovered that just by using this gel, she could cycle it hundreds of thousands of times without losing any capacity.”

“That was crazy,” he added, “because these things typically die in dramatic fashion after 5,000 or 6,000 or 7,000 cycles at most. ”"The big picture is that there may be a very simple way to stabilize nanowires of the type that we studied," Penner said. "If this turns out to be generally true, it would be a great advance for the community." Not bad for just fooling around in the laboratory.

Since her discovery, Mya Le Thai has gone on to a successful career as the Principal Scientist with the Enevate Corporation,

This article originally appeared eight years ago.

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Science

The world's 'heaviest animal in history' has been knocked off her throne

She's not that heavy, just big boned.

Connor Ashbridge/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Perucetus Colossus

Last year, scientists in Peru announced they had discovered the world’s heaviest animal. Dubbed Perucetus Colossus or P. Colossus, for short, this ancient whale with a bloated body, small head and small fins, was estimated to tip the scales at a resounding 700,000 pounds. That’s larger than the largest animal up to that point—the Blue Whale—which can weigh up to 540,000 pounds.

The unusual fossils of P. Colossus believed to be nearly 40 million years old, were discovered in a desert in Peru. Whereas bones are normally spongy-looking, these fossils appeared dense and inflated, leading scientists to debate whether these were bones or rocks. It was determined they were, in fact, bones—vertebra bones, to be exact, each of which weighed at least 220 pounds. They also found ribs measuring nearly five feet across. All told, they found 13 vertebrae, four ribs, and part of a hip.

Using projections, it was estimated that this was the heaviest animal ever to have lived.

Headlines abounded, mentioning the size of this silly-looking beast.

skeleton, paleontology, Perucetus Colossus

Projected skeletal image of Perucetus Colossus

Ivan Iofrida/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

However, in late February 2024, scientists changed their tune. It turns out the estimates were off, and this chonky gal was merely big-boned, literally.

The new estimates put P. Colossus at 60 to 70 tons at 17 meters long and 98 to 114 tons at 20 meters long. It is still quite heavy, maxing out at 228,000 pounds, but not nearly as heavy as the blue whale, which maxes out at approximately 540,000 pounds or 270 tons.

Perucetus Colossus, Blue Whale, prehistoric fossils

P. Colossus as compared to a blue whale and a human

Cullen Townsend/Cullen Townsend (used with permission)

So what happened? Here’s some sciency language from the new study, “Downsizing a heavyweight: factors and methods that revise weight estimates of the giant fossil whale Perucetus Colossus."

“[The scientists who said P. Colossus was the heaviest animal] based their estimates on a new method, in which they first estimated the total skeletal mass of Perucetus through extrapolation from the skeletal material and then used the value to secondarily extrapolate its body mass, assuming skeletal to body mass ratios based on extant cetaceans and sirenians. A simple ratio mandates an isometric relationship between body and skeletal masses, and they justified this step by testing for isometry using a phylogenetically controlled regression.”

Ah yes, how many times a phylogenetically controlled regression has come around to bite us on the butt.

Translation: It’s understandable, sort of, why they used the wrong equation, but make no mistake—they used the wrong equation. And now, some science shade from the same paper:

“Their method involves questionable assumptions that suggest their body mass estimates are not reasonable…”

“It is important to note that the overall size estimate of Perucetus has remained the same,” Cullen Townsend told Upworthy. Townsend is an artist who renders prehistoric animals for the Natural History Museum Los Angeles, among others, and who created a corrected rendering to accompany the new paper.

Says Townsend: “What is now being debated is how heavy the animal potentially was. Our understanding of prehistoric animals is filled with holes and can change drastically with a new discovery or research. It is not surprising that scientists are coming to new conclusions. Our depictions of nearly every prehistoric animal have changed over time to better correspond with advancements in paleontology and our interpretation of the fossil record. Our current understanding of Perucetus is no different and will likely change again in the not-too-distant future. It is the nature of this field.”

So no "Real Scientists" reality show coming to cable TV anytime soon?

Or "Biggest Loser, Animal Style"? (P. Colossus wins, obviously)

The NatureWasMetal Reddit group saw this coming:

“Of course, Perucetus was going to be downsized… I’m never going to trust this sort of claim again, I felt like it couldn’t be true,” said Kaam00s.

“All my hopes and dreams shattered… I lived for that chonky whale man,” said Grouper3.

But Time-Accident3809 pointed out the silver lining:

“We are so lucky to coexist with the largest known animal to have ever lived. Now here’s hoping we don’t [mess] that up as well.”

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Planet

Shark Week host Forrest Galante is helping change hearts and minds about nature's most feared predator

Forrest Galante will never forget the first time he ever saw a shark in person. "I was 7 or 8 years old and was snorkeling with my grandfather," the outdoor adventure TV personality told Upworthy. "We were in Mozambique where I grew up and I was holding my grandfather's hand underwater as he guided me. It was a small reef shark. What seemed like this huge animal appeared out of nowhere, racing through the darkness and suddenly I was looking into its beautiful eyes. I was in awe but I also think I grabbed my granddad's hand just a little bit tighter."

25 years later, Galante, is a world-renowned conversation activist who hosts the Extinct or Alive program on Animal Planet. He has interacted with some of the planet's most intriguing and intimidating creatures but it's hard to think of a living creature that has more powerfully captured our collective imagination than sharks.

This year, Galante is hosting his schedule special as part of the legendary Shark Week series. In tonight's episode, Galante travels to the northeast coast of South Africa, the "Land of the Lost Sharks," where he looks to find the Pondicherry, a species of shark believed to have gone extinct decades ago.




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On exploring the remove Maldives beach, where it's believed most wildlife there has never interacted with humans:

"It's phenomenal. It's like getting into a time capsule. Must as I love Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, the sharks there see divers 10 times a day. Here, you're seeing what the ocean was like hundreds of years ago. Before there was plastic floating on it. You really experience this feeling that anything can happen."

On being part of the Shark Week legacy:

"It's fantastic. The series is literally the same age as I am, 32. I have grown up with Shark Week. It's something I've tuned in for literally my entire life. It's kind of the Super Bowl of wildlife shows on television. Although I'd argue it's much bigger than the Super Bowl because we're talking about creatures who are literally older than trees themselves and are now being pushed to the brink of extinction."

With most people stuck at home and looking for content that transports their imaginations out of the living room, what's different about Shark Week this year?

"This style of entertainment is arguably more important than ever. It allows people who are stuck on their couch to participate in and promote conservation. It's also harder than ever. I was supposed to be in 14 counties this year and instead, I've been to 2. I think a common misconception is that the coronavirus has been entirely beneficial for wildlife. In reality, it's a double-edged sword. In some cases, wildlife is thriving. On the flip side, with governments being shut down and nobody able to enforce anti-poaching, we're seeing a massive uptick. In Peru, you can go to a wet market to buy a yellow-footed tortoise to "cure" coronavirus. So, I think part of what's important about Shark Week this year, beyond entertainment, is reminding people of how precious this environment is."



What's different to you about sharks vs. other wildlife you've interacted with?

"Life is incredible. Whether it's a snail under a rock or a tiger shark swimming at you. We're bipedal creatures meant to be on land. You have a lot of control there, you're in a comfort zone. When you're in the water, you're living in an alien world. You're in their habitat. It's a three-dimensional space where we don't belong. Sharks always bring a thrill to working with them. They're an apex predator, they've been around a long time. At the same time, they're disappearing. They've been targeted at an incredibly alarming rate."

Everyone talks about the negative impact "Jaws" had on people's attitudes toward sharks. With things like Shark Week, have you seen any positive changes in people's perception of sharks?

"20 years ago, the perception was if you got in the water with a shark the thought was you're going to die. Now, there's a cool factor. On places like Instagram, there are bragging rights to working with the animals, going in the water with them. The common understanding has completely shifted. All these people having beautiful, stunning interactions with these creatures. Fear will only lead to destruction. Sharks aren't meant to be feared, they're just to be respected."

Heroes

This chemotherapy-free treatment could be a breakthrough in the fight against cancer.

Cancer. Just saying the word on its own can be scary, especially if you've ever lost a loved one to the disease or if you've faced it yourself.

And a big reason for that has to do with one of its common treatments — chemotherapy — which causes intense side effects like hair loss, nausea, and weakened immune systems. (And that's when it works!)

But a new breakthrough treatment cured cancerous tumors in 97% of mice during recent trials at Stanford University. Now researchers are soliciting around 35 human patients for tests that are expected to begin before the end of 2018.

Unlike other cancer treatments, this immune-system-based approach is potentially low-impact, avoiding chemotherapy altogether.

"The thing to understand is how much of a game changer this is," said Dr. Michelle Hermiston, director of pediatric immunotherapy at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, the first hospital in the state to implement a different immunotherapy treatment for lymphoma and leukemia patients. "If it's your kid, it makes a huge difference," she said.

Dr. Ronald Levy, a Stanford oncology professor who is leading the study, said that if the Food and Drug Administration approves the treatment after human trials, it could appear on the market within one to two years.

This chemotherapy-free treatment uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer cells.

Levy says the treatment is not a permanent cure, but it uses the body's defense mechanisms to attack certain types of cancer cells.

It works by using an injection that stimulates the body's T cells to attack tumors. Levy also said the current treatment is not a magic bullet for all types of cancers because different cancer cells behave differently. For this study, he and his team are focusing on people with low-grade lymphoma.

"Getting the immune system to fight cancer is one of the most recent developments in cancer," he said. "People need to know that this is in its early days, and we are still looking for safety and looking to make this as good as it can be."

In an era of bad news, scientists have reminded us how to be hopeful.

An estimated 7.6 million people die from cancer each year. More than 70,000 people are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma each year, and while survival rates are relatively high, any progress on that front is great news. And during a time when our world can often feel overwhelmed with bad news, it's a welcome reminder that scientific progress continues to march forward.

This week alone, scientists announced the discovery of an entirely new organ in the human body, a development that could fundamentally alter our understanding of how diseases like cancer quickly spread to other parts of the body.

If we pay attention, science is bringing us good news practically every day with amazing progress in medicine, technology, exploration, and a greater understanding of human nature itself.

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