Schlagwort: #technology

A conceptual 3D printed idea called the Synthetic Pollenizer by an artist from Brisbane aims to keep bee populations alive and thriving.

A whopping third of our food sources rely on bees. And yet, it’s no secret that bees are in danger of dying out. The varroa mite and still-in-use pesticides called neonicotinoids have reduced the population of bees and other pollinators significantly.

Luckily, there are many humans who are willing to help the cause. For example, Michael Candy, an artist from Brisbane, Australia.

The idea he is proposing is a 3D printed robotic flower method to help the bees. He calls it the Synthetic Pollenizer and although it’s currently a conceptual project, it’s certainly an interesting solution.

Essentially, robotic flowers are hopefully safer for bees to pollinate than real fauna as they have no pesticides. Instead, they are all equipped with pollen and nectar which comes up to the flower when needed. They’re also hidden amongst real plants, encouraging bees to pollinate and also to breed.

“Bees are a vital part of our ecosystem, I feel that everyone needs to take the time and get to know these hard workers that keep our plants and crops pollinated. It is common knowledge that bee population is suffering worldwide due to pesticides, climate change and Varroa mites – for these problems we can find solutions,”  Candy explained.

Find out more about the Synthetic Pollenizer in Candy’s video:

Tricking the Bees with a Synthetic Flower

In order to attract the bees, a man-made nectar solution of sugar and water reaches the false flower’s surface. Candy uses servos and actuators to distribute nectar and pollen to the flowers.

After a lot of trial and error, the 3D printed petals and synthetic stamen should now be convincing enough to fool the bees. Candy explains that it has taken years to successfully coax them into landing on the 3D printed petals. He explains that color and form are crucial considerations.

To collect the pollen, Candy uses a “pollen trap” in the beehives. This isn’t as cruel as it sounds and is essentially a front door mat for bees. It fits over a hive entrance and collects leftover pollen from a bee’s legs.

The collected pollen is fed through the synthetic stamen. And, if everything goes to plan, the bees pick up this pollen as normal. Candy adds:

“Bees are easily the most utilitarian pollinators used in industrial agriculture and they are suffering from a variety of environmental problems. Perhaps in a future where designer crops are no longer able to produce pollen yet still receive it – then the Synthetic Pollenizer could rehabilitate the reproductive cycle of these genetically modified crops.”

However, perhaps an easier way to save the creatures is to simply force farmers to not use pesticides during the hours when bees are flying but rather early in the morning or late at night. This would certainly save a lot of 3D printing time and energy.

Source: Dezeen

Website: LINK

Researchers have taken CT scans of preserved Tasmanian tiger joeys to help give them a better insight into the extinct animal and learn about the early development phases of the marsupials.

Tasmanian tigers were driven to extinction by hunters. Sadly, the last living Tasmanian tiger died in Hobart Zoo in 1936. However, 13 ethanol-preserved joeys remain.

Called a tiger due to its striped lower back, the animal is now the interest of study at the University of Melbourne, Australia. The preserved joeys are offering an insight into the animal’s early development phases.

Researchers used technology such as CT scans, to record changes in the animal’s skeleton and organs while it was growing in its mother’s pouch. Dr. Andrew Pask found that they begin life looking like other marsupials, but move towards looking more like dogs towards the end of the time in the pouch. However, they wanted to show the exact point at which this happens.

“So, when they’re first born they have these really well-developed forearms to be able to crawl from their mother’s urogenital sinus up to the pouch, and a really well developed jaw to be able to latch on to the teat. That’s quite different to us, or a mouse, say.It’s only really late on that they grow the extended hind limbs to give them that dog appearance,” he explains.

Tracking Down the Tasmanian Tiger Specimens

The process of getting the 13 ethanol-preserved joeys wasn’t easy. Four of the joeys were held in Prague, Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, two specimens, sent from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, weren’t Tasmanian Tigers at all. The researchers believe they were but quolls or Tasmanian devils which had been mixed up with the tigers.

However, once all were collected, the specimens were CT scanned. The animals were aged between 1.5 and 12 weeks.  This enabled the scientists to dissect the joeys and build 3D models. They also 3D printed the models to get a better look too.

“Until now, there have only been limited details on growth and development. For the very first time we have been able to look inside these remarkably rare and precious specimens,” said Axel Newton, a PhD student and lead author on the Royal Society paper describing the investigation.

The aim for the researchers now is to find out how and why the marsupials evolved to be so similar to dogs. Especially as their last common ancestor lived about 160 million years ago. But, they hope that with these scans and genetic work, they’ll be able to come to some conclusions.

In the far distant future, the researchers also hope to be able to bring back a Tasmanian tiger. This could work by using another animal’s cells as a scaffold and inserting the genome to try and reconstruct the tiger. However, this is a long way off for now.

Source: BBC

Website: LINK