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🤝🏻 Smartest electronic skin with ‘brain’, weeds turned into eco-plastic, British military outpost from 1781 unearthed

Plus: UK backs electron gun to make super strong tungsten for fusion reactor

The newest Lexicon episode is out! How is untreated hearing loss linked to cognitive decline? Join Brent Lucas, CEO of Envoy Medical, as he explores the future of fully implanted hearing devices, Apple's move into the hearing aid market, and the hidden impact of hearing loss on mental health.

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Scientists at a German research lab have created an ultra-thin, flexible electronic skin (e-skin) that can detect and track magnetic fields using a single global sensor.

Unlike previous designs that required multiple sensors and electronics, this new e-skin is more energy-efficient and mimics how human skin interacts with the brain. What makes this innovation more exciting is that it enables touchless interactions.

So, using this e-skin, you could operate devices in wet, extreme, or sensitive environments (underwater or in sterile labs). Dive deeper into this Must-Read.

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MUST-READ

This e-skin has the potential to give robots a sense of touch through magnetic fields and allow humans to interact with digital environments (virtual reality) without any physical controllers. Moreover, it could help people with sensory impairments regain certain abilities.

Traditional e-skins rely on multiple sensors, batteries, and electronic components, making them bulky, power-hungry, and impractical. To overcome these limitations, the researchers designed an e-skin that works more like human skin.

It has three components: First is the ultra-thin, flexible membrane that acts as the base structure of the e-skin. It is made of a lightweight, transparent, and breathable material that allows air and moisture to pass through so the real skin underneath can breathe.

Researchers in South Korea have successfully engineered bio-based plastic using microorganisms as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics.

The new polymer, called poly(ester amide), combines nylon's durability with PET's versatility, making it a promising alternative to conventional plastics. The team led by Professor Sang Yup Lee from KAIST’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering developed eco-friendly, bio-based poly(ester amide)s.

Using glucose derived from abundant biomass sources like waste wood and weeds, poly(ester amide)s were successfully produced in an eco-friendly manner.

A rare glimpse into American history has been unearthed: a never-before-seen British military outpost has surfaced on the Florida coast.

Archaeologists in St. Augustine on the Northeast coast of Florida discovered the remnants of the state’s British rule.

An archaeological organization backed by the city government stated that the large moat, about 15 feet wide, would have once been part of a rampart that the British built, unusually, even.

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