Space discoveries: oxygen on Mars and autoimmune "peacemakers"
The first particle acceleration session at the NICA complex has been launched in Russia, a way has been found to increase production of heavy crude oil and a universal engine for drones has been created. Scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered a type of cell that helps prevent autoimmune reactions and plays the role of "peacemakers" in the immune system. And Chinese researchers have found a way to extract oxygen on Mars. This is stated in a selection of the most interesting scientific news prepared by Izvestia.
The first session of the NICA accelerator
The first particle acceleration session at the NICA complex, which was launched on March 25, marked the beginning of a cycle of research that will reveal the fundamental secrets of the universe. For example, how the universe is formed from the "bricks" of quarks and gluons, as well as how the strong interactions are arranged — the most powerful and most mysterious forces of nature that bind particles inside the nucleus and are responsible for the formation of almost all matter in the universe. Vladimir Kekelidze, Vice Director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), told Izvestia about this.
"The work at NICA will not only intensify research already underway in the world, but also expand it into areas that are not available in global research centers. For example, these are regions of extreme states of nuclear matter — its maximum possible density, existing only in the bowels of neutron stars," he explained.
According to him, the NICA project program was formed after a broad international discussion, during which truly unique tasks were identified for the installation.
New catalyst will increase heavy oil production
Scientists from Kazan Federal University (KFU), in collaboration with RITEK-Samara-Nafta and Lukoil Engineering, have created catalysts based on iron, nickel, cobalt, chromium and copper, which will increase the production of high-viscosity oil.
As a result, the scientists chose the most suitable catalyst composition — a mixture of iron and nickel in a ratio of 85:15. The researchers tested it in the field for oil production from the well of the Aksyonov field, which is located in the Samara region. During the four months of production using a catalyst, the water content of the oil (its water content) decreased from 99% to 30%. The scientists noted that high water content is a serious problem that complicates the process of cleaning raw materials, as well as leads to equipment wear.
"We plan to continue our research to improve the composition of the catalyst and expand its field of application. In the future, this method can be used in other high—viscosity oil fields, which will make their development more economically profitable," Irek Mukhamatdinov, project manager, Candidate of Technical Sciences, senior researcher at the research laboratory of methods for increasing oil recovery at KFU, told Izvestia.
Universal engine for drones
A new electric motor for drones has been developed at the Advanced Engineering School of the Moscow Aviation Institute. They can be equipped with various types of propeller-driven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The power aggrega T mainly consists of Russian-made components. In mass production, it can compete with its Chinese counterparts in its class. However, with a minor design change, the engine can be installed on land and surface drones.
"Electric motors are mainly produced in China. However, at a comparable cost, the development of MAI has better material quality and higher mass-energy indicators. In particular, at a rotational speed of 6.8 thousand revolutions per minute, the engine can provide long—term power of up to 12-13 kW and short—term power of up to 16 kW," Nikolai Ivanov, head of the Research Department of the Department of Electric Power, Electromechanical and Biotechnical Systems at MAI, told Izvestia.
Cells protecting against autoimmune reaction found
Scientists at the University of Chicago have discovered a type of cell that helps prevent autoimmune reactions. They are called Treg cells and play the role of "peacemakers" in the immune system, preventing erroneous attacks on the body's own tissues.
Previously, it was believed that such diseases are caused by the erroneous activation of T-helper cells that react to their own peptides. However, a new study shows that in order to prevent autoimmune reactions, it is necessary to balance all cells, rather than "purify" them.
The discovery may become the basis for universal therapeutic approaches to the treatment of autoimmune diseases in the early stages, which will significantly surpass current symptomatic therapies.
A way to extract oxygen on Mars has been found
Chinese researchers from Nanjing University have achieved a breakthrough in oxygen production by learning how to extract it from carbon dioxide (CO2). Instead of hydrogen, which plants use in photosynthesis, experts used lithium as a catalyst.
The CO2 was passed through an electrochemical cell with a ruthenium and cobalt (RuCo) nanocatalyst, where it was first converted into lithium carbonate, and then into carbon and lithium oxide.
In the last stage, lithium oxide decomposes, releasing pure oxygen and regenerating lithium for reuse. The conversion efficiency has reached 98%.
According to the authors of the development, the technology can be used on Earth for the disposal of industrial emissions and flue gases, in air purification systems and in underwater vehicles. In addition, the method will make it possible to produce oxygen on Mars, where the atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide.
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