Victors of the 2024 Gizmodo Science Expo Unveiled
The 2024 Gizmodo Science Fair, an annual event celebrating groundbreaking research projects, showcased a multitude of innovative endeavours pushing the boundaries of various scientific fields. This year's fair highlighted projects that have the potential to revolutionise healthcare, environmental sustainability, and space exploration.
One of the standout projects was the AI-driven drone swarms for disease control. The drones, equipped with artificial intelligence, can identify breeding sites in real-time and deploy targeted larvicide treatments, reducing mosquito density and malaria incidence. Successful field trials in locations such as Rwanda and Broward County, Florida, have proven the effectiveness of this approach.
In the realm of healthcare, Stanford scientists presented a novel synthetic molecule called PIP-CpG. Designed to deliver immune-activating therapy directly to breast and pancreatic tumors, this innovation overcomes previous limitations of tumor accessibility, enabling systemic immunotherapy with potential for rapid, minimally invasive cancer treatment.
Astronomers confirmed the existence of exoplanet TOI-1846 b, a potentially habitable exoplanet approximately 1.8 times Earth's radius with an atmosphere containing water. This discovery opens new avenues for astrobiological research.
MIT developed a solar-powered desalination technology that purifies groundwater efficiently without the need for batteries. Adjusting activity based on available solar power, this system can produce 5,000 liters of clean water daily, offering a sustainable and affordable solution for low-income and remote areas facing water scarcity.
Other projects included SBUDNIC's innovative and cost-effective approach to satellite design, NASA's Quesst team's experimental aircraft that may travel faster than sound without the typical sonic boom, and the thylacine RNA project aiming to recover RNA from a museum specimen of the extinct marsupial, the Tasmanian tiger.
The developers of PDK plastic introduced a plastic that can be infinitely recycled, while a research project is investigating drugs that could extend the lifespans of both big and small dogs. The Space Solar Power Project is testing a satellite that proves it's possible to collect solar energy in space and then send it down to Earth as usable power.
The OSIRIS-REx curation team is responsible for safeguarding pristine samples of an asteroid delivered to Earth. The winning teams of the science fair were recognised for their creativity and persistence in overcoming significant challenges.
Illustrations for the article were provided by Vicky Leta. The article was edited by George Dvorsky and Rose Pastore and reported by Ed Cara, George Dvorsky, Passant Rabie, Isaac Schultz, and Jody Serrano.
This year's science fair once again demonstrated the power of scientific research in inspiring thoughts about technology and breakthroughs possible in lifetimes. The quest for quiet supersonic flight, solar-powered desalination, and extending the lifespans of dogs were just a few of the many projects discussed, with more projects to be explored in future editions of this annual event.
- The innovation of AI-driven drone swarms for disease control, a standout project at the Gizmodo Science Fair, promises to revolutionize health-and-wellness by reducing mosquito density and malaria incidence through real-time identification and targeted larvicide treatments.
- In the realm of medical-conditions, the development of a novel synthetic molecule called PIP-CpG by Stanford scientists is set to revolutionize healthcare, particularly breast and pancreatic tumor treatment, overcoming previous limitations of tumor accessibility.
- The discovery of exoplanet TOI-1846 b, a potentially habitable exoplanet with an atmosphere containing water, opens new avenues for environmental-science and astrobiological research in the field of space-and-astronomy.
- MIT's solar-powered desalination technology, which efficiently purifies groundwater without batteries, offers a sustainable and affordable solution for health-and-wellness in low-income and remote areas facing water scarcity.
- The Space Solar Power Project, testing a satellite that collects solar energy in space and sends it down as usable power, is a groundbreaking initiative in environmental-science, aiming to redefine the future of power generation and distribution.
