Given its chilly winters, you might not think Michigan the ideal spot for cycling. But the bike culture in one summer hotspot in the Mitten State stands out so much it was just named the most cycle-friendly city in the world. Mackinac Island scored a 99 out of 100 thanks to its car-free roads and safe, accessible bike routes. See which other cities made the top of the ranking and learn more about the unique island.
This Tiny Robot Hand Can Snatch Viruses Inside the Body Before They Infect You
Courtesy of Xing Wang
Typically when you get COVID-19, your immune system produces antibodies that block the virus’ spike proteins from infecting your cells further. But what if you could prevent those proteins from attaching in the first place? What if you could just reach a tiny little hand inside your body and *pluck* the harmful virus out before it does any damage? As impossible as it might sound, that’s what researchers from the University of Illinois have been able to do — in essence. As described in a recent study, their novel robotic creation, dubbed the DNA NanoGripper, functions like a four-fingered hand that can seize and block coronavirus spike proteins before they have the chance to infect cells. Despite the fact that the hand is microscopic, it possesses bendable fingers with three joints each (just like humans’), and a “palm” that connects them together. The NanoGripper’s design was inspired by human hands and bird claws, and the device itself is made out of a single strand of DNA. Its developers used a technique called DNA origami, which is exactly what it sounds like: folding DNA over upon itself to create miniscule structures. “We are using DNA for its structural properties. It is strong, flexible, and programmable,” lead study author Xing Wang said in a statement. “Yet even in the DNA origami field, this is novel in terms of the design principle. We fold one long strand of DNA back and forth to make all of the elements, both the static and moving pieces, in one step.”
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World chess champion is an extraordinary title very few can say they’ve held — and 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju is officially the youngest person on the list. The Indian teenager made history at the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore last week when he took on reigning champion Ding Liren and came out on top after a nail-biting match. When his victory was confirmed, the room erupted with cheers, and thousands of miles away, fans back in India celebrated the moment with hugs, high-fives, and applause. As for Dommaraju, he was overcome with tears of joy. “I probably got so emotional because I did not really expect to win that position,” he told reporters, per the BBC. Although Dommaraju already had an impressive chess resume going into Thursday’s match, he was considered somewhat of an underdog at the beginning of the tournament. “It’s a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India … and for me, a very personal moment of pride,” he said. Watch the emotional final minutes of the game.
Tech
AI Is Here to Help Pianists Avoid Hand Injuries
Portra/ iStock
Watching an expert play the piano can be mesmerizing — there are a lot of rapid, deft hand movements required. But for the pianists themselves, particularly those with smaller hands, the repeated stretching to reach keys can come at a cost, leading to injuries like tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. To help change this, researchers at Stanford University developed an AI-trained model to re-create the movements involved and the physical stresses endured in the art of piano playing. The model is based on 15 “elite-level” pianists who played a total of 10 hours of music while cameras recorded their hands from every angle. The team hopes the resulting model will be a tool toreduce the risk of long-term injuries in pianists and, eventually, test solutions like narrower keyboards. “We would never expect a world-class athlete to compete with equipment that does not fit their body. Yet we ask pianists, particularly women, to adapt to a one-size-fits-all design that was never built with them in mind,” Elizabeth Schumann, co-author of a paper on the new technology, said in a press release. The release explains that the modern piano keyboard was designed with the average 19th century European man in mind, and is therefore too big for 87% of adult women and 24% of adult men today. “We can use research like this to reshape the future of performance and make it more sustainable,” said Schumann. Watch the AI model at work.
In Other News
The next inductees to the California Hall of Fame have been announced — and they’re all women (read more)
Two years after Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, the Senate passed the HEARTS Act to fund CPR training and AEDs (read more)
For the 10th year, James Patterson gave $500 holiday bonuses to hundreds of booksellers across the country (read more)
At 510 pounds, this chunky black bear has been named the largest in Mississippi history(read more)
“It is like a miracle”: A hospital system released 11,500 liens placed on people’s homes due to medical debt (read more)
Something We Love
Goodles If you were raised on boxed mac and cheese, you’ll love this adult upgrade. Goodles feature all the deliciousness of the childhood favorite, but with a nutrient-packed twist. Each serving has 14 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber, so you can feel truly satisfied after digging into a bowl. My personal favorite is the “Shella Good” flavor, with aged white cheddar and pasta shells. — Ally Mauch, Associate Editor
Nothing will stop Missionary Flights International from bringing Christmas magic to children in Haiti. Despite recent violence in the country, pilot Joe Karabensh and a small group of volunteers from Florida are getting ready to hand-deliver toys to local kiddos. “Many people on the brink of starvation ... children that need some joy at this time of the year,” Karabensh said, adding: “I definitely think it’s worth the risk.”
Jude Law’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star was unveiled last week, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Troves of people are doing their seasonal rewatch of Nancy Meyers’ 2006 hit The Holiday, and some of the actor’s scenes in the film (particularly the ones in which he looks into the camera) have been gaining traction on TikTok. Of course, Law’s repertoire extends far beyond the rom-com genre, but who doesn’t want to pretend he’s in love with them instead of Cameron Diaz?
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