On this week’s news update…

Robotic Thumb

Testing a robotic thumb…

Regreening Africa

Regreening Africa’s land…

Shape-Shifting Pasta

And shape-shifting pasta!

First up…

Thumbs are pretty handy!

They enable people to handle lots of different objects, and have helped humans develop more complex tools than any other species.

Now scientists have designed a robotic thumb that can be attached to someone’s hand and used as an extra thumb!

The thumb is controlled by two pressure sensors below the user’s big toes.

When the user moves their toes in a certain way, the thumb reacts with a similar movement.

The thumb has been tested on a group of volunteers to find out how quickly people can get used to using an extra body part.

The volunteers completed tasks to see how effectively the robotic thumb worked alongside the rest of their hand.

Monitoring volunteers’ brain activity, scientists were able to analyze how movement from a new thumb is processed by the brain.

This will help scientists predict how humans might adapt to other artificial body parts in the future.

Up next…

It’s Eco Zone!

Across the world, huge areas of land are being damaged by deforestation and harmful farming methods such as overgrazing and heavy pesticide use.

This damage is called “land degradation.”

land degradation

In some parts of East Africa, land degradation is turning certain areas to desert, making it very difficult for farmers to grow enough crops.

However, a project is now underway to return the land to its natural green state.

Working closely with local farmers, the project utilizes simple solutions to protect the land, such as preserving trees to encourage them to grow, and digging small pits to collect valuable rainwater.

As vegetation is gradually restored, and more water remains in the soil, the barren land is slowly replaced with lush green plants.

And because healthy plants help return minerals to the soil, local farmers can once again grow enough crops to support themselves.

And finally…

Pasta is one of the world’s most popular foods!

But because pasta comes in many unique shapes, it is difficult to package without leaving lots of gaps.

This means that a large amount of packaging is needed to store the pasta, and lots of space is required to transport it.

Now a new type of pasta is being developed that could cut down on the resources required to transport it: pasta that changes shape!

The flat sheets of pasta have tiny grooves stamped into them.

When the sheets are put into a saucepan of boiling water, the grooves swell more slowly than the raised areas of pasta.

This causes the pasta to twist and bend into new shapes!

Easily stored as flat sheets, the pasta can fit into a small box, which makes transporting it more efficient.

And because it’s made from the same ingredients, it’s just as tasty as traditional pasta!

That’s all for this week—we’ll see you next time!