𝗚𝗧/ Disposing of solar panels at end of their life

Energy & Green technology biweekly vol.46, 23rd March — 6th April

TL;DR
— Renewable energy experts have come up with an environmentally-friendly plan to dispose of solar panels at the end of their life.

— Lower electricity costs for consumers and more reliable clean energy could be some of the benefits of a new study by researchers who have examined how predictable solar or wind energy generation is and the impact of it on profits in the electricity market.

— A new study found drought and heat waves could make air pollution worse for communities that already have a high pollution burden in California, and deepen pollution inequalities along racial and ethnic lines. The study also found financial penalties for power plants can significantly reduce people's pollution exposure, except during severe heat waves.

— Scientists have created a comprehensive 'roadmap' to guide global efforts to convert waste energy into clean power.

— Sunlight can be used to produce green hydrogen directly from water in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. So far, most systems based on this 'direct approach' have not been energetically competitive. However, the balance changes as soon as some of the hydrogen in such PEC cells is used in-situ for a catalytic hydrogenation reaction, resulting in the co-production of chemicals used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The energy payback time of photoelectrochemical 'green' hydrogen production can be reduced dramatically, the study shows.

— New research has shown that methane emissions from urban areas are underestimated by a factor of three to four and that untreated wastewater may be a contributing factor.

— Researchers have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material. This discovery could have implications for countries with poor water treatment technologies and combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry.

— Large amounts of plastic waste are incinerated or deposited in landfills. This degrades the environment and depletes valuable resources. In this light, recycling plastics such as polymers is promising. However, recycling diminishes their quality. Recently, researchers have proposed a 'closed-loop' recycling process based on polymer microparticles. It produces fully recyclable polymer films with high mechanical stability and fracture energy, which they retain upon recycling.

— Engineers have developed a new water treatment that removes 'forever chemicals' from drinking water safely, efficiently - and for good.

— A team has experimentally confirmed that nitrate, a compound common in fertilizers and animal waste, can help transport naturally occurring uranium from the underground to groundwater. The new research backs a previous study showing that aquifers contaminated with high levels of nitrate - including the High Plains Aquifer residing beneath Nebraska - also contain uranium concentrations far exceeding a threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Uranium concentrations above that EPA threshold have been shown to cause kidney damage in humans, especially when regularly consumed via drinking water.

— And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#GT #Greentech https://medium.com/paradigm-research/gt-disposing-of-solar-panels-at-end-of-their-life-3c4bc6121102

𝐒𝐓/ How cosmic winds transform galactic environments

Space biweekly vol.74, 30th March - 7th April

TL;DR
— Much like how wind plays a key role in life on Earth by sweeping seeds, pollen and more from one place to another, galactic winds - high-powered streams of charged particles and gases - can change the chemical make-up of the host galaxies they form in, simply by blowing in a specific direction. In the new study, researchers model how elements move across star-forming regions.

— Astronomers have observed an explosion 180 million light years away which challenges our current understanding of explosions in space, that appeared much flatter than ever thought possible.

— Astronomers have discovered a large reservoir of hot gas in the still-forming galaxy cluster around the Spiderweb galaxy - the most distant detection of such hot gas yet. Galaxy clusters are some of the largest objects known in the Universe and this result further reveals just how early these structures begin to form.

— Scientists believe the gamma-ray emission, which lasted over 300 seconds, is the birth cry of a black hole, formed as the core of a massive and rapidly spinning star collapses under its own weight.

— Asteroids sharing their orbits with the planet Neptune have been observed to exist in a broad spectrum of red color, implying the existence of two populations of asteroids in the region, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

— Astronomers have found the atmospheric compositions of giant planets out in the galaxy do not fit our own solar system trend.

— An international team of researchers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b. The measurement is based on the planet's thermal emission: heat energy given off in the form of infrared light detected by Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The result indicates that the planet's dayside has a temperature of about 500 kelvins (roughly 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and suggests that it has no significant atmosphere.

— Astrophysicists have leveraged artificial intelligence to uncover a better way to estimate the mass of colossal clusters of galaxies. The AI discovered that by just adding a simple term to an existing equation, scientists can produce far better mass estimates than they previously had. The improved estimates will enable scientists to calculate the fundamental properties of the universe more accurately, the astrophysicists have reported.

— Machine learning and state-of-the-art supernova nucleosynthesis has helped researchers find that the majority of observed second-generation stars in the universe were enriched by multiple supernovae.

— Following enormous collisions, such as asteroid impacts, some amount of material from an impacted world may be ejected into space. This material can travel vast distances and for extremely long periods of time. In theory this material could contain direct or indirect signs of life from the host world, such as fossils of microorganisms. And this material could be detectable by humans in the near future, or even now.

— And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#ST #Space https://medium.com/paradigm-research/st-how-cosmic-winds-transform-galactic-environments-e986c4ad23c3

BT/ Apple patent filing for under-display biometrics capture system published

Biometrics biweekly vol. 61, 27th March — 10th April

TL;DR
—A new method for capturing face, fingerprint and iris biometrics from under the display of an electronic device is the subject of a patent application from Apple newly published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
—Linux Foundation Janssen Project earns digital public good status
—WhatsApp looks to add more biometric security layers
—Self-sovereign onboarding and login system developed by Iota Foundation and walt.id
—BMW introduces biometrics to its motorcycles for unlocking security
—Biocube scores US patent for its contactless, multi-model biometrics platform
—Neurotechnology fingerprint biometric accuracy reaches new high in PFT III
—Okta brings authentication to encrypted Zoom meetings
—Suprema AI unveils new OEM module to advance face biometrics performance
—Fingerprint Cards surpasses 1M sensor modules shipped for biometric payment cards
—Innovatrics revealed as biometrics supplier for Albania’s elections
—NADRA upgrades Pak-ID biometric app with document recognition and digital signatures
—Au10tix collaborates with Microsoft on reusable decentralized digital ID for enterprises
—IDEMIA launches two brand new contactless on-the-move biometric devices
—Telpo adds FAP60 fingerprint scanning to multi-biometric tablet
—Voice Biometrics Group academic partnership leads to IngenID launch
—OCR Labs denies breach report details, patches vulnerability
—Yoti improves accuracy and skin tone balance for age estimation
—Zwipe partners on biometric access cards for the US, payment cards for the Middle East
—FIDO passkey adoption surging in APAC with 2 big announcements
—Hypr passwordless report uncovers pervasive insecure authentication practices
—Arana Security pitches payment possibilities of contactless biometric solution
—Nordsec, PayPal move forward with a passkey and passwordless authentication products
—Facephi meeting dozens of potential UK face biometrics customers through an accelerator
—1Kosmos’ selfie biometric platform gains traction in India
—Intellicheck provides digital ID checks to prevent fraud at auto dealerships across the US
—BioID pitching deepfake and liveness detection to the Portuguese market
—Carahsoft, Okta, Socure partner to fight fraud against the US government
—National digital identity is ‘extremely urgent,’ says Swedish government inquiry
—Consortium to run large-scale pilots for EU Digital Identity Wallet
—World Economic Forum panel pushes for blockchain-based decentralized digital ID
—US organizations say they’ll build firmament for AI trust
—Web payment security group agrees to 2 more years
—SynSense secures $10M to advance low-power vision processing SoC to mass production
—iProov awarded nearly $750K by DHS S&T in the fifth phase of funding
—Bug bounty launched by Shufti Pro to stay ahead of cybersecurity vulnerabilities
—New Zealand digital identity trust framework law passes
—Miami police use Clearview’s facial recognition in shoplifting investigations
—Uganda court accepts brief from rights groups on digital ID case
—India plans to boost Family ID adoption, upgrade Aadhaar to streamline service delivery
—Jamaica prepares for digital ID awareness campaign, biometric passport rollout
—Cryptocurrency exchange BAM Trading Services — otherwise known as BinanceUS — and its -identity verification vendor, Jumio, will face a proposed class action lawsuit filed under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
—Biometric industry events. And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#BT #Biometrics https://medium.com/paradigm-research/bt-apple-patent-filing-for-under-display-biometrics-capture-system-published-ceb28828bef3

DeFi in Ether vol.70

Biweekly update on the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem, 28th March — 11th April

$52B in DeFi, Lido V2 update, Uniswap volume beats Coinbase, LRC staking and multi-wallet support is live, The Bancor Arb Fast Lane Protocol is live, dYdX to launch private testnet of its Cosmos-based blockchain, Enzyme adds fiat-to-crypto onramp, Gnosis Chain introduces MEV Blocker, and much more!

TL;DR
—$51.85B in DeFi this week with Lido dominance 22.27%.
—Lido address change messages signed ready to broadcast after Shapella. The latest commit of the V2 branch was added to Lido’s Immunefi bounty scope.
—The Unix philosophy at Uniswap Labs. Uniswap volume beats Coinbase. From Uniswap's main swap interface, you can now easily buy crypto with MoonPay using your credit/debit card or bank.
—Latest Aave News: Explore Aave on Tally, vote in the Butter Delegate Election, participate in Double LM on Polygon, and more. The Aave v3 Ethereum market hit $1B last week.
—The Bancor Arb Fast Lane Protocol is live in beta: Any user can now close arb opportunities between Bancor protocols and other on-chain exchanges and redirect profits back to the Bancor ecosystem.
—BAL underwent its first-ever emissions drop.
—dYdX is set to launch the private testnet of its Cosmos-based blockchain. Notional V3 and dYdX V4 were recently announced, with dYdX introducing support against harmful MEV extraction.
—Following the acquisition of mStable by dHedge, the team will be launching mStable on Optimism.
—1inch Monthly Digest: March 2023. Deblock announced a collaboration with 1inch.
—Enzyme adds fiat-to-crypto onramp: Enzyme now offers a robust and highly efficient fiat-to-crypto onramp, powered by Onramper. Enzyme integrates with Aura Finance to boost yield and governance power of Balancer users.
—LRC Staking is now available on Loopring. Loopring Multi-Wallet support is live.
—Compound Proposals 157 ‘OpenZeppelin Security Partnership — 2023 Q2 Compensation’ and 156 ‘Compound V2 -> V3 Migration (Phase 2)’ have passed successfully. Find the latest Compound proposals here.
—Gnosis Chain introduces MEV Blocker. New DeFi site from the Gnosis builders. Gnosis Guild Q1 2023 Report is out. StakeWise V3 is coming to Gnosis Chain. Join the team for the GnosisDAO Community Call on April 13th.
—KyberSwap enhances liquidity for PET token on Arbitrum.
—The Synthetix Caph Release — SIP 2004/2005.
—With the Euler Finance claim event, Nexus Mutual’s total claims paid have reached $17,892,780.45.
—Ethereum developers have confirmed April 12th as the date for the Shapella upgrade.
—MetaMask adds warnings for known scams from OpenSea’s blocklist & Blockaid’s analysis.
—Etherscan adds an option to use local time zone for time stamps.
—Maker voted for its constitution.
—DeFi Saver adds limit orders & DCA strategies.
—SushiSwap has suffered an exploit, with the head chef advising chains to revoke the RouterProcessor2 contract.
—MEV bots on Ethereum lost $25M in a sophisticated attack.
—And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#Defi_in_ether #Ethereum https://medium.com/paradigm-research/defi-in-ether-52b-in-defi-lido-v2-update-uniswap-volume-beats-coinbase-lrc-staking-is-and-7395d6d193e3

NS/ How does our brain make a coherent image?

Neuroscience biweekly vol. 82, 29th March — 12th April

TL;DR
—When we look at something, the different properties of the image are processed in different brain regions. But how does our brain make a coherent image out of such a fragmented representation? New research sheds light on two existing hypotheses in the field. When we open our eyes, we immediately see what is there. The efficiency of our vision is a remarkable achievement of evolution. The introspective ease with which we perceive our visual surroundings masks the sophisticated machinery in our brain that supports visual perception. The image we see is rapidly analyzed by a complex hierarchy of cortical and subcortical brain regions.

—Intelligence is partly heritable. There are studies that show that certain genetic variations are linked to better performance in intelligence tests. Other studies show that a variety of brain characteristics, such as network efficiency, are related to intelligence. For the first time, researchers have now studied all three parameters — genes, different brain characteristics and behavior — simultaneously. Using gene analyses, magnetic resonance imaging and intelligence tests, the team demonstrated which brain characteristics form the link between genes and behavior.

—A very subtle and seemingly random type of eye movement called ocular drift can be influenced by prior knowledge of the expected visual target, suggesting a surprising level of cognitive control over the eyes, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine neuroscientists.

—Is our brain able to regenerate? And can we harness this regenerative potential during aging or in neurodegenerative conditions? These questions sparked intense controversy within the field of neuroscience for many years. A new study from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience shows why there are conflicting results and proposes a roadmap on how to solve these issues.

—New research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst zeroes in on the root cause of adverse health effects from disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms, which typically occurs from jet lag and rotating work shifts.

—A new mouse study has identified a gene-enzyme interaction that appears to play a key role in how the brain forms memories. The findings provide insights into how PDE inhibitor medications may help diseases like Alzheimer’s.

—Researchers report that the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain is linked to waking brain activity. The study demonstrates that manipulating blood flow in the brain with visual stimulation induces complementary fluid flow. The findings could impact treatment for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, which have been associated with declines in cerebrospinal fluid flow.

—Using artificial intelligence, researchers have discovered how to screen for genetic mutations in cancerous brain tumors in under 90 seconds — and possibly streamline the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas, a study suggests. The newly developed system, DeepGlioma, identified mutations used by the World Health Organization to define molecular subgroups of diffuse glioma with an average accuracy of over 90%.

—A common amino acid, glycine, can deliver a “slow-down” signal to the brain, likely contributing to major depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders in some people, scientists at the Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology have found.

—Can an individual’s social status have an impact on their level of stress? Researchers at Tulane University put that question to the test and believe that social rank, particularly in females, does indeed affect the stress response.

—And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#NS #Neuroscience https://medium.com/paradigm-research/ns-how-does-our-brain-make-a-coherent-image-49b32dec615

𝑀𝐸𝑉 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑

Learn how MEV affects the general users and how Sybil-resistant blockchains like @Humanode are changing the L1 game to possibly distribute MEV equally among all participants.

https://medium.com/paradigm-research/mev-as-a-public-good-892da88842b3

𝐐𝐓/ Absolute zero in the quantum computer

Quantum news biweekly vol.49, 31st March - 13th April

TL;DR
— Absolute zero cannot be reached - unless you have an infinite amount of energy or an infinite amount of time. Scientists in Vienna studying the connection between thermodynamics and quantum physics have now found out that there is a third option: Infinite complexity. It turns out that reaching absolute zero is in a way equivalent to perfectly erasing information in a quantum computer, for which an infinetly complex quantum computer would be required.

— Scientists analyzed each element of the neutrino mass matrix belonging to leptons and showed theoretically that the intergenerational mixing of lepton flavors is large. By using the mathematics of random matrix theory, the research team was able to demonstrate why the calculation of the squared difference of the neutrino masses are in close agreement with the experimental results in the case of the seesaw model with the random Dirac and Majorana matrices. The results of this research are expected to contribute to the further development of particle theory research, which largely remains a mystery.

— Nuclear physicists may have finally pinpointed where in the proton a large fraction of its mass resides. A recent experiment has revealed the radius of the proton's mass that is generated by the strong force as it glues together the proton's building block quarks.

— An international group of researchers has created a mixed magnon state in an organic hybrid perovskite material by utilizing the Dzyaloshinskii - Moriya-Interaction (DMI). The resulting material has potential for processing and storing quantum computing information.

— Physicists predict that layered electronic 2D semiconductors can host a curious quantum phase of matter called the supersolid. This counterintuitive quantum material simultaneously forms a rigid crystal, and yet at the same time allows particles to flow without friction, with all the particles belong to the same single quantum state.

— Shooting ions is very different from shooting a gun: By firing highly charged ions onto tiny gold structures, these structures can be modified in technologically interesting ways. Surprisingly, the key is not the force of impact, but the electric charge of the projectiles.

— Stacked layers of ultrathin semiconductor materials feature phenomena that can be exploited for novel applications. Physicists have studied effects that emerge by giving two layers a slight twist.

— In a major breakthrough in the fields of nanophotonics and ultrafast optics, a research team has demonstrated the ability to dynamically steer light pulses from conventional, so-called incoherent light sources.

— By adapting technology used for gamma-ray astronomy, researchers has found X-ray transitions previously thought to have been unpolarized according to atomic physics, are in fact highly polarized.

— Trapped electrons traveling in circular loops at extreme speeds inside graphene quantum dots are highly sensitive to external magnetic fields and could be used as novel magnetic field sensors with unique capabilities, according to a new study.

— And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#QT #Quantum https://medium.com/paradigm-research/qt-absolute-zero-in-the-quantum-computer-3a540d850152

𝐑𝐓/ Robotic hand can identify objects with just one grasp

Robotics biweekly vol.72, 4th April - 14th April

TL;DR
— Newly created soft-rigid robotic fingers incorporate powerful sensors along their entire length, enabling them to produce a robotic hand that could accurately identify objects after only one grasp.

— In a new paper, computer science researchers 'teach' robots how to predict human preferences in assembly tasks.

— Investigators found AI proved superior in assessing and diagnosing cardiac function when compared with echocardiogram assessments made by sonographers.

— A multidisciplinary team has created a new fabrication technique for fully foldable robots that can perform a variety of complex tasks without relying on semiconductors.

— With a growing interest in generative artificial intelligence systems worldwide, researchers have created software that is able to verify how much information an AI farmed from an organization's digital database.

— Researchers investigate how intentional robot deception affects trust, examining the effectiveness of apologies after robots lie.

— A research team is working to pave the way for design a software system with a feedback loop - a system that quickly tests how controls operate on the damaged vessel and makes adjustments on the fly to give it the best chance of landing safely. The basic research the team is doing could someday extend to aircraft controls and many other applications, including controlling disease epidemics or making more accurate predictions about climate change or species survival.

— Researchers recently introduced two new approaches that could help to improve the ability of legged robots to move on rocky or extreme terrains. These two approaches are inspired by the innate proprioception abilities and tail mechanics of animals.

— Researchers have demonstrated a caterpillar-like soft robot that can move forward, backward and dip under narrow spaces. The caterpillar-bot's movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires that use heat to control the way the robot bends, allowing users to steer the robot in either direction.

— Researchers have developed resilient artificial muscles that can enable insect-scale aerial robots to effectively recover flight performance after suffering severe damage.

— Robotics upcoming events. And more!

Read the full report on our blog.

#Robotics #RT https://medium.com/paradigm-research/rt-robotic-hand-can-identify-objects-with-just-one-grasp-29be9ccd5549

L2 report vol. 19📚

A biweekly update on Layer 2 protocols, 3rd April — 17th April

TL;DR
—The sum of all funds locked on Ethereum converted to USD is $10.41 B at the time of writing.
—Arbitrum DAO rejected ratification vote to set up Foundation but a 7.5% token allocation was already sent to Foundation with 10M ARB sold for expenses & 40M ARB loaned to a market maker, new proposals for the Foundation budget & lockup and reduce proposal token threshold.
—The Graph continues to scale with L2. Phase 2 is complete: 5% of indexing rewards are now available on Arbitrum.
—RetroPGF round 2 results: RetroPGF 2 is the Collective’s next experiment in allocating public goods funding. In this round, approximately 70 badgeholders — early “citizens” voted to allocate 10M OP.
—Metis Andromeda 2023 Roadmap is out. The first virtual edition of Metis BUIDL Hour, featuring Cookbook on April 20th.
—Regen Network launches bridge to Polygon with Toucan Protocol. Eleos Labs brings FailSafe anti-theft and fraud detection solutions to Polygon.
—Boba BNB surpassed 1 million total transactions. Boba Network announces partnership with ROVI protocol.
—Missed ZK Summit? Catch Aztec Applied Cryptographer Innokentii Sennovskii’s talk on cutting-edge fuzzing techniques to expose and squash bugs in Aztec’s proving systems.
—StarkWare announced a strategic investment in the Influence on-chain game. Class Lambda issued their activity Recap which includes a lot of Cairo 1.0 stuff. Furthermore, they are also working on a Sierra <> MLIR compiler.
—A new zkSync Era audit report by Halborn is out. Ramp became the first fiat-to-crypto on-ramp to support direct purchases into zkSync Era. DIA has integrated its oracle infrastructure with zkSync Era Testnet.
—In Immutable’s latest community town hall, Immutable co-founder and President, Robbie Ferguson, shared Immutable’s vision for a future where NFTs will tokenize the world and how Immutable’s liquidity strategy will be the core component in making this future a reality.
— dYdX is winding down user access from Canada. With the refreshed Epoch format you can read the blog and download the Epoch 21 deck. A second snapshot vote concluded: The community has voted to migrate the forums from Commonwealth to Discourse.
—The first edition of four for 2023 Loopring Quarterly Updates.
—Rhino.fi integrates Sommelier vaults into its DeFi Aggregator.
—ZKSpace built a partnership with SaaSGoS.
—PLONKish ZK-SNARK explainer.
—zkTree: zk recursion tree with ZKP membership proofs.
—Ideas for a Nova-based zk VM.
—eSTARK: extending STARKs with arguments.
—Testudo: near linear-time prover SNARK with smaller setups.
—A comparison of zkEVMs — HackMD.
—L2 stats. Check out how much it costs to use Layer 2.
—And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#L2 #Layer2 https://medium.com/paradigm-research/l2-report-vol-19-d926dd5b4415

𝗚𝗧/ Solar cells charging forward

Energy & Green technology biweekly vol.47, 6th April — 18th April

TL;DR
— Researchers have found an environmentally friendlier solution with enhanced performance, utilizing PEDOT:PSS/silicon heterojunction solar cells. This hybrid type is made of organic-inorganic material, which could potentially ease the production process compared to conventional silicon-only solar cells. It avoids manufacturing solar cells in vacuums and high-temperature processes, which require large and expensive equipment and a great amount of time.

— They’ve been called ‘dream’ plastics: polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. Already the basis of a fledgling industry, they’re a class of polymers naturally created by living microorganisms, or synthetically produced from biorenewable feedstocks. They’re biodegradable in the ambient environment, including oceans and soil. Researchers report a new class of redesigned PHAs, readily accessible via chemical catalysis.

— A research team has demonstrated a unique method that reduces the aerodynamic resistance of ships by 7.5 per cent. This opens the way for large cargo ships borne across the oceans by wind alone, as wind-powered ships are more affected by aerodynamic drag than fossil-fueled ones.

— A previously underestimated risk lurks in the frozen soil of the Arctic. When the ground thaws and becomes unstable in response to climate change, it can lead to the collapse of industrial infrastructure, and in turn to the increased release of pollutants. Moreover, contaminations already present will be able to more easily spread throughout ecosystems. According to new findings, there are at least 13,000 to 20,000 contaminated sites in the Arctic that could pose a serious risk in the future.

— Can humans endure long-term living in deep space? The answer is a lukewarm maybe, according to a new theory describing the complexity of maintaining gravity and oxygen, obtaining water, developing agriculture and handling waste far from Earth.

— Dense urban areas amplify the effects of higher temperatures, due to the phenomenon of heat islands in cities. This makes cities more vulnerable to extreme climate events. Large investments in the electricity network will be necessary to cool us down during heatwaves and keep us warm during cold snaps, according to a new study.

— To manage atmospheric carbon dioxide and convert the gas into a useful product, scientists have dusted off an archaic — now 120 years old — electrochemical equation.

— About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the United States. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.

— A new, inexpensive technology can limit the buildup of algae on the walls of photobioreactors that can help convert carbon dioxide into useful products. Reducing this fouling avoids costly cleanouts and allows more photosynthesis to happen within tanks.

— Soil stores more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined, and soil microbes are largely responsible for putting it there. However, the increasing frequency and severity of drought, such as those that have been impacting California, could disrupt this delicate ecosystem. Microbial ecologists warn that soil health and future greenhouse gas levels could be impacted if soil microbes adapt to drought faster than plants do.

— And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#GT #Greentech https://medium.com/paradigm-research/gt-solar-cells-charging-forward-79e14af32c0

Biweekly update on @Humanode vol.47
5th March — 19th April

SubQuery integration, The Beta version of the Humanode Explorer is here, Humanode reaches 2M blocks, The fee system is updated, Community voted for validators rewards slashing, MEV as a public good, Humanode sticker сontest is now live, Photography contest winners announced, AMAs, Humanode in Simple Terms video series returns, and more!

TL;DR
Human nodes and friends! Over the past two weeks, the team has been working tirelessly, and a lot of exciting news appeared, so let’s dive in and explore what’s been happening in the world of Humanode!

Humanode has partnered with SubQuery. With SubQuery’s decentralized data indexing infrastructure, developers can easily access on-chain data for the apps they want to build on Humanode. With this partnership, Humanode will benefit from SubQuery’s wide range of features, including the open-source SDK, simple startup guides, detailed developer documentation, committed developer help, and other benefits that developers appreciate in the SubQuery ecosystem.

The great news is, the Beta Version of the Humanode Explorer has been released. It is based on the ParaScan open-source repository and uses SubQuery to pull the data from the Humanode blockchain. As it is still an early beta version, its main functionality is limited to showing blocks, and transfers from and to your humanode address. Fully functional versions with all the bells and whistles that you will ever need on an explorer (and with pretty graphics and all) are scheduled for release in the very near future.

Last week, the team announced that the Humanode blockchain network has officially reached 2 million blocks. This a massive milestone for the Humanode community and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the developers, validators, and supporters.

Moreover, the team has revamped the fee structure for improved transparency & fairness. Dive in to learn about the changes & how they benefit the human nodes and users alike in the blog post.

The first batch of 1 person = 1 vote community polls took place in the Humanode Discord. The poll noscriptd ‘Should we increase the number of validators getting the reward?’ ended with 55/45 results in favor of increasing the number of human nodes getting the rewards. The latest community poll ‘Do we want to introduce the mechanism of Humanode validator reward slashing?’ ended with 81/19 results in favor of canceling the reward distribution to those who missed too many epochs. Get a Verified Human role and participate in the next vote!

Lately, MEV exploits on Ethereum have become a hot topic, with everyone discussing and searching for ways to address the issue. Dive into a freshly-published captivating quick editorial on how MEV is turned into a public good in Sybil-resistant blockchains.

Moreover, Bitmart hosted two AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) sessions with the co-founders of Humanode. They answered community questions in Twitter Spaces. In case you missed it, check out the recordings!

Humanode in Simple Terms video series returns with a bang. Tune in to the newest episode where Shannon Higgins, Humanode Media Lead, demystifies the powerful Bot Basher Technology in layman’s terms.

Also, The team announces the winners of the first-ever Humanode photography contest. Check them out. Currently, the Humanode sticker сontest is ongoing. Participate and get a chance to win $50 worth of HMND!

Keep in mind that HMND, the native token of Humanode, is now available for trading on KuCoin and Bitmart. The availability of HMND on these exchanges will provide greater liquidity and accessibility to HMND tokens, enabling more people to participate in the Humanode mission to promote a 1 human = 1 node = 1 vote ethos.

That’s all for today. Together, let’s build a better world for all!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#Humanode https://medium.com/paradigm-research/humanode-subquery-integration-the-beta-version-of-the-humanode-explorer-is-here-humanode-1792605c0e5b

ST/ Theories of how Universe evolved challenged

Space biweekly vol.75, 6h April - 20th April

TL;DR
—Astronomers find that six of the earliest and most massive galaxy candidates observed by the James Webb Space Telescope so far appear to have converted nearly 100% of their available gas into stars, a finding at odds with the reigning model of cosmology.

—Using new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers looked more than 13 billion years into the past to discover a unique, minuscule galaxy that could help astronomers learn more about galaxies that were present shortly after the Big Bang.

—Astronomers report the first exoplanet jointly discovered through direct imaging and precision astrometry, a new indirect method that identifies a planet by measuring the position of the star it orbits. Data from the Subaru Telescope in Hawai`i and space telescopes from the European Space Agency (ESA) were integral to the team's discovery.

—The iconic image of the supermassive black hole at the center of M87 -- sometimes referred to as the "fuzzy, orange donut" -- has gotten its first official makeover with the help of machine learning. The new image further exposes a central region that is larger and darker, surrounded by the bright accreting gas shaped like a "skinny donut." The team used the data obtained by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration in 2017 and achieved, for the first time, the full resolution of the array.

—Can humans endure long-term living in deep space? The answer is a lukewarm maybe, according to a new theory describing the complexity of maintaining gravity and oxygen, obtaining water, developing agriculture and handling waste far from Earth.

—Astronomers have mapped the 'disk winds' associated with the accretion disk around Hercules X-1, a system in which a neutron star is drawing material away from a sun-like star. The findings may offer clues to how supermassive black holes shape entire galaxies.

—A lightning strike in New Port Richey, Florida, led to a chemical reaction creating a new material that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth. High-energy events, such as lightning, can cause unique chemical reactions. In this instance, the result is a new material -- one that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth.

—The explosion of a star is a dramatic event, but the remains the star leaves behind can be even more dramatic. A new mid-infrared image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope provides one stunning example. It shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), created by a stellar explosion seen from Earth 340 years ago. Cas A is the youngest known remnant from an exploding, massive star in our galaxy, which makes it a unique opportunity to learn more about how such supernovae occur.

—New instruments and plans for a seventh telescope at Georgia State's CHARA Array will allow scientists to see the stars in greater detail than ever before. The update comes after a group of international scientists gathered in Atlanta to take part in the 2023 CHARA Science Meeting to share the latest developments in high-resolution astronomical imaging using the CHARA Array.

—SpaceX called off the first attempt to launch its integrated Starship vehicle from Texas April 17 because of a valve problem.

—Upcoming industry events. And more!

https://medium.com/paradigm-research/st-theories-of-how-the-universe-evolved-challenged-eef4d01dbb92?source=collection_home---4------0-----------------------

DAOs biweekly vol.39

3rd April — 21st April

Uniswap adopts accountability committee for deployments, Optimism’s Token House completes first on-chain voting cycle, Arbitrum DAO debates symbolic return of 700m ARB to the treasury, Maker Governance to vote on Coinbase’s new real-world asset vault, Aave Forest, and more!

TL;DR
— Uniswap adopts accountability committee for deployments. Temp-check Post-BSL cross-chain deployment process and creation of new uniswap.eth subdomain proposal passed
— Optimism’s Token House completes first on-chain voting cycle. OP Collective launches S4 to align and achieve collective intents
— A set of parameter changes for ETH, wstETH, rETH, Curve stETH-ETH LP, and WBTC vault types has been approved by Maker Governance
— Aave’s [ARFC] Private Voting for Aave Governance proposal suggests implementing private voting through shielded voting on the Snapshot for a 2-month trial period. BGD Labs proposes to integrate a monitoring and prevention framework called Aave Forest. Butter runs a governance experiment with Aave DAO delegates
— Lido DAO Treasury Management Principles & authorize formation of a Treasury Management Committee proposal is live
— Gitcoin and ScopeLift working on developing and implementing new on-chain governance contracts for the Gitcoin DAO, using Governor Bravo functionality and the Flexible Voting extension
— Gnosis GIP-77 and GIP-83 are live on the Snapshot
— Compound’s proposals 157 executed, 158 is active
— Arbitrum DAO debates symbolic return of 700m ARB to the treasury. Grants Funding Framework Discussion aims to avoid the cascading pattern of reactivity seen in DAOs
— Metropolis’s Podarchy Explorer addresses permissions “epidemic”
— Radicle’s [RGP-14] suggests establishing the Radicle Org to develop a fully-sovereign code collaboration stack called “Radicle”
— ENS’s Public Goods working group is offering a new retroactive grant opportunity
— Rari’s RRC-8: Retroactive Governance Airdrop proposal suggests a retroactive RARI airdrop to community members who actively participated in RARI Foundation governance
— BanklessDAO Governance Department Instantiation
— Voting System Choice for Hop DAO Elections proposal suggests that the Hop DAO needs a specific voting system for the election of nominees to various positions
— 0x Reactivate Inactive Voting Power proposal aims to engage new community members
— Purple DAO’s Purple Grant proposal asks BuilderDAO for a grant of 50 ETH in order to “continue to proliferate Nouns Builder through media and by example”
— Due to technical issues, Hidden Hand Protocol was unable to participate in a recent incentive-round vote
— Decentralized app Sweat Economy introduces 1-person, 1-vote governance system
— Members of Pfizer Ventures-backed VitaDAO have voted to create VitaTech, a for-profit company that will secure and distribute government funding for longevity research
— Active proposals: Aave, Compound, GnosisDAO, LidoDAO, MakerDAO
— Podcasts on DAOs
— And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#DAO https://medium.com/paradigm-research/daos-uniswap-adopts-accountability-committee-for-deployments-optimisms-token-house-completes-6b8f991b7958

BT/ International standard for testing bias in biometrics reaches committee stage

Biometrics biweekly vol. 62, 10th April — 24th April

TL;DR
—The standard for testing demographic differentials or ‘bias’ in biometric systems has reached the committee draft stage, and comments from national standards bodies are now being sought
—Clear biometrics, Microsoft Entra verifiable credentials integrated with LinkedIn
—ID2020 certifies Mastercard Community Pass as meeting requirements for ‘good digital ID’
—Tech5 joins Secure Identity Alliance and OSIA to advance open standards in digital ID
—Fingerprint matching system developed in-house by NADRA reaches the market launch
—Clearview’s new storage system reduces stress on CPUs for database scalability
—Patent progress for Trust Stamp biometric tokens and Fico continuous liveness detection
—Regula gives its face biometrics SDK another polish
—Innovatrics introduces an iris layer for liveness detection technology
—Daon introduces the TrustX cloud biometrics platform
—Intellicheck, OCR Labs, and Privately each pass security, and privacy evaluations
—vAIsual signs deal for Asian photos to increase biometric training data diversity
—Accura Scan updates OCR to read Chinese, Japanese, and Korean IDs
—Dual biometric handgun reaches consumer launch
—UIDAI partners to develop contactless fingerprint capture software for phones
—SenseTime demos its large-language model, and stock jumps
—NEC admits password complacency in Japan hospital patient data breach
—IDme expands biometric access for government agencies via Carahsoft partnership
—StoneLock launches software for compliant biometric access control
—Imprivata launches digital ID assessment tools for healthcare organizations
—Nok Nok updates passwordless authentication suite, Entrust launches new zero trust tools
—Singpass launches digital driver licenses for professionals, integrated by Okta
—Precise seeks funding to weather smartphone biometrics dip
—Mitek introduces liveness checking for checks
—Indian bank adds Kaizen voice biometrics to all-in-one mobile app
—Amazon’s palm biometrics rollout reaches Denver-area Whole Foods
—EU preparing tough measures for AI, while UK and US are take a slow approach
—Malaysian digital ID companies pair up to address the government market
—Trains, drones, and robotic feels: Japan deploys facial recognition across sectors
—PayPay and Yahoo! Japan launch face biometrics payments at a convenience store
—Nepal pauses national ID card verification contract to probe tender process
—Belfast digital ID startup SureCert wins advisor role for Thailand’s digital ID strategy
—Infineon, Thales get a 10-year passport security contract in the US
—Jamaica hails public enthusiasm for new digital ID card project, earmarks $13M
—Digital identity schemes touted as drivers of economic growth in Ethiopia, Ghana
—Philippines sees progress in digital PhilID rollout, revises KYC rules
—Western Australia adding digital credentials to ServiceWA platform
—Xator wins $750M contract to support humanitarian logistics with identity services
—Entrust granted UK Home Office selfie biometrics contract to streamline immigration
—Utah mandates blockchain pilot for digital ID issuance
—Colorado school district launches biometrics pilot for free lunches
—Armenia introduces new biometric passport issuance system, Albania chooses new supplier
—Cameroon’s biometric visa application online portal goes live on 30 April
—SynSense raises new funding for 3D edge vision chips, expects to reach $29M in B round
—Hard Yaka leads Universal Ledger’s $10M round for ID-first digital wallet
—Biometric industry events. And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#BT #Biometrics https://medium.com/paradigm-research/bt-international-standard-for-testing-bias-in-biometrics-reaches-committee-stage-e51ead02fc06

DeFi in Ether vol.71

Biweekly update on the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem, 11th April — 25th April

$48B in DeFi, The Uniswap wallet is now live, The 0x team introduced the all-new 0x, Bancor’s Carbon launched on the Ethereum mainnet, The 1inch Network expands to zkSync Era, Ren Protocol transfers all assets to FTX debtors, and much more!

TL;DR
—$47.8B in DeFi this week with Lido dominance 23.66%.
—Ethereum Mainnet upgraded to Shapella.
—MakerDAO approved a $500M max transfer in $USDC to Coinbase for a 2.6% yield.
—Consensys reports a data leak of Metamask support tickets.
—SushiSwap ~$3.3 million exploit, didn’t check for a genuine Uniswap v3 pool, attempted whitehat copied by MEV bots.
—The Uniswap mobile wallet is out and now live in most countries.
—The 0x team introduced the all-new 0x, an integrated suite of APIs for developers and teams building financial products on crypto rails.
—Bancor has announced the launch of its new on-chain crypto trading protocol, called Carbon.
—The 1inch Network expands to zkSync Era.
— The Aave v3 bbaUSD and wstETH/bb-a-weth Pools are live.
—Balancer highlights Generalized Boosted Pools.
—Compound Proposal 158 ‘Refresh Polygon COMP’ failed.
—Validator Incentive Program: Over five million worth of GNO have been allocated to help increase node diversity on Gnosis chain.
—KyberSwap March Product Update. KyberSwap LPs who withdrew liquidity via Emergency Withdrawal are able to claim their rewards from 21 April.
—Post Mortem: Lido on Ethereum RockLogic GmbH slashing incident.
—The next Synthetix community governance call is scheduled for April 26th. Up to 300,000 weekly OP will be awarded to traders of Synthetix Perps across any integration partners starting April 19th. Tokenomics discussion review.
—Kwenta launches SmartMargin and currently has 3 different rewards programs for traders.
—MTA is now live on the Optimism bridge, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for mStable.
—Ren Protocol transfers all assets to FTX debtors’ wallet in case of shutdown.
—Euler Finance shared another update on the redemption process.
—Tayvano on a mysterious wallet drainer, where there is no common thread between compromised keys.
—US Representative Davidson may introduce legislation that could fire Gensler for overreach.
—Gensler was also grilled in the House of Representatives over the SEC’s take on crypto, specifically Ethereum.
—Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, has stated that Coinbase could move away from the United States if there is no clarity on crypto regulation.
—And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#Defi_in_ether #Ethereum https://medium.com/paradigm-research/defi-in-ether-48b-in-defi-the-uniswap-wallet-is-now-live-the-0x-team-introduced-the-all-new-0x-37418a3fc92e

NS/ How long-lasting memories form in the brain

Neuroscience biweekly vol. 83, 12th April — 26th April

TL;DR
—Helping your mother make pancakes when you were three…riding your bike without training wheels…your first romantic kiss: How do we retain vivid memories of long-ago events? As described in a paper published in Neuron, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found the explanation.

—A new study has found that older persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a common type of memory loss, were 30% more likely to regain normal cognition if they had taken in positive beliefs about aging from their culture, compared to those who had taken in negative beliefs. Researchers also found that these positive beliefs also enabled participants to recover their cognition up to two years earlier than those with negative age beliefs. This cognitive recovery advantage was found regardless of baseline MCI severity.

—A preclinical study using stem cells to produce progenitor photoreceptor cells — light-detecting cells found in the eye — and then transplanting these into experimental models of damaged retinas has resulted in significant vision recovery. This finding, by scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School, the Singapore Eye Research Institute and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, marks a first step towards potentially restoring vision in eye diseases characterized by photoreceptor loss.

—Researchers have developed a model that detects workplace stress just by how people type and move their computer mouse. This might enable employees to prevent chronic stress early on.

—New research shows that poor air quality could be causing cognitive problems in babies and toddlers. A new study reveals an association between poor air quality in India and impaired cognition in infants under two. Without action, the negative impact on children’s long-term brain development could have consequences for life.

—Problems with the brain’s ability to ‘prune’ itself of unnecessary connections may underlie a wide range of mental health disorders that begin during adolescence, according to research. The findings may help explain why people are often affected by more than one mental health disorder, and may in the future help identify those at greatest risk.

—Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have successfully implemented a special form of classical conditioning. They showed on a group of 75 people that effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be triggered solely by listening to a tone.

—Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that destroys the protective myelin covering around nerves. Every five minutes, someone is diagnosed with the disease around the world, adding to about 2.8 million individuals that currently have to live with it. Now researchers have developed a cell therapy that leverages myeloid cells, the very type of immune cells that cause MS-triggering nerve inflammation in patients. By attaching ‘backpacks’ loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs to the cells, and infusing them into a mouse model of MS, they were able to partially reverse paralysis and restore movement.

—Researchers from the University of Michigan have found that an extra copy of a gene in Down syndrome patients causes improper development of neurons in mice.

—A protein called FNIP1 is the critical link between a cell sensing low energy levels and eliminating and replacing damaged mitochondria. The finding will help scientists understand healthy aging, cancerous tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, and beyond.

—And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#Neuroscience #NS https://medium.com/paradigm-research/ns-how-long-lasting-memories-form-in-the-brain-17964d2eea4f

𝐐𝐓/ Quantum mechanics in communications

Quantum news biweekly vol.50, 13th April — 27th April

TL;DR
— In the quantum world particles can instantaneously know about each other’s state, even when separated by large distances. This is known as nonlocality. Now, A research group has produced some interesting findings on the Hardy nonlocality that have important ramifications for understanding quantum mechanics and its potential applications in communications.

— A team of physicists has illuminated certain properties of quantum systems by observing how their fluctuations spread over time. The research offers an intricate understanding of a complex phenomenon that is foundational to quantum computing.

— Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, is found everywhere from the dust filling most of outer space to the cores of stars to many substances here on Earth. This would be reason enough to study hydrogen, but its individual atoms are also the simplest of any element with just one proton and one electron.

— Recently quantum computers started to work with more than just the zeros and ones we know from classical computers. Now a team demonstrates a way to efficiently create entanglement of such high-dimensional systems to enable more powerful calculations.

— The ‘spooky action at a distance’ that once unnerved Einstein may be on its way to being as pedestrian as the gyroscopes that currently measure acceleration in smartphones, according to a new study.

— There are high expectations that quantum computers may deliver revolutionary new possibilities for simulating chemical processes. This could have a major impact on everything from the development of new pharmaceuticals to new materials. Researchers have now used a quantum computer to undertake calculations within a real-life case in chemistry.

— Researchers report having achieved quantum teleportation from a photon to a solid-state qubit over a distance of 1km, with a novel approach using multiplexed quantum memories.

— A team has shown in the laboratory the unique and practical function of newly created materials, which they called quantum composites, that may advance electrical, optical, and computer technologies.

— Perturbing electron spins in a magnet usually results in excitations called ‘spin waves’ that ripple through the magnet like waves moving across the surface of a pond that’s been struck by a pebble. Physicists have now discovered dramatically different excitations called ‘spin excitons’ that can also ‘ripple’ through a nickel-based magnet as a coherent wave.

— Solids can be melted by heating, but in the quantum world it can also be the other way around: An experimental team has shown how a quantum liquid forms supersolid structures by heating. The scientists obtained a first phase diagram for a supersolid at finite temperature.

— And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#QT #Quantum https://medium.com/paradigm-research/qt-quantum-mechanics-in-communications-555d23a33dd4

𝐑𝐓/ New programmable smart fabric responds to temperature and electricity

Robotics biweekly vol.73, 14th April — 29h April

TL;DR
— A new smart material is activated by both heat and electricity, making it the first ever to respond to two different stimuli.

— Mechanically responsive molecular crystals are extremely useful in soft robotics, which requires a versatile actuation technology. Crystals driven by the photothermal effect are particularly promising for achieving high-speed actuation. However, the response (bending) observed in these crystals is usually small. Now, scientists address this issue by inducing large resonated natural vibrations in anisole crystals with UV light illumination at the natural vibration frequency of the crystal.

— Like the formation of complex living organisms, molecular robots derive their form and functionality from assembled molecules stored in a single unit, i.e., a body. Yet manufacturing this body at the microscopic level is an engineering nightmare. Now, a team has created a simple workaround.

— The new smart sensor uses embedded information to detect motion in a single video frame.

— To make human-robot interactions safer and more fruitful, robots should be capable of sensing their environment. In a recent study, researchers developed a novel robotic link with tactile and proximity sensing capabilities. Additionally, they created a simulation and learning framework that can be employed to train the robotic link to sense its environment. Their findings will pave the way to a future where humans and robots can operate harmoniously in close proximity.

— Researchers have designed a low-cost, energy-efficient robotic hand that can grasp a range of objects — and not drop them — using just the movement of its wrist and the feeling in its ‘skin’.

— Brain scans taken during table tennis reveal differences in how we respond to human versus machine opponents.

— A new study asked kids how smart and sensitive they thought the virtual assistant was compared to a robotic vacuum. Four- to eleven-year-olds rated Alexa as more intelligent than the Roomba but felt neither deserve to be yelled at or otherwise harmed.

— Roboticists have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become an important tool for environmental remediation.

— Researchers develop an early warning system that combines acoustic technology with AI to immediately classify earthquakes and determine potential tsunami risk. They propose using underwater microphones, called hydrophones, to measure the acoustic radiation produced by the earthquake, which carries information about the tectonic event and travels significantly faster than tsunami waves. The computational model triangulates the source of the earthquake and AI algorithms classify its slip type and magnitude. It then calculates important properties like effective length and width, uplift speed, and duration, which dictate the size of the tsunami.

— Robotics upcoming events. And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#Robotics #RT https://medium.com/paradigm-research/rt-new-programmable-smart-fabric-responds-to-temperature-and-electricity-71102726f605

L2 report vol. 20

A biweekly update on Layer 2 protocols, 17th April — 1st May

TL;DR
—The sum of all funds locked on Ethereum converted to USD is $9.31 B at the time of writing.
—''Validator Performance Tracking'': The Arbitrum team explains in detail the different components that make up an Ethereum validator’s reward. The full distribution of the DAO airdrop took place with those that have confirmed receiving the test transaction.
—AltLayer was just announced as the first Rollups-as-a-Service provider to support ArbitrumOrbit.
—OP Labs announced the Superchain Token List, a unified token list for application developers and consumers to use when bridging tokens from Ethereum to OP Mainnet, Base, and all future OP chains in the Superchain. On April 27th, Bedrock entered consensus + feature freeze.
—Blast, Bware Labs API now integrated with Metis. Direct withdrawals to Metis Andromeda are now available for Cryptocom.
—BobaBNB officially hit 3M transactions. Twitter Space: Secrets of Layer2 on BNB Chain. Boba Network announced a partnership with Obvious.
—The second wave of Aztec grants is now live. Noxx announced that they are a recipient of an Aaztec network grant. Reminder that users affected by the Euler finance exploit can now redeem funds deposited on Aztec Connect.
—Polygon bridge for Polygon zkEVM announced. Polygon Miden: Transaction Model: Polygon Miden extends Ethereum’s feature set — so how do transactions work?
—Scroll upgraded apps to etherjs v6 for better error handling and made minor improvements to the user-facing side. Last week, Scroll participated in multiple events at HK web3 festival. On the ZK side, the team has made some progress on HyperZexe, the recursive HyperPlonk implementation — more details soon. They are also working on supporting the Shanghai EIPs.
—The era of easy autocompounding earnings on zkSync begins with Beefy. LayerZero is now live on zkSync Era mainnet. 1inch is live on zkSync Era. Maverick’s arrived on zkSync.
—Starknet goals and roadmap for 2023: Focus on performance and UX. StarkEx V5.0 for spot trading is here. Starknet book, devs Cairo adventure kicks off. Starknet ecosystem presented its new community campaign, StarkFighter.
— The latest dYdX Foundation Community Town Hall took place. The community has voted to fix the V3 Starkware data availability bug and to increase the max funding rate (8h) to 4%.
—Rhinofi DVF token supply transparency update.
—Looprong Red Packets 2.0: Taking NFTs mainstream: You can now send over 1 million NFTs for under $.50 — unlocking endless possibilities for gaming, ticketing, airdrops + more.
—Immutable x EON Rift. Kaidro the Game x Immutable.
—Overview of dankscaling: proposal to use 25% of samples for reconstruction.
—Proposal for cross-layer communication using a precompile to read the Layer 1 state root.
—Zator: verified inference of a 512-layer neural network using recursive SNARKs.
—State of zk-apps in Ethereum.
—What can you do with zk-ECDSA at the app layer?
—L2 stats. Check out how much it costs to use Layer 2.
—And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#L2 #Layer2 https://medium.com/paradigm-research/l2-report-vol-20-9d852b437ba1

𝗚𝗧/ Progress in alternative battery technology

Energy & Green technology biweekly vol.48, 18th April — 2nd May

TL;DR
— It is not easy to make batteries cheap, efficient, durable, safe and environmentally friendly at the same time. Researchers have now succeeded in uniting all of these characteristics in zinc metal batteries.

— Ensuring the supply of food to the constantly growing world population and protecting the environment at the same time are often conflicting objectives. Now researchers have successfully developed a method for the synthetic manufacture of a nutritional protein using a type of artificial photosynthesis. The animal feed industry is the primary driver of high demand for large volumes of this nutritional protein L-alanine, which is also suitable for use in meat substitute products.

— Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are considered a promising candidate for next-generation photovoltaic technology with high efficiency and low production cost, potentially revolutionizing the renewable energy industry. However, the existing layer-by-layer manufacturing process presents challenges that have hindered the commercialization of this technology. Recently, researchers have developed an innovative one-step solution-coating approach that simplifies the manufacturing process and lowers the commercialization barriers for PSCs.

— Researchers have created environmentally-friendly, high-efficiency photovoltaic cells that harness ambient light to power internet of Things (IoT) devices.

— Organic solar cells have a photoactive layer that is made from polymers and small molecules. The cells are very thin, can be flexible, and are easy to make. However, the efficiency of these cells is still much below that of conventional silicon-based ones. Applied physicists have now fabricated an organic solar cell with an efficiency of over 17 percent, which is in the top range for this type of material. It has the advantage of using an unusual device structure that is produced using a scalable technique.

— Researchers have developed a new mining technique which uses microbes to recover metals and store carbon in the waste produced by mining. Adopting this technique of reusing mining waste, called tailings, could transform the mining industry and create a greener and more sustainable future.

— Polymer chemists have been finding ways to tackle the environmental problems humans have created with plastics waste. Now, a team has come up with fundamental new chemistry that seeds a creative solution to the challenge of recycling mixed-use plastics.

— Global experts on solar power strongly urge a commitment to the continued growth of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing and deployment to power the planet, arguing that lowballing projections for PV growth while waiting for a consensus on other energy pathways or the emergence of technological last-minute miracles ‘is no longer an option.’

— Scientists have now revealed an important reason why organic solar cells rapidly degrade under operation. This new insight will drive the design of more stale materials for organic semiconductor-based photovoltaics, thus enabling cheap and renewable electricity generation.

— Researchers have developed a chemical process that can disassemble the epoxy composite of wind turbine blades and simultaneously extract intact glass fibers as well as one of the epoxy resin's original building blocks in a high quality. The recovered materials could potentially be used in the production of new blades.

— And more!

Read the full report on our blog, on Paradigm Platform.

#GT #Greentech https://medium.com/paradigm-research/gt-progress-in-alternative-battery-technology-9b849993d783

Biweekly update on @Humanode vol.48
19th April — 3rd May

Bot Basher’s new version skyrocketed with a 35K verified humans user base, BotBasher on the Magic Store, HMND is now listed on SimpleSwap, BingX & Lunar Crush, Verified Human campaign with BitMart, Sybil-resistant whitelisting and airdrops with BotBasher, Validators reward slashing introduced, The EVM compatibility chronicles, Humanode Hangout with the team, and more!

TL;DR
Welcome to the latest edition of the Humanode biweekly report, where we share the project’s latest updates and progress toward creating a more decentralized and equitable future. Over the past two weeks, the team has been working tirelessly, and a lot of great news appeared, so let’s dive in!

First, the Humanode team released a new version of Discord integration — BotBasher to bring anonymous identities to Discord. BotBasher links a Discord account to a verified human identity through bioauthentication. With Humanode’s liveness check tech, each user is able to authenticate one account, proving that there is an actual human being behind that account. Enjoy Sybil-resistant channels, voting, airdrops, and NFTs with verified human identities. Privacy ensured!

The great news is, BotBasher’s user base has skyrocketed in just two weeks since its first public beta release. It now has almost 35K verified humans. Thank you, human node, for your incredible support!

Learn how BotBasher offers a Sybil-resistant solution for 1 Person 1 Vote Polls, whitelisting, and airdrop distribution.

To celebrate Humanode <> Discord integration, Magic Square is hosting a Joint Gleam with Humanode, and giving away $1250 in total to 10 lucky winners that complete all the tasks. Click here to join the fun!

Moreover, the Verified Human campaign with BitMart is still here. All you have to do is get verified with Humanode BotBasher and link the “Human Verified” role in both BitMart and Humanode’s Discord. Once verified, you will gain access to the #humanode-bitmart channel (on BitMart’s server) and be able to submit your CID to be added to the whitelist. 100 users will be selected to win the HMND prize pool. Don’t miss out! The campaign runs until May 5.

The 6th 1 person = 1 vote community poll “What should be the minimum number of epochs that a human node scores in 2 weeks to be eligible for validator rewards?” ended with 80/84 threshold as the most popular choice. It means the team will introduce a validator reward slashing mechanism: If a validator got into the top 150 but participated only in 79/84 epochs or less, she will not get the reward for the 2-week period. Now Humanode validators are incentivized to look after their human nodes more carefully! Get a Verified Human role and participate in the next vote.

Curious about the importance of EVM compatibility for projects like Humanode? Humanode new blog series, The EVM Compatibility Chronicles, explores the factors driving the need for EVM compatibility and provides insights from Humanode’s Tech Lead, MOZGIII. Get ready for an engaging and insightful journey! Read Part I and Part II now.

An insightful AMA Hangout with Humanode Developer, Tony, about BotBasher, confidential computing development, and other exciting topics took place on Humanode Twitter Space. Check the recording!

Keep in mind that HMND, the native token of Humanode, is now available for trading not only on KuCoin and Bitmart, but on SimpleSwap, Lunar Crush, and BingX. The availability of HMND on these exchanges will provide greater liquidity and accessibility to HMND tokens, enabling more people to participate in the Humanode mission to promote a 1 human = 1 node = 1 vote ethos.

That’s all for today. Stay tuned for more exciting updates. Together, let’s shape a world where technology empowers and connects us all.

Read the full report on our blog, on the Paradigm Platform.

#Humanode https://medium.com/paradigm-research/humanode-bot-bashers-new-version-skyrocketed-with-a-35k-verified-humans-user-base-botbasher-on-7bd048d5047b