SPNs Might Change the World, So What Are They?

[@SciShow]

The first 100 people to use the code SCISHOW10 will receive 10% off their first purchase! This code is valid through the end of the year. Head to gift.climeworks.com/scishow to give the gift of CO2 removal this holiday season. Thanks to Climeworks for sponsoring this video!

[@werbnaright5012]

I thought carbon capture technologies hadn't been shown to work. Seems like an odd sponsor.

[@theOrkinMan1]

There are other companies using this same technology and turning a profit why does this company ask for money?

[@cosmocosmandoo9074]

but... getting a discount on a donation to remove CO2 basically just means youre donating less for a cause youre trying to sponsor? that seems wierd.

[@Grim_Beard]

How is this not a scam?

[@Tsuchimursu]

I'm sorry but I think carbon capture that doesn't also produce some physical product is a bit of an oxymoron until we produce no electricity through fossil fuels.

[@joy-wire]

Aerogel, now hydrogel. Now with earthgel and firegel, there will be... the Gel Bender

[@navelaviator18]

See, I thought you were going for a 5th Element reference at first... Something like... The 5th Jellyment

[@joy-wire]

@@navelaviator18 Oooh that's good. Pure jelly. Absolute jellyness. Maybe plasmagel...?

[@ErickTun]

When your powers combine, I am Captain Gel-O!

[@dwaynowilli6822]

"Don't make me gel, essay!"

[@Neenerella333]

I like this thread. So wholesome and sci-punny.

[@idwolfshow1727]

In 2020 I fell down the stairs and broke my spine in 3 places. The daily pain is horrendous.This video gave me hope. Thank you Hank (and team). I still have a poster with your signatures! 5+ years

[@thomasbarlow4223]

Good luck brother

[@greatcesari]

Holy sht, that’s awful. I’m excited for any technology that can help injuries similar to yours.

[@FoodNerds]

I hope this or something works for you and until then I hope you are pain free!

[@herodaysaver9032]

While they work out the fix, try kratom for the pain. It's safe natural and actually works. 🤙good luck and get better soon friend 🙏

[@JillShaw]

Best wishes for freedom from pain. Kind regards from an empathetic friend 💜💙✌️

[@IanGrams]

It's been super cool to see all the coverage of that work on spinal regeneration. A friend from undergrad is one of the authors on the paper and her PhD thesis was on using SPNs for stuff like this. I'm definitely going to have to send her this video 😊 Edit: She said this was, "one of the best summaries I've seen so far." So props to SciShow for that!

[@tim40gabby25]

It's 0100 in the UK but this.. this is news :)

[@SciShow]

That's so wonderful to hear! It's such exciting research, we were freaking out in the studio talking about it.

[@Justwantahover]

@@SciShow Could they use it for dementia?

[@danriches7328]

I could do with some of that in my crushed disc at L4-L5 once the nerves that have grown into the disc are removed or ablated!

[@johnassal5838]

The SPNs sound like a potentially permanent replacement for cartilage in joints or serve as a temporary cushion and simultaneously as scaffolding for stem cells to replace it.

[@akakscase]

The neural repair is really interesting. I suffer from damaged nerves in my back that have left me in constant pain for almost 10 years now. If this encourages neuron regeneration it could alleviate pain, as well as return motor function. I hope it turns out as well as the researchers think it will, and if they need a test subject I’ll more than happily volunteer!

[@JR-iz1ee]

Have you tried cold therapy. I think it might help reduce pain. It’s worth looking in to, it’s modern magic.

[@NaughtyNovaroo69]

if blind people dont volunteer and sacrifice their lives to see black and white to normal, they wont be a treatment or cure or surgery that could save millions of blind people aka good job for wanting to volunteering, not all heroes wear capes or uniforms, blood donors and an amazing example

[@arboldenjenkins3105]

gel =/= neurons

[@Southseapirate]

I am going to remember this episode. Hope that in the future I can reference this episode as the first time I heard of actually working spinal regeneration, amazing!

[@usmansiddiqui1384]

Yeah, if it works in humans, it’ll be a massive leap in medicine.

[@LunaticWithALicense]

Medicine is about to accelerate so fast it's going to be off-putting soon what is going to be possible.

[@dawninglight748]

@@LunaticWithALicense how do you know? because of this SPN discovery, or some other discoveries?

[@LunaticWithALicense]

@@dawninglight748 Development of artificial intelligence. Recent breakthrough in protein synthesis structure guessing to accelerate medicine development GREATLY. Exponential growth (difficult for humans to expect like chip complexity growth) will allow more and more to domino affect into things developing so fast it may become scary to people like us born in an era where these things are nothing more than concepts. It may be hard to grasp a reality where humans can live 130 years, genetically engineered to perfection, inequality that will bring, prosthetic industry allowing UPGRADES to biological limbs, medical testing to pinpoint the exact time of failure for a major organ and the date to replace or clone a new one. ^^^all will be here faster than most realize. It's gonna be within 60 years I guarantee it. (Unless ww3 in Taiwan/Ukraine after economic collapse of 2024 slows it down lol)

[@micahphilson]

This happens to me all the time with Scishow! Aerogel and graphene come to mind as a few subjects I think I heard about here first, but increasingly more in the world at large. This is the best science news coverage channel on the internet!

[@ben5056]

repairing nerve damage is a huge step for medical science. I'm assuming it probably would only work on recently damaged nerves, still would be life changing.

[@microwave221]

A potentially simple solution could be to just re-damage the injured section or outright remove scarred portions in thin cross sections, although this might fail if the injury is so old that the upstream nerves are no longer sending signals. Either way, this has the potential to be such a powerful new tool.

[@ben5056]

@@microwave221 could be tricky but I’m sure that the people affected would want the option

[@zacrintoul]

@@microwave221 my thoughts was well. It still might just be too much of a problem. And as time goes by if everyone has the procedure done upon initial injury, having a procedure for old injuries becomes more irrelevant.

[@timeshark8727]

I'm sort of surprised they didn't just go "we have a soft, squishy, strong material here... lets put them in joints to replace cartilage."

[@emceeboogieboots1608]

Yes, my thoughts initially. I wonder if the pressure between, say, a knee joint would make it stiffen too much? Still, sounds promising and would have to be better than a full joint replacement

[@sprotte6665]

It dissolves over time!

[@mariow7818]

@@sprotte6665 And it might help regrow joint to its original not damaged self? If applied correctly

[@tourmelion9221]

@@sprotte6665 when you live in america and the free trial on your knees expires

[@sprotte6665]

@@tourmelion9221 ouf, too real

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

The first one was interesting, but the second one sounds like it could be a useful scaffolding for organ cloning, like for something simple in structure, like skin. As for the first one, make a big block of it and start shooting projectiles at it to see what it does with high energy impacts that cause shockwaves. I am not just curious about shooting a bullet at it, but to also see if it could dampen vibrations for all sorts of applications, without degrading over time from the constant forces.

[@realulli]

I'd like to see the results of high speed impacts as well. I idea for an application would be to place big blobs of these in orbits that have high densities of space debris and collect or slow down these particles so they're no longer a danger to space travel. The main question would be, does this stuff react better than other gels? I know it has a rather high density (close to water), but you need something with a rather high mass anyway to stop larger particles. Or maybe use a layer of the stuff as armor around a space craft? If it can self-heal, it might be the ideal stuff to recover from impacts and auto-seal air leaks...

[@Charmlethehedgehog]

@@realulli I was just about to comment something like this! seeing what a tiny particle can do to a thick piece of aluminum shielding is terrifying! If this stuff holds up to that kind of pressure, it could very easily be a very good armour for spacecraft!

[@deisisase]

I was thinking about body armor as well, but I can see it being used in soundproofing as well.

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

@@deisisase I just want to see what happens when the shockwave goes through it.

[@Tiniuc]

My dad has end stage peripheral neuropathy. If this can help him, I think he'd be excited to be a test subject.

[@JR-iz1ee]

I hope yous find a way to make it happen ❤️🙏

[@Chuckf66]

My PN is comparatively mild, and it's horrific. I wish your Dad all the best & hope this gives him hope. ❤️

[@GameOverJesse]

This is true jello

[@SomebodysNephew]

No you are ❤️

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

Jelly

[@sarahjones4594]

Yes, it is the platonic ideal of jello

[@1Hawkears1]

No chew >:0

[@icollectstories5702]

I'd worry that it would harden into glass when I bit into it!🦷

[@jumpstart888]

At first we thought scientists had discovered Flubber, but for real though its exciting to see that you can use it to help spinal cord injuries and imagine the countless other implications.

[@nedludd7622]

Back in the 50's, this would quickly be made into a science fiction movie, like She Devil and Face of Terror.

[@SciShow]

This is how Elastigirl was created...

[@sophierobinson2738]

Beauty cream got us Wasp Woman.

[@bradpetralia7567]

Its essentially the opposite of Aerogel, neat! Edit: Also, who would have thought just to inject weird jelly to rehabilitate little mice? That's pretty cool.

[@nemonomen3340]

Isn’t Hank talking about two different things here?

[@ViktorHJ]

@@nemonomen3340 yeah 2 different jelly's

[@mrgreen8238]

yeah, @ 3:27

[@bradpetralia7567]

ʕ º ᴥ ºʔ

[@josefanon8504]

i suppose they had to break their spines first

[@tatotato85]

Love when Hank get to tell us about chemistry

[@SciShow]

Hank loves it too :-)

[@josefanon8504]

@@SciShow he's absolutely great at it :) and i say that as a chemistry student

[@microwave221]

Just as a bulk material, this sounds super useful in flexible armor applications, where that transition from a gel state to a glass like one could perhaps function like the non-newtonian pads used in gear for motorcycle riders. Hell, it's exciting to imagine a faster setting version of this technojello being used as generic scifi healing goo, getting spackled into grievous open wounds where it binds to the tissue, stops bleeding, and acts as both a scaffold for new cells to grow in while providing the nutrients and cocktails of signaling molecules to make them do so as effectively and quickly as possible. This also could have some moto implications too, now that I think about it. I really hope someday I get to pack my first aid kits with this CTRL Z injury goop, and tell children about how emergency medicine used to be jamming something in the hole to stop the blood, taping it there, and either waiting it out or making it somebody else's problem at the hospital.

[@osmacar5331]

The armour applications interest me the most.

[@theunlikelyhero123meh3]

@@osmacar5331 why not both?

[@osmacar5331]

@@theunlikelyhero123meh3 cause the first one makes is so the medical side has more breathing room.

[@Katfeathers]

Hmm, wonder if this would slow down how wires implanted in a brain stop being useful for bci.

[@jim1550]

We need to keep an eye on the person that was payed to break all the mice's spines.

[@2MeterLP]

Didnt even think of that, but those mice probably didnt come pre-paralysed

[@swayback7375]

Scientifically paralyzed! Honestly there’s almost certainly an exact process used to get exact results. Not all broken backs are the same if you just snap their backs

[@SciShow]

THANK YOU TO THE MICE WE OWE YOU A GREAT DEAL.

[@josefanon8504]

what happens to lab mice that successfully completed their experiment btw?

[@loveableheathen7441]

@@josefanon8504 They end up in a trash bin somewhere

[@Russeren01]

Maybe use some of the same principle used on the paralysed mice to heal neurones/hair cells in the inner ear to cure hearing damage, tinnitus, etc?

[@josefanon8504]

for what i know tinnotus doesnt happen only in the ears, but also in the brain

[@nydydn]

@@josefanon8504 tinnitus is not very well researched because it was long ago deemed of low impact. There may very well be existing treatments for other ailments that would work on tinnitus, but nobody tried them, because nobody tried to understand tinnitus, because it's just a bit of annoying noise that one can usually ignore. UNLESS SOMEONE BRINGS UP TINNITUS. Which brings us to the last reason why nobody cares to research tinnitus. Those who don't have it, don't have a reason to care, and those who have it, don't want to hear about it. =

[@princeofexcess]

Any good news when it comes to healing bones? My bro has herniated disc and I have osteoarthritis (heberden's nodes) in my hands. Fixing bones seems ages behind these other technologies.

[@icollectstories5702]

There's been work on using collagen to provide scaffolding for bone growth but soft tissues are more complex structures than bone.

[@calijoe1074]

I wonder if the vibrations from a cat’s purr helps those chaotic proteins get around?

[@josefanon8504]

damn, that is a great question

[@paulohagan3309]

Interesting idea. But then, wouldn't purring be more common in the animal world?

[@madyjules06]

We need more people who possess benevolent curiosity & ask wonderful questions (like you!) 😊

[@georgigeorgiev9931]

Sounds like a fancy and comfy shoe insole 😌

[@paulodeoliveira3368]

It turns to glass when pressure is applied.. But you might be right.

[@georgigeorgiev9931]

@@paulodeoliveira3368 but how much pressure is needed to get it to the " glass " state ?

[@lonestarr1490]

@@georgigeorgiev9931 I think it might be continuous, meaning that the harder you press the harder it gets. So as a shoe insole it might be quite jelly-like when under no pressure, but quickly solidifies whence pressure is applied. Maybe not all the way to the "glass" state, but still substantially.

[@Sam-tu4hp]

@@lonestarr1490 how about body armor then?

[@munkyman33]

Here comes the Jelly Soldiers, run!

[@directoryerror6653]

You could use the jelly to coat long inflatable tubes, when inflated they could roll out and once a critical pressure is reached it would go rigid, that could be super useful in soft robotics! It could also potentially make a good bullet proof vest, flexible and comfortable!

[@ivanpratt8691]

Thank you Hank Green! I am not disabled, but now I think I will make myself disabled by breaking my spine in two. This way, I can fully enjoy and experience the fantastic technology of this spinal repair breakthrough when it finally happens! Thank you so much Hank Green.

[@bleachbleachBLEACHER]

Woah, this stuff might be able to help heal Paraplegia? That's been the stuff of science fiction for AGES! If they can make this work, that'd be phenomenal!

[@roxyspamcake]

Wow, SPNs have almost supernatural properties! 😄

[@tessat338]

As a person living with a spinal injury, this is amazing news! We've been waiting for therapies for so long! After so much sad news about the pandemic, this is some of the best news that I've heard in almost a year!

[@soggy6645]

At around 1:05, Hank mentioned pressure (force over an area) changing the behaviour of the material, but then references the weight of an elephant, which is only force. How much area is the weight focues upon to exert the pressure the researchers say trigger the observable behaviour change?

[@icollectstories5702]

I think the car demo has the answers, assuming car (one wheel) is about one elephant (one foot). For details, they've probably got a web site like everything else.

[@soggy6645]

@@icollectstories5702 all the same, my comment is more about making sure SciShow keeps the facts straight. This mistake was mildly inconsequential, but if writing and research slips, that's potential scientific misinformation going out to their large audience.

[@lyreparadox]

@@soggy6645 You could always look at the numerous sources cited in the description...

[@anyascelticcreations]

I'll admit, I was distracted by the shirts. Though, molecular stuff is usually hard to follow anyway. Though, the super jelly was pretty cool.

[@jmjon2012]

Its actually crazy how being a material science undergrad I can genuinely understand every part of the video now!

[@ThatSoddingGamer]

As much as I like the new material, I'm definitely thinking that the substance for spinal regeneration is the most lifechanging, potentially. Especially the notion that chaotic protein behaviour actually might serve a purpose. Hopefully it leads to breakthroughs with neurodegenerative conditions as well.

[@the_hanged_clown]

0:14 fun fact: without something like clarke-tech, plants will _always_ outperform any modern machine per unit of land at removing co2 from the atmosphere, they can provide shade, an environment for all manner of fauna, and are not an eyesore to look at. a building like this will provide none of these benefits. plants can also proliferate, grow, and spread without human intervention. how "environmentally conscious" are they going to be in construction? pretty sure the chemical reaction facilitating the drying of concrete releases a bunch of co2. they only accepting material deliveries from EVs or are they going to have to recapture all that, starting at a deficit? also in case everyone forgot co2 is a vital ingredient in photosynthesis so even assuming we could do such a thing it probably would not be a great idea, plants being rather vital themselves if we want to keep feeding everyone. much more effective to just do better with forest management but these team trees stuff is nothing but a feel-good virtue signal. 20 million trees is less than a drop in the olympic sized pool that is the mass of trees which occupy our planet. according to the united states department of agriculture, as of 2019 the entire state of california held an approximate 10.8 _billion_ trees. that's 10,800,000,000. team trees, at the moment, has planted a mere 23.5 million, or 23,465,315. that's 0.21727143518519% of the state of california alone. not even 1/3 of _1%._ they've done nothing but take your money. Sources; Team Trees teamtrees.org/ USDA Factsheet public.tableau.com/views/FIA_OneClick_V1_2/Factsheet?%3AshowVizHome=no Bonus Facts: there were an estimated three trillion trees globally in 2015, according to Rachel Ehrenberg of Nature. www.nature.com/articles/nature.2015.18287 "According to FIA, currently, there are nearly 300 billion trees in the United States." quote from an article written by Andrew Avitt of the USDA Forest Service, Office of Communications on June 3, 2020, Tree Census and a Wealth of Public Data www.fs.usda.gov/features/tree-census-and-wealth-public-data

[@Higgy_ZA]

This is so amazing. Helping people with additive biotech and furthering science as well. Totally would switch to this field if I had the option. Amazing and hope-inspiring stuff.

[@cwallcw]

This was one of the best ones so far. I’m glad to be a part!

[@JWLuke787]

bullet resistant jelly perhaps? or a vest for motorcyclists?

[@scipio109]

Outer layer of kevlar inner layer of gel 🤔maybe that way a shot doesn’t break your ribs

[@wades623]

D30

[@Bossshrew]

I was thinking this

[@microwave221]

It seems like combining this with some more of non-newtonian polymers already in use would make excellent riding pads. They mentioned it took some time to regain it's shape and flexibility, perhaps that could be exploited to allow it to stay rigid for several seconds once it hits it's transition threshold, allowing it to continue to protect from lesser subsequent impacts in a tumble, or even more serious impacts without needing to keep passing some amount of the force to the rider before solidifying again. It's exciting to imagine the applications this could have

[@rgruenhaus]

Make floor surfaces with it to cushion in a work space or store!

[@pvic6959]

wow, im jelly of this material

[@Xaddre]

Good one

[@dreadhalor]

Super jelly

[@phillab4491]

I have to be honest not only does this channel teach me countless new ideas and scientific lessons and breakthroughs. It's these lessons that gives me hope for a better world and a better outlook on our future. Thank you so much.

[@nunyabitnezz2709]

This man is a very good orator! He is easy to listen to, and the well-written copy just flows out of him in all of these SciShow videos.

[@jacksavage4098]

Being able repair spinal injuries would be wonderful. Building this research is needed.

[@madhatressadastra8267]

Well - we're about 80 water (and some of us more than others..ugh!..) and look at how strong we are... 😏

[@0kittykruger0]

I love the implications that this could be used to counter neurodegenerative diseases. There's a lot of money and research going into that right now but most of what we've got is more knowledge but not much different results. This could be life-changing, and I just find that very exciting. :)

[@johnnyroman3888]

This is fascinating but I’m still hoping for a prospective therapy/technology that could replace neural scar tissue with healthy functioning neurons.

[@michaelhenderson6786]

Reminds me of Omni-Gel/Medi-Gel from Mass Effect! “Remember the good old days when you could just slap Omni-Gel on everything?”

[@marxtheenigma873]

I wonder how this info could be used in thinking of hypothetical biology? Could this substance be made organically? I see potential in using it to realistically visualize a tough 'slime' type creature.

[@icollectstories5702]

Could it move/change shape? I'd think it'd just make a funny rock.😀 IIRC there are gel materials that respond to electric fields, etc., but requiring the force of an elephant to change shape is a bit much. Even thinking about it digging into the ground, ... well, I suppose you could use it to counter-balance building sway? Hard-landing interplanetary spacecraft?

[@CabbageSandwich]

I love that this show makes my hope for humanity burn a little brighter with every episode.

[@younghan3573]

Can the super jelly become a new type of body armour?

[@justin9202]

Hard part about capturing carbon in the air is that it takes a boatload of energy and carbon to remove carbon. So you're essentially putting out just as much as you take in.

[@Pspisripoff]

I like how they remove CO2 in places where plants need it, rather than in cities.... Madness

[@rafetizer]

It would be quickly and constantly replaced by atmospheric pressure pushing in more mixed air, I would assume.

[@TheFlyingSailorYT]

I already see a use for that Super-Gel... Flexible body armor. Combined with a couple layers of kevlar sheets, and you would have perfect ballistic energy absorption. This is probably going to get *massive* funding from military research.

[@Guru_1092]

Imagine healing a spinal injury with jell-o.

[@korvincarry3268]

Already worked for me. Got back surgery and i ate almost exclusively jello for a week. I healed up fairly well! 😆

[@mikeymoughtin6573]

i love you hank, so, i would suggest getting that overshirt tailored so it fits better

[@metametodo]

I'm quite disappointed that they are putting into the population's mind that CO2 removal is a reasonable and great way to be sustainable. Attaching this practice to social dynamics, attracting people to pay and feel confident they actually did something positive. I hope scishow will think twice before promoting less effective, marketed "sustainability". Preserving existing forests and carbon sinks is way more effective and important, although it's not as marketable.

[@maxwellfire]

+

[@tkc1129]

Sorry, but although forestry is important, it cannot solve the climate crisis. There is a maximum amount of CO2 that can be absorbed by forests before it is simply carbon neutral, and that absorption rate is pretty low. There isn't enough water to support enough forest acreage to absorb all the CO2 we can emit, from petroleum, coal, and frozen undersea hydrocarbons (the future.of CO2 emissions), and even if there was, it would mean pushing species comprising other biomes to extinction. Carbon capture can reuse carbon that we have already emitted, allowing us to turn gasoline cars and much more into carbon neutral industries. We would even be able to reverse the damage we have already done. Although for now, I believe a lot of carbon capture is simply going into sequestration, which could have negative geological impacts (carbonated water might dissolve certain kinds of rocks). Frankly, carbon capture is the hero we need to combat climate change.

[@metametodo]

@@tkc1129 The retrieval of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere is tiny and almost uneventful in terms of climate action compared to the volume of GHGs that are released every day, and is especially of little relevance compared to the need of _Preventing_ the emission of GHGs. Carbon capture today doesn't have any significant impacts as it is extremely inefficient financially. The money put on preventing deforestation guarantees way less GHGs in the air than if put on carbon capture. Forests aren't expected to capture the CO2 we're emitting. That's not the point. The point is they're a huge carbon sink, filled with carbon, and losing a hectare is already impactful to the atmosphere, not to mention ecosystem, rainfall and soil nutrient impacts. The duty we have to face now isn't to take back what we've put out there. It's to Stop Putting It Out. A significant part of carbon capture financing comes from institutions that want to believe we don't have to stop emitting GHGs. Take the Australian government as an example. The greatest state promoter of the practice, while also being completely pro-coal and with plenty of oil executives' influence.

[@tkc1129]

@@metametodo If we keep utilizing coal, petroleum, and in the future those frozen deep sea hydrocarbons, even if we plant enough trees to bring us back to pre-Colonial levels, we won't capture enough CO2 to adjust the temperature back to something acceptable. You are talking about adding all the atmospheric carbon that already did exist when the planet was more extensively forested with what had been sequestered in various sources for billions of years. Just protecting what we have now is frankly a small part of the solution. We need to find a way to get all the carbon we did add to the atmosphere back out of the atmosphere, or it is possible the planet will continue to warm for some decades even if we magically stopped all emissions. Right now the effects of rising atmospheric temperatures are being offset somewhat by the ocean (and possibly the crust) absorbing that heat. Until the ocean has reached a new equilibrium with the atmosphere, temperatures are likely to continue to rise even if CO2 levels remain the same. So what we have to do is not only protect our existing carbon sinks, not only stop releasing CO2, but also lower atmospheric CO2 to pre-Industrial levels. I don't think anyone can currently calculate what our final temperatures will be if we stop everything right now, but it is undoubtedly hotter than the present. What we do know is past CO2 levels and their associated temperatures. If we can control atmospheric CO2 by both absorption and emission, we can pump the brakes and back up into a nice parking spot. There are other possible solutions if you want. We could bioengineer buoyant trees to make forests over the deep ocean, which is currently somewhat of a "desert." Then we figure out ways to provide massive amounts of fertilizer to them. Sans the fertilizer part, this was an idea I had for a rad D&D location, but if you can make it happen, you can take that idea. But I don't think many environmentalists would be okay with changing the face of our planet like this. Or we could use mirrors to reflect away a significant amount of light. The easiest way is to put said mirrors closer to the sun. Normally they would accelerate out of position, but I think there is some kind of sustainable solution for that. I just forgot what it is. Of course, this is the perfect set up for a James Bond movie, as a single person or error or rogue AI could plunge the world into an ice age. Or we could master the carbon capture process. I heard an estimate that even with current and near-future technologies, only 20,000 or so carbon capture facilities would be required. That might sound like a lot, but that seriously isn't. Taking a profitable design and building many of them is something humans are more than willing to do. Who cares if the process is backed by oil tycoons? Who cares if the only reason they are backing it is to retain control of the energy market? They still need renewable energy sources to pump power to these facilities for them to actually be legally carbon-negative or carbon-neutral. Most of the world's best chemists already work for them. We can continue to use current infrastructure and stop pretending that current electric cars are practical. This solution is practical, profitable, sustainable, removes oil fields as a source of military conflict, would be very hard to corrupt in some world-threatening way, and gives both companies and the average Joe a maximum of freedom. Gearheads can continue to use ICEs, people who want electric vehicles can continue to use and develop those without an overwhelming demand for a rare resource that will undoubtedly cause a new string of wars. What is not to like? Is a solution where literally everybody is happy not desirable?

[@metametodo]

​@@tkc1129 I see your point, what you're idealizing. I get it, I feel similarly in long term, big picture aspects. The thing is, today, now, the main challenge is to reduce all this activity, and this is a huge challenge by itself. It's good to envision how to bring CO2 levels pre industrial level 280 ppm, iirc. Simply stopping every emission truly won't guarantee that, not in hundreds if not thousands of years, even if we vanished from the earth and let the nature repair itself. But as far as I know carbon capture is a very inefficient strategy, especially in terms of dollar per CO2 ton captured, and even more compared to the tonnage of CO2 emission that can be avoided if that same amount of money went into many viable ways to decrease emissions. We _will_ indeed be impacted by a 1.5, 2, 3ºC rise if what I'm proposing about carbon capture, _for now_, rolls out. Temperatures won't lower by themselves in a reasonable pace. I know that. I agree that in the end 280 ppm is the goal. I agree that that CO2 must get out of there, but I disagree with the when. Because the thing is, retrieval of CO2 won't be of any significance until the day we emit less CO2 than what's recovered. It's analogous to how toxins work in your body. Your body can metabolise every toxin, some very well (to the point they aren't considered toxins), some quite badly. But your body DO process things like cyanide, in order to eliminate it. The main issue here is the rate the toxin enters, and the rate the body can neutralise the toxin. The amount of cyanide we can handle is extremely low, so it becomes toxic quickly as the rate of intake rises. If we don't diminish the rate of emissions (in fact, it's still growing), we'd need unrealistic amounts of carbon capture tech in order to accompany the growth. Literally unrealistic, as carbon capture is expensive technology, way more costly than lowering emissions. The whole point is: We don't have time to put resources on carbon capture. We must stop trying to better the way we deal with the toxin, and stop taking more of it before we are killed from it. It's simple and cheap to put CO2 out there. We do it in industrial levels since 1750. Carbon capture is complex and expensive, and will _never_ be less expensive than putting CO2 out there, nor less expensive than solutions that are based on reducing CO2 emissions. The planet is finite. Our time to stop the toxin from killing us is coming to an end. It's smarter, cheaper and more practical to stop taking it, than assuming we can grow forever in a small planet based on a combination of high emissions and unrealistic high levels of capture in order to maintain a very fragile balance of growth.

[@End_Domestic_Violence]

OK, regrowing spinal neurons is stunning stuff - by Jove what a lark it will be if this works in humans! Best wishes chaps, Cheerio😃

[@Aereto]

Imagine using hydrogels as cybernetic joints. Better yet, consider them in helmets and impact padding.

[@PyrusFlameborn]

Imagine knightly armour without exposed joints! The joints flex and thus allows the wearer to move but when an opponent strikes the exposed joint the material of the joint hardens!

[@Kalebfenoir]

So... if they can make a hydrogel like this stuff, but one that can survive in ultra low temperatures... and it can survive insanely high weights/impacts by hardening into nigh-indestructability... I'm guessing they'll plate the shuttles and space station with the stuff to make a kind of 'armor' against micrometeroids and orbital debris that's whipping around at like, 36,000km/hr.

[@darkclownKellen]

Could this also potentially help reverse brain damage?

[@tim40gabby25]

Answer has to be yes, only as it has not been certainly excluded. Fingers crossed.

[@nenben8759]

1:34 In a conventional polymer Do mi so do so mi do

[@m.j.golden4522]

"Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good (hu)man." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher

[@voidwalker3919]

I still find it bloody amazing that Hank Green has such an amazing singing voice as seen in The Hobbit Drinking Medley

[@BrendanV87]

Wait dumb question, how did the scientists break the spines of the mice?

[@terryenglish7132]

I kill mice that get in my house, but deliberately maiming them is totally messed up. I'm sure all those dogs w training wheels owners would volunteer fido if they might walk again.

[@ff-ti7nj]

@@terryenglish7132 it's painless and makes their limbs numb

[@LanUltra]

Every once in a while I hear something random like this that I will never forget for some reason.

[@SomeRandomPiggo]

ngl that sponsor is actually a pretty creative idea to fund carbon capture lmao

[@tkc1129]

Amazing breakthroughs. Thanks for reporting them.

[@harrisbuzz]

I'd really appreciate it if you would avoid three letter abbreviations that are meaningless to most people. It is a common tendency today, but it can be quite frustrating. I tried to look up "SPN" to see what the topic of the video was. However, there were quite a few uses of that abbreviation in many different fields.

[@andysinthegarden]

Go to the 1:27 point of the video.

[@harrisbuzz]

@@andysinthegarden Yes, I did watch the video, and heard the explanation. I was originally trying to find out the topic of the video before watching it.

[@orsettomorbido]

THE MICE COULD WALK AGAIN? °_° THIS BRINGS ME SO MUCH JOY! And not only for the mice themselves. This is such an amazing thing!

[@winstonchaychel]

Now I need to know more about this super jelly! This is really cool, ty!

[@ernestbywater411]

The easiest, cheapest, and best way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is to establish some plants in your yard and encourage them to grow. Or you can grow some acres of grain and grow some food at the same time as you remove the carbons.

[@quackerzdb]

Eating food returns the captured CO2 back to the atmosphere

[@nobody2655]

Please, please, please as updates on this come in, produce more vids. This is mind blowing science.

[@darrin2053]

Man do we have to thank mice 🐁 they are the ones that take a lot of the experimentation to help us out. Thank you my little 4 legged friends!

[@lukenuetzmann]

Holy crap! This seems very promising!

[@ricardoabh3242]

Amazing news! Hope neuron regenerations advanced fast

[@yegfreethinker]

This is absolutely wonderful guys. You don't know how many people that this could actually give a lot of hope to. The term _game hanger_ is overly misused and usually too common; however here its usuage would be totally appropriate. This could change everything in how we care for paraplegics and quadriplegics. There have been so many misses that we do need some hits here. If only someone like Christopher Reeve could have made it to see this day.

[@VechsDavion]

Your sponsor seems like a total scam, to be blunt.

[@justineelzak4285]

Not a scam as such just way overpriced / a technology of dubious value

[@s0s_c0okies23]

I'm 22 I had back surgery already so I'm pretty happy seeing this

[@StYxXx]

Ok, car running over a flat object is a pretty non-scientific stunt. The pressure is not that high as some people might expect, also it's spread across a larger area, escpecially with these plates. The gel could almost be made out of anything and the trick would still work, I mean it's flat the whole time. Would be different if it had another shape. Why not use a hydraulic press? Showing what's actually happening? Having a car run over it in a flat form is just bs that demonstrates nothing but impresses lay journalists. The second topic is cool though.

[@ronkirk5099]

For someone like me born in 1950, the accelerating pace of new scientific discovery just boogles the mind. In spite of all the challenges we, this is a truly an amazing time to be alive.

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

Actively removing Co2 from the atmosphere is a necessity, kudo's to SciShow for getting such an important sponsor.

[@armadillito]

Except that carbon capture is largely a sham. I won’t specifically accuse climeworks but it’s not a reputable market,

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

@@armadillito Id like to see some evidence for that general accusation. Unless you can factually prove what you are saying, it will be nothing but lies, hearsay and made up stories.

[@AlphaGamerDelux]

@@LazyLifeIFreak 10 units of fuel release 10 units of energy and 10 units of C02. At best you will need, at a minimum, 10 units of energy to capture and store those 10 units of C02. But that is the theoretical best, you will probably need 5-10x the amount of energy because of inefficiencies. So in reality you will need 75~ units of energy to capture 10 units of C02. Where does this energy come from? Wind, solar, nuclear, coal? We are struggeling to even get 100% renewables, how hard is it going to be to get 750%? We have been pumping out C02 on a large scale since the beginning of the industrial revolution, we are going to need to produce 7.5x that amount of energy, greenly, to capture that carbon. And don't come at me with "plants can capture and store that carbon", yes, for a 100 years, then those plants die, rot, and will release its co2 again.

[@terryenglish7132]

I certainly am in favor of many steps taken in responding to climate change to reduce/eliminate pollution and waste, but CO2 levels aren't really that high compared to the various times of life on the Earth; and much less than what plants would prefer. CO2 is being vilified for social/political reasons, who's goals I agree w, but not the methodology of trying to achieve the goals.The science is questionable, regardless of what mainstream media would have you think.

[@AlphaGamerDelux]

​@@terryenglish7132WARNING, SCIZO RANT. One hears from the media and our peers "The world is going to heat up 5 degrees, Sea levels are going to rise, extreme weather events are going to increase.", and with this info im supposed to think "Oh no, this is very very bad, we must stop it". If we can stop it, yeah sure, but "Stop it at all costs", goodluck with that, a polititian saying "you need to live less lavishly" and will force it on the populus, imediate new politian, unless they are a dictator, or the population has been brainwashed to believe living with "half" will save the world. because what is going to happen? parts of the world will become unihabitable? Well, others become inhabitable. Sea level will rise? Im sure we can move, we have about a 100 years. More extreme weather events? Sucks, but with weather forcasts and instant communications to all, we can now dodge most. Do these suck? Will species die? yeah, and yeah. Should we try to mitigate it? yeah. Is what we are doing now enough? No. Will going 100% carbon neutral fix it? No, only slow the heating. How do we fix it? Get the greenhouses out of the air. How do that? insane amout of energy. Where insane amount of energy? not in windmills, unless you wish to see nothing but windmills, not in solar, unless you plan to make the sahra desert the solar desert, maybe in nuclear, i think probably in nuclear. Our economy is bassed on progress, societal progress is measured with how much energy they consume, more energy consumed, more things done. If one country stops this progress, and another does not, the other can do more, produce more, and so win over the one that stopped progress, furthering the evolutionairy selection of the the type "More energy, More win", that means if we don't want that to happen we must find a way to have continually have more and more energy, one can only place 2 windmills per square kilometer, one can only place as much solar as one has surface area. Nuclear is more "expandable", So, in the long run nuclear wins the evolutionairy race, so why not focus from the beginning on nuclear? With nuclear we can get so much energy we don't know what to do with it, then one can use that excess energy to scrub carbon, and one can stay ahead of the societal progress curve, and with this excess energy "work" can be done, meaning "more stuff, for cheaper "work"". But this can only be done by just building power plants, but one does not profit from building it, in the short run, one is creating more goods then there is demand for, lowering the price of the created goods, the government will need a cheap way to build it, so we can have excess. Id say; Make it a game, have some participants, 20 groups lets say, give those 200 million, and then say to them "10 billion to the one that can give us cheap and save nuclear energy". Im sure when the costs of investment are covered, and the profits are "guaranteed" if succesfull, and no losses will be there, those are covered, im sure you will mustere up a lot of motivated people, and maybe acually do it.

[@gustavgnoettgen]

It's worth mentioning that a single car wheel won't apply more weight than than like 250 to 500 kg. I did that with my foot and a small car just to prove it won't crush my foot. But my feet won't squish a lot unlike this gel.

[@jaredcolon4535]

This would basically cure almost all my chronic pain problems, spinal cord lower back three disc locations, neck two disc locations. My knee dislocates every time I bend it and I have several amputations and I still go to work every day I have to take care of my daughter. And most times I walk several miles as Uber gets expensive.

[@roguedogx]

3:47 that's awesome!!!

[@dangerbirb4981]

Poor mice. I salute you and your unknowing sacrifices for human medicine.

[@lithium_6]

Ionic cross linked hydrogels are really cool. I did some experiments with sodium alginate and they are very flexible.

[@Tawleyn]

Materials science is one of those hard sciences that constantly amaze me.

[@ph33lix]

Ooooh maybe those hydrogels can be made to be replacement spinal discs for those who have herniated, or ruptured their discs. Or a flesh-like outer covering on robots that is more resilient than silicone or rubber, for better impact resistance and weather shielding.

[@yunkei8321]

Mind blown at quote, "motion is important to cell signaling" I guess it's time to start exercising

[@JoseRodriguez-rx4ck]

So Mickey Mouse 1:48 is keeping those molecules together to create a super gel that saves mice! cool!

[@Phillip1220]

This feels monumental.

[@linkinpark7898]

So, this is similar to SAP(super absorbing polymers) but crosslinked and optimized so as to behave like a shear thickening material? 👀👀 Interesting! Very very interesting! Need to find some published work on this 😋😋

[@atatoraman9257]

@vlogbrothers Where did you get the jacket from it looks amazing

[@Bassmasterwitacaster]

I'm just glad we have a way to help disabled mice now

[@gates10611]

Thanks for the awesome Christmas gift mom.

[@louiesumrall358]

The molecule shown at 1:50 is D2O, both Hydrogens shown contain a neutron. Idk why this is important but I just felt like mentioning it

[@scottprindle5374]

At 5:49 - Hank: "Be excellent to each other."

[@peterbalogh2646]

Now that one is actually a wonder! Congrats!for them!

[@KellyClowers]

We already had one SPN and 14 seasons didn't help anything, I doubt more will

[@snazzypazzy]

It was 15 and I'm glad I am not alone in having that association!

[@someonetyping]

Thinking about scientists running things over in their car has me picturing them recreating that one scene from Napoleon Dynamite where Napoleon's dad was trying to sell tupperware lol

[@lysanne201]

That's a pretty exciting material!

[@ChaosKeep]

Movement makes sense... healing broken bones seems to happen faster if some minor amount of movement is allowed.

[@danacoleman4007]

wow! this is really wild stuff! exciting!

[@maramanasa]

Huh the fact that's its property sounds useful for disposable insoles. Might be a really nice break for my feat and it's healing potential is nice too.