Day: July 26, 2021

RNA Therapeutics And Fighting Diseases By Working With The Immune System

July 26, 2021 by 75 Comments

Before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic took hold, few people were aware of the existence of mRNA vaccines. Yet after months of vaccinations from Moderna and BioNTech and clear indications of robust protection to millions of people, it now seems hard to imagine a world without mRNA vaccine technology, especially as more traditional vaccines seem to falter against the new COVID-19 variants and the ravages of so-called ‘Long COVID’ become more apparent.

Yet, it wasn’t that long ago that Moderna and BioNTech were merely a bunch of start-ups, trying to develop profitable therapies for a variety of diseases, using the brand-new and largely unproven field of RNA therapeutics. Although the use of mRNA in particular for treatments has been investigated since 1989, even as recently as 2017 there were still many questions about safe and effective ways to deliver mRNA into cells, as per Khalid A. Hajj et al.

Clearly those issues have been resolved now in 2021, which makes one wonder about the other exciting possibilities that mRNA delivery offers, from vaccines for malaria, cancer, HIV, as well as curing autoimmune diseases. How did the field of mRNA vaccines develop so quickly, and what can we expect to see the coming years?

Continue reading “RNA Therapeutics And Fighting Diseases By Working With The Immune System” →

Get Some Close Air Support With A Nerf Drone

July 26, 2021 by 12 Comments

Working from home has the major advantage of spending more time with loved ones, but it all that time can sometimes lead to friction. [Cory] found that Nerf battles with his kids is an effective way to blow off some steam, but felt he was getting a bit too much exercise in the process. Instead, he equipped an FPV quadcopter with a 3D printed Nerf gun to take his place.

Since manually reloading the Nerf gun after every shot wasn’t an option, he needed to create an autoloader. The darts are propelled by a pair of brushless drone motors mounted side-by-side, with just enough space for a dart the squeeze between. The motors are allowed to spin up, and then a dart is loaded servo-operated plunger, out of an off-the-shelf Nerf magazine. The motors ESCs and servo is controlled by an Arduino Nano, which receives the fire command from one of the spare outputs on the drone’s flight controller. To nerf gear is easily removable from the drone, so [Cory] to also fly the drone on more peaceful missions. See the video of one of the battles after the break. [Cory] might need to find an alternative control location to prevent himself being used as cover by his adversaries.

Nerf guns are a fun and harmless way to live out your sci-fi warfare fantasies, especially with the technology we have available these days. From FPV sentry guns to auto-aiming rifles, and heavy artillery, anything is possible.

Continue reading “Get Some Close Air Support With A Nerf Drone” →

Seeing Inside A Gas Regulator

July 26, 2021 by 9 Comments

We’re surrounded by interesting engineering, but some of it is sealed inside a housing, away from easy inspection. A case in point; the humble gas regulator. It’s in equipment all around us, from a propane grill to welding gear. It’s a sealed unit — have you ever seen the inside, to know how it really works? Well thanks to [FarmCraft101], we get to do just that, in the video after the break.

To let the cat out of the bag, it’s essentially a hydraulic lever. A large diaphragm is pressurized by the low pressure side of the regulator, and is held back by a spring. When the pressure compared to ambient atmosphere is high enough to overcome the spring tension, the lever is tilted, closing the high pressure valve. Hence, pressure is determined by spring strength. We also get a look at how the system can fail — in this case it seemed to be some grit interfering with the valve. We find hidden engineering to be supremely satisfying, particularly when we get to understand it so clearly as we do here. Enjoy!

Continue reading “Seeing Inside A Gas Regulator” →