#SciFiScience
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obialik.bsky.social
Could synthetic fungi solve all our greenhouse gas issues? Probably not. Maybe a nice #SciFiScience fantasy. But they could help and have some functions and utility that merit a bit of thought. 🧪

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-04088-5​
Conceptual overview of fungal engineering strategies to improve carbon sequestration and plant growth through optimized synthetic biology approaches.
October 28, 2026 at 3:04 AM
obialik.bsky.social
For brain-machine interface to actually be useful for the things we need it (such as assistive technology), it needs to be generalizable. Despite having a few approaches, none of them really is that Jack-of-all-Trades. 🧪 #SciFiScience

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44385-026-00119-0​
The overview distinguishes motor restoration, communication and external-device control, sensory restoration, and neural-state-guided stimulation. Auditory-attention decoding is separated from stimulation-based sensory restoration, and retinal interventions are distinguished from cortical visual prostheses. Evidence labels apply to individual examples rather than entire application categories. Functional demonstrations should be interpreted in relation to the population, evaluation setting, calibration requirements, and duration of use.
November 3, 2026 at 3:14 AM
obialik.bsky.social
Space, and microgravity, put a bunch of strains on the human body. Some of those can be, partially, ameliorated by nutrition. Long-term, preserved food won't do, and fresh food production would be a must.

🧪 #SciFiScience

Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/1/194​
Astronaut ice cream, which, if I remember correctly, isn't allowed on spaceships because of the crumbs.
October 23, 2026 at 2:02 PM
obialik.bsky.social
Celular de-aging I'd put under #SciFiScience... except there was just a major breakthrough with that. In an experiment turning blood cells into brain stem cells (cool enough), it turned their epigenetic clocks sort of reset.🧪

Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acel.70751​
CD71-positive EPCs can be programmed into DACH1-expressing NSCs within less than 2 weeks. (A) Peripheral blood-derived EPCs were programmed into isogenic sets of directly converted iNSCs and iPS-NSCs. Samples were collected at different stages of iNSC conversion, for example around the time point of clone picking (D14), at low passage (LP) right before high temperature treatment and at a stage when established iNSC lines were transgene-free (TF), in order to investigate the dynamics of cellular age reprogramming in the process of iNSC conversion, using embryonic stage-like iPS-NSCs as controls. In the center of the figure, the components of the utilized iNSC media are listed. Components printed in bold are also constituents of the iPS-NSC medium. Components marked with asterisks are only used until Day 10 of iNSC conversion. (B) Exemplary immunofluorescence images of cells stained against the EPC marker CD71 and the NSC marker DACH1 at different time points of iNSC conversion. Days indicate the time after SeV infection. Scale bars = 50 μm. Differences in cell size are most likely due to the cyto-spin procedure used to adhere suspension cells prior to the staining procedure. (C) At Day 12 of conversion, arising iNSCs were stained against the NSC marker PAX6. Scale bar = 50 μm. (D) Representative immunofluorescence image of an established iNSC line stained against the NSC markers SOX2 and NES. Scale bar = 50 μm.
October 24, 2026 at 2:24 PM
obialik.bsky.social
This is one of the weirder ones, and def. #SciFiScience. A wheel that can climb on a vertical wall, by a combination of a rotating magnetic field and wet friction force. 🧪

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000186862600014X​
Gravity-resisting directional climbing of magnetic microwheels. (a) Mechanism comparison of octopus sucker adhesion on rock surfaces (left) and magnetic microwheel adhesion on vertical walls (right). (b) The schematic diagram shows the microwheels directional climbing (from the bottom to target point A and then to target point B) on a vertical wall. First, driven by a rotating magnetic field, amounts of magnetic nanoparticles self-assemble into a dynamic stable magnetic microwheel. Second, under the same uniform rotating magnetic field, the microwheels exhibit directional climbing along the vertical wall. Crucially, the climbing mechanism operates through pure torque generation in the absence of magnetic field gradient-induced forces, the uniform rotating magnetic field is only used for the rotation of the microwheels. During the climbing, a wedge angle (e.g., from 10 degrees to 26 degrees) between the microwheel and the vertical wall is indispensable.
October 20, 2026 at 2:35 PM
obialik.bsky.social
It would be nice if my shirt could use my body heat to charge my phone. The tech technically exists (thermoelectrics), but getting anything to survive use is challenging. So let's try and make them self-healing!
🧪#SciFiScience

Link: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)00076-3
intrinsically self-healing thermoelectric materials. Photographs of an intrinsically self-healing thermoelectric material during multiple cut-heal cycles, demonstrating autonomous healing. Source: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aenm.202103070
October 15, 2026 at 2:13 AM
obialik.bsky.social
Not really #SciFiScience, The earliest attempt to incorporate AI into military operations was back in 1951. At this point, ML systems are prevalent in militaries, and people are promoting increase in their utilization. 🧪

Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/14702436.2026.2735623​
A conceptual Kill Web, from Joint Doctrine Directorate, ADDP 3.1 Joint Fires and Effects, 4 ed., Operations Series, (2020), Chap 3 3-1 - 3-10.
October 5, 2026 at 1:58 PM
obialik.bsky.social
An ongoing trend in robotics I find fascinating is making them more like biological creatures. Less pistons and more tendons. It offers a set of advantages, but control is still an ongoing challenge.
🧪 #SciFiScience

Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01691864.2026.2723650​
The overview of this study. Design optimization of tendon-driven arms that take advantage of tendon wrapping and shortcuts through multi-objective optimization that considers trade-offs in joint torque and arm thickness.
September 22, 2026 at 2:04 AM
obialik.bsky.social
Do we need a planet to have life on it to be/remain habitable? The rather surprising answer is no.
Yes, I'm also trying to wrap my head around this. But I think I can tag this for #SciFiScience or at least #Worldbuilding. 🧪

Link: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ae9d79​
A schematic of the key processes included in our abiotic Earth model. Remotely observable quantities (surface temperature, albedo, and atmospheric H2O and CO2) are in bold.
September 19, 2026 at 2:15 AM
obialik.bsky.social
Water has been pivotal to evolution of life on Earth, but Terra is far from the only planet in the Sol System with water, and the (barely known) chemistry of water on those planets bears on their habitability.

#SciFiScience 🧪

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74955-4​
This schematic illustration compares two major types of ocean-bearing icy moons: a smaller icy moons, such as Enceladus and Europa, in which a subsurface ocean may directly overlie a poorly differentiated silicate interior; and (b) larger, more strongly differentiated bodies, such as Titan and Ganymede, in which high-pressure ice layers separate the ocean from the deep rocky interior. Chemical species produced at the surface or within the interior may be exchanged through ice-shell recycling or subduction, ocean circulation, plume activity, as well as convection and melting within high-pressure ice layers. These possible transport processes regulate ocean chemistry and, consequently, the habitability of subsurface oceans. The structure is not shown to scale.
September 17, 2026 at 2:14 PM
obialik.bsky.social
You'd be amazed just how much robotic work is done to replicate octopus tentacles (not just for that!)
It's not only limited to the physiological aspects, the distributed sensing is also a key aspect we're trying to mimic.

#SciFiScience 🧪

Link:​ https://www.nature.com/articles/s42256-026-01230-y
September 15, 2026 at 2:12 PM
obialik.bsky.social
It's not very visible, but space (specifically Earth's orbit) has become a major part of how we live our lives. As such, it's becoming a domain for potential warfare between Great Powers, which may leave a wasteland in its wake.
🧪 #SciFiScience

Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2023.2208020​
An artist's concept of the interception and destruction of nuclear-armed re-entry vehicles by a space-based electromagnetic railgun. The LTV Aerospace and Defense Co. has demonstrated hypervelocity launch technology in the laboratory that is applicable to a ballistic missile defense system.
September 14, 2026 at 1:44 AM
obialik.bsky.social
Some proper #SciFiScience (hadn't had that in a while) - what happens to an interstellar lightsail when it approaches light speed? Things get strange; the light can start producing drag rather then propoltion due to the Doppler Effect and scattering. 🧪

Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.04052​
A NASA solar sail in Earth’s orbit, because sometimes the real thing is cool enough.
September 10, 2026 at 2:38 PM
jalandhara.bsky.social
Orbital mechanics in fiction: How a "event in the sky" ends up in chaotic low orbit. Arjun's calculations don't lie. #SciFiScience
September 10, 2026 at 12:03 PM
obialik.bsky.social
One tech I've been waiting to mature is human-body-powered augmentations. We aren't there yet, but a pacemaker powered by heartbeats might be a reality soon. 🧪 #SciFiScience

Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aef8903​
esign and operation principle of T-LIP. (A) Design and schematic diagram of a complete T-LIP system that integrates two TENGs, electronics, a packaging shell and fixation hooks. Illustrations adapted from Servier Medical Art, licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en). Changes made to the illustrations include: cropped the original illustration to retain only the relevant heart anatomy, enlarged the cardiac region, and added our device illustration and dashed annotation box/guide lines to show the intended implantation scenario. (B) Schematic diagram showing the TENG with scissor-linkage and the distribution of triboelectric surfaces. The surface microstructure is shown on the right. (C) Schematic diagram showing the design and electric connection of a TENG unit. (D) Digital photo comparing the size and geometry of a Medtronic Micra LIP (Model: MC1AVR1, left) and T-LIP (middle). The internal TENGs and electronics are also shown on the right. (E) Schematic diagram showing one motion cycle of the double-TENG system driven by a single agitation. (F) Typical voltage output profile from the double-TENG device under continuous agitation (stroke: 8.6 mm; acceleration/deceleration: 16 m s−2). (G) Enlarged oscillatory peak group showing a clear attenuation pattern within a 1-s period. Inset is a statistical summary of the peak-to-peak voltage under continuous excitation, demonstrating the stability of its structure and electrical output.
August 20, 2026 at 2:30 PM
obialik.bsky.social
In Frederik Pohl's Gateway, he describes the "food mines". Growing fungi on organic-rich rocks to feed the masses. IRL, there are entire natural ecosystems that are organized around such a base.
#SciFiScience 🧪
​Link: https://academic.oup.com/ismej/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ismejo/wrag184/8744037
Organic-rich rocks and water deep within the Antrim Shale teem with life. They are packed with fungi and other tiny organisms. (John Megahan/University of Michigan)
August 10, 2026 at 2:14 AM
obialik.bsky.social
Sometimes, in the near future, I want to do an entire week of posting about scientific papers that fall into the #SciFiScience box. Things like emerging and speculative tech, as well as science that can feed into worldbuilding or #Writing SFF.
Feel free to suggest ideas; I'll try to look into them.
July 28, 2026 at 1:39 PM
obialik.bsky.social
How many people do we need on a spaceship if we want an extrasolar colony to be viable (genetically)? Someone actually looked at that, and the answer is 1,400-6,800 (but might still require some population control).
#SciFiScience 🧪​

Link: https://bis-space.com/shop/product/jbis-076-08-0288/​
Concept art of a generation ship by Nichlas Benjamin Source: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/18qlwZ
July 26, 2026 at 2:26 PM
obialik.bsky.social
@zoopel.bsky.social: You're almost a biologist; most of the science you post about is biology.
Me: No I'm not. Also, damn you, now I have to check that.
Me (having done the math for the last two months): Told you I'm not, it's only about quarter (N=122).

#AcademicSky #SocialMedia
Bar plot showing the number of plots reletaed to scientific plublications in which diffrent topics occured. N=122 but multiple topics can occur in one post. Other Geology and Planetary Sciences 38 Oceanography 17 Paleoecology 12 Paleoceanography 6 Ancient Climate Change 13 Modern Climate Change 18 SciFiScience 17 Physiology 11 Psycology 18 Sociology 11 Sexuality 9 Human Health 5 Astronomy 11 Astrophysics 7 Other Biology 34 Evolution 17 Military 1 Worldbuilding 5 History 3 Other (technology) 19
July 22, 2026 at 3:34 PM
obialik.bsky.social
Hance the SciFiScience tag.
July 21, 2026 at 8:34 PM
obialik.bsky.social
This paper makes for an interesting argument - becoming a super soldier is a life sentence. Removing augmentation may be debilitating, and keeping them might not be serviceable.
#SciFiScience ​#Augmentation 🧪

Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2025.2519457​
Part of the cover of Superpatriot: America's Fighting Force with art by Cory Walker showing the heavily augmented titular Superpatriot with lots of guns.
July 21, 2026 at 7:02 PM
obialik.bsky.social
A cool bit of #SciFiScience, on the biological side, is generating gametes, which is something we can't quite do yet. But we can get very close and conceive stem cells to a precursor form. 🧪

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1934590926002298​
Model of germ cell derivation using human and rhesus macaque iPSCs Schematic illustrating lineage progression (top), sample origin (second), cell types (third), and key markers (bottom) along pseudotime in human (left) and macaque (right) xrTestes, compared with in vivo counterparts.
July 18, 2026 at 2:13 PM
obialik.bsky.social
Microalgae empower skeletal muscle for robots. I think this is very much the way to Moray from Quastionable Content. Someone tell @ass.golf!​
(still from the same #SciFiScience vibing issue of Science Advances as this morning) 🧪

Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adw5786​
Schematic illustration of the fabrication process of MAM. C2C12 cells were mixed with C. reinhardtii in a hydrogel matrix. This mixture was then poured into the ring mold to create a ring-shaped muscle construct. The ring-shaped construct was transferred to an elastic scaffold to provide stretching stimuli to the construct. Under the exposure to light, the embedded microalgae released oxygen and provided nutrients to the muscle by means of photosynthesis.
July 12, 2026 at 2:18 PM
obialik.bsky.social
I like the concept of metabolism in architecture, and now it's making it's way into robotics. Why build a monolithic unit when you can build many compatible units that can self-assemble? 🧪
Also #SciFiScience

Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu6897​
Robot modules can grow by consuming and reusing parts from their environment and other robots. This ability, essential to biological lifeforms, is crucial for developing a self-sustaining robot ecology. This paper demonstrates the above developmental sequence in detail: from individual modules to a fully assembled ratchet tetrahedron robot.
July 12, 2026 at 2:26 AM
obialik.bsky.social
Cool bit ot tech for #SciFiScience: full-body ultrasound scanner. You do need to take a bath for the scan, but that's not so bad for relatily low cost, radiation-free imaging. 🧪
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-026-01660-4
(preprint: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-4714949/v1)​
a System diagram. AWG: arbitrary waveform generator; PA: power amplifier; LPFs: low-pass filters; DAQs: data acquisition modules. b Example signals recorded with the receiver array. Top: water only in tank. Middle: human abdomen. Bottom: human abdomen after cross-correlation with the water only signals. The dashed line indicates the channel shown in panel c. c Example signals from an individual receiver channel directly opposite the transmitter.
July 6, 2026 at 2:02 PM