Does alien life need a planet to survive? Scientists propose intriguing possibility

Science and Health

What if we dropped the “terrestrial” from “extraterrestrial”? Scientists recently explored the intriguing possibility that alien life may not need a planet to support itself.At first glance, planets seem like the ideal locations to find life. After all, the only known place life is known to exist is Earth’s surface. And Earth is pretty nice. Our planet has a deep gravitational well that keeps everything in place and a thick atmosphere that keeps surface temperatures in the right ranges to maintain liquid water. We have an abundance of elements like carbon and oxygen to form the building blocks of biological organisms. And we have plenty of sunlight beaming at us, providing an essentially limitless source of free energy.It’s from this basic setup that we organize our searches for life elsewhere in the universe. Sure, there might be exotic environments or crazy chemistries involved, but we still assume that life exists on planets because planets are so naturally suited to life as we know it.In a recent pre-paper accepted for publication in the journal Astrobiology, researchers challenge this basic assumption by asking if it’s possible to construct an environment that allows life to thrive without a planet.

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Related: Alien life may not be carbon-based, study suggestsThis idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds. In fact, we already have an example of creatures living in space without a planet: the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Those astronauts require tremendous amounts of Earth-based resources to be constantly shuttled to them, but humans are incredibly complex creatures.Perhaps simpler organisms could manage it on their own. At least one known organism, the tiny water-dwelling tardigrades, are able to survive in the vacuum of space.Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Any community of organisms in space needs to tackle several challenges. First, it needs to maintain an interior pressure against the vacuum of space. So a space-based colony would need to form a membrane or shell. Thankfully, this isn’t that big of a deal; it’s the same pressure difference as that between the surface of water and a depth of about 30 feet (10 meters). Many organisms, both microscopic and macroscopic, can handle these differences with ease.The next challenge is to maintain a warm enough temperature for liquid water. Earth achieves this through the atmosphere’s greenhouse effect, which won’t be an option for a smaller biological space colony. The authors point to existing organisms, like the Saharan silver ant (Cataglyphis bombycina), that can regulate their internal temperatures by varying which wavelengths of light they absorb and which they reflect — in essence, creating a greenhouse effect without an atmosphere. So the outer membrane of a free-floating colony of organisms would have to achieve the same selective abilities.Next, they would have to overcome the loss of lightweight elements. Planets maintain their elements through the sheer force of gravity, but an organic colony would struggle with this. Even optimistically, a colony would lose lightweight elements over the course of tens of thousands of years, so it would have to find ways to replenish itself.Lastly, the biological colony would have to be positioned within the habitable zone of its star, to access as much sunlight as possible. As for other resources, like carbon or oxygen, the colony would have to start with a steady supply, like an asteroid, and then transition to a closed-loop recycling system among its various components to sustain itself over the long term.Related Stories:Putting this all together, the researchers paint the portrait of an organism, or colony of organisms, floating freely in space. This structure could be up to 330 feet (100m) across, and it would be contained by a thin, hard, transparent shell. This shell would stabilize its interior water to the right pressure and temperature and allow it to maintain a greenhouse effect.While such organisms may or may not exist in the universe, the research has important implications for future human endeavors in space. Whereas we currently construct habitats with metal and supply our stations with air, food and water transported from Earth, future habitats may use bioengineered materials to create self-sustaining ecosystems.

Business News | Momentum Experiences Celebrates 20 Years of Success with an Exclusive, Soulful Musical Soiree in Mumbai

Business News

NewsVoirMumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 26: With power names of the top business families who have been a part of the journey of 20 years of Momentum Experiences. The guest-list included their clients like Pradeep Rathod of Cello Group, Prakash Jain of Inspira enterprise, the iconic Jewelry designer Nisha Mehta, Salil Chaturvedi owner Provogue & Real Estate Icon, Bharat Mehta from the Mumbai Real Estate Industry, Rajiv Kapoor the beloved man of hospitality – GM Fairmont Hotel and many Bollytown biggies like Dr. Swati & Shailesh Lodha, Raza Murad, Sabiha Murad, Kunickka Sadanad, Music maestro Jaspinder Narula, Sensational Ankit Tiwari, God of Sufi Shadab Faridi, Voice for soothing Vipin Aneja, Ghazal maestro Jazim Sharma & a very versatile Yashraj Kapil.Also Read | England National Cricket Team Captain Ben Stokes Reacts After Series Loss to Pakistan, Says ‘We Weren’t Able To Match Challenges in Last 2 Games’.The 20-year celebration was held at the lavish apartment of the owner who is the creative brain behind the sprawling scenes of Momentum’s big fat Indian Weddings, Lifestyle events & celebrations. Aarti Mattoo, a Kashmiri Pandit, came to the maximum city of Mumbai at a tender age of 18 years with dreams galore & an ambitious heart. Her beginning was extremely humble but focused. Today as a Global thought leader, she represents many industry conferences & and is part of various panel discussions as an opinion maker for Industry navigation. As the Vice president – EEMA West (the apex body of Indian event fraternity), she led many initiatives & causes for betterment of industry on the national platform along with the team.Aarti Mattoo says, “When I started, the only one thing I knew was that I am here to stay, so I will never succumb to any shortcuts. Our journey is slow & steady like that of a tortoise and I feel emotional & grateful at the same time for the clients that trust team Momentum.”Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Road Accident: 6 Killed in 2 Road Accidents in Barwani and Chhindwara Districts.The Decor & ambiance at this party was classy & chic, curated by the in-house decor division of Momentum & appreciated by everyone. Kashmiri home-made food was served alongside the catering by Aurum. DrinQ who is the favorite of Mumbai Clients ensured everyone was in high spirits.Team Momentum has same DNA as though it is one big family. They have curated & managed many top notch VVIP massive events some of which were spread across weeks with audiences of Lacs of people across exotic & heritage Destinations like Mauritius, Bali, Dubai, Oman, Malaysia, Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolhapur & other cities of India which includes MICE, corporate events, festivals, award ceremonies, destination weddings & much more. Afterall completing 20 years in an ever-evolving creative field of high – profile, large scale events globally is not a small feat. Momentum has bagged 32 awards for their various projects from industry bodies which have been vetted by Ernst & YoungThis 20th year marks the expansion for Momentum as they have new business offering & sub brands ready to hit the markets encompassing around the products & services for events. The same was the major announcement at the party!For more information, please visit to www.momentumevents.com.(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)

Former Post and Courier reporter wins national science award for lithium, sea rise stories

Science and Health

Post and Courier stories about forever chemicals, rising seas and the Southeast’s emerging lithium belt earned former reporter Clare Fieseler a major national science writing award.The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine honored Fieseler in its Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. The awards recognize journalists, scientists and science communicators. 

Clare Fieseler.

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Fieseler’s work explored how chemicals known as PFAS have been found in the ovaries of women struggling to get pregnant.

Another focused on how rising seas are swallowing Confederate monuments, generating new questions about preservation.A third explored the South’s “lithium belt,” areas in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina that will play key roles in the clean car revolution.

Judges said Fieseler’s reporting “links past to present and environmental to personal, while calling for accountability in the community.”

Fieseler, now with Politico, wrote all three last year and won in the local/regional category. She was among 24 honorees out of more than 600 entrees. Top winners in various categories received $40,000, with two finalists receiving $20,000 each.

Schmidt Sciences is a philanthropy dedicated to fostering the advancements of science and technology. Its co-founders include Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, and his wife, Wendy, a philanthropist and investor. 

What are some accidental science discoveries besides Teflon? – Ask Your Science Teacher

Science and Health

Yes, I mentioned; X rays, the Rosetta Stone, vulcanized rubber, nylon, quinine, the electric battery, dynamite, vaccination, the Big Bang, radioactivity, saccharin, the microwave, Play-doh, Corn Flakes, Super Glue, and Velcro. Let’s look at two from the medical field: penicillin and insulin. Both have saved, or prolonged, the lives of millions of people.PenicillinIn 1928, a Scottish professor of bacteriology, Authur Fleming, noticed that mold had started to grow in his petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria colonies. Fleming had smeared Staphylococcus bacteria on a culture plate before going on holiday. While he was away, a mold spore had flown into the laboratory through an open window from another nearby laboratory where molds were being studied. When he returned, Fleming discovered the bacteria had grown and covered the entire plate except for one area, which was covered in mold.

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After investigating further, Fleming found a substance in the mold that prevented the bacteria from growing, even if it was diluted 800 times. Fleming found that the mold was a type called Penicillium notatum. This mold is similar to the green fuzzy mold that grows on bread. From the mold, Fleming developed the antibiotic now known as penicillin.By the late 1930s penicillin was being used to treat infections in hospitals. During World War II, military doctors used penicillin to treat infected wounds. Veterinarians also made good use of penicillin. Penicillin is now widely used in the treatment of throat infections, meningitis, pneumonia, and other infections. Fleming shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, who had also worked on developing penicillin as a drug.In 1889, two doctors at the University of Strasbourg, Oscar Minkowski and Josef von Mering, were attempting to understand how the pancreas affected digestion. They removed the pancreas from a living dog. Days later, they noticed that flies were congregating around the dog’s urine. That is not normal or expected. They tested the urine and found sugar in it. It dawned on the doctors; they had given the dog diabetes. Minkowski and von Mering never determined what the pancreas produced that regulated blood sugar.In 1921, a young Canadian pharmacologist, orthopedist, and field surgeon, Frederick Banting and his assistant, Charles Best, figured out how to remove insulin from a dog’s pancreas. Before insulin was discovered by Banting and Best, people with diabetes didn’t live for long. There wasn’t much doctors could do for them. The most effective treatment was to put patients with diabetes on very strict diets with minimal carbohydrate intake. This could buy patients a few extra years but couldn’t save them. Harsh diets, some prescribed as little as 450 calories a day, sometimes even caused patients to die of starvation.Banting and Best kept a dog with severe diabetes alive for 70 days. The dog died only when there was no more extract. Later, a more refined and pure form of insulin was developed, this time from the pancreases of cattle.In January 1922, Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy dying from diabetes in a Toronto hospital, became the first person to receive an injection of insulin. Within 24 hours, Leonard’s dangerously high blood glucose levels dropped to near-normal levels.The news about insulin spread around the world like wildfire. In 1923, Banting and Best received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, shared by two other researchers. Soon after, Eli Lilly started large-scale production of insulin. It wasn’t long before there was enough insulin to supply the entire North American continent.Sources: howstuffworks, the diabetes council, nih.com
Larry Scheckel taught science at Tomah High School for 38 years and was named Tomah Teacher of the Year three times. Send comments and questions to [email protected].

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What are some accidental science discoveries besides Teflon? – Ask Your Science Teacher

Science and Health

Yes, I mentioned; X rays, the Rosetta Stone, vulcanized rubber, nylon, quinine, the electric battery, dynamite, vaccination, the Big Bang, radioactivity, saccharin, the microwave, Play-doh, Corn Flakes, Super Glue, and Velcro. Let’s look at two from the medical field: penicillin and insulin. Both have saved, or prolonged, the lives of millions of people.PenicillinIn 1928, a Scottish professor of bacteriology, Authur Fleming, noticed that mold had started to grow in his petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria colonies. Fleming had smeared Staphylococcus bacteria on a culture plate before going on holiday. While he was away, a mold spore had flown into the laboratory through an open window from another nearby laboratory where molds were being studied. When he returned, Fleming discovered the bacteria had grown and covered the entire plate except for one area, which was covered in mold.

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After investigating further, Fleming found a substance in the mold that prevented the bacteria from growing, even if it was diluted 800 times. Fleming found that the mold was a type called Penicillium notatum. This mold is similar to the green fuzzy mold that grows on bread. From the mold, Fleming developed the antibiotic now known as penicillin.By the late 1930s penicillin was being used to treat infections in hospitals. During World War II, military doctors used penicillin to treat infected wounds. Veterinarians also made good use of penicillin. Penicillin is now widely used in the treatment of throat infections, meningitis, pneumonia, and other infections. Fleming shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, who had also worked on developing penicillin as a drug.In 1889, two doctors at the University of Strasbourg, Oscar Minkowski and Josef von Mering, were attempting to understand how the pancreas affected digestion. They removed the pancreas from a living dog. Days later, they noticed that flies were congregating around the dog’s urine. That is not normal or expected. They tested the urine and found sugar in it. It dawned on the doctors; they had given the dog diabetes. Minkowski and von Mering never determined what the pancreas produced that regulated blood sugar.In 1921, a young Canadian pharmacologist, orthopedist, and field surgeon, Frederick Banting and his assistant, Charles Best, figured out how to remove insulin from a dog’s pancreas. Before insulin was discovered by Banting and Best, people with diabetes didn’t live for long. There wasn’t much doctors could do for them. The most effective treatment was to put patients with diabetes on very strict diets with minimal carbohydrate intake. This could buy patients a few extra years but couldn’t save them. Harsh diets, some prescribed as little as 450 calories a day, sometimes even caused patients to die of starvation.Banting and Best kept a dog with severe diabetes alive for 70 days. The dog died only when there was no more extract. Later, a more refined and pure form of insulin was developed, this time from the pancreases of cattle.In January 1922, Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy dying from diabetes in a Toronto hospital, became the first person to receive an injection of insulin. Within 24 hours, Leonard’s dangerously high blood glucose levels dropped to near-normal levels.The news about insulin spread around the world like wildfire. In 1923, Banting and Best received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, shared by two other researchers. Soon after, Eli Lilly started large-scale production of insulin. It wasn’t long before there was enough insulin to supply the entire North American continent.Sources: howstuffworks, the diabetes council, nih.com
Larry Scheckel taught science at Tomah High School for 38 years and was named Tomah Teacher of the Year three times. Send comments and questions to [email protected].

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Upcoming Book Discussion Highlights the Life of Early Lyon County Settler

Arts & Culture, Books

Middle Ground Books will host author SC Fowler for a discussion and signing of his new historical novel “Bound and Determined: The White Slave of Oryza Hope Plantation.”The book unveils the early life of John Fowler, one of Lyon County’s pioneering settlers. The event is scheduled for 5:30 – 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the bookstore located at 606 Commercial St.The novel, published by Palmetto Publishing, tells the story of young Johnny Fowler in 1815 Charleston, South Carolina. After being coerced into working on the Oryza Hope Plantation alongside enslaved people, Johnny faces numerous hardships including daily abuse and dangerous conditions while separated from his family. The story chronicles his struggle for survival and his quest to reunite with his mother and siblings who had relocated to North Carolina.This previously untold chapter of local history takes on special significance as John Fowler later became a prominent Lyon County settler, arriving from Indiana in 1855 at age 56 with twelve of his children. His journey from an orphaned apprentice in South Carolina to a Kansas pioneer reflects themes of resilience and determination that shaped the region’s early development.The author, SC Fowler, who developed his passion for literature at an early age, now resides in Iowa following a career in the transportation industry. Local history enthusiasts and descendants of Lyon County settlers are particularly encouraged to attend the event.

NM State’s Kale Edwards look to build off 4-sack game vs Louisiana Tech

Technology

Kale Edwards has had a peculiar 2024.In January, he played in the FCS National Championship game with Montana. After falling to South Dakota State and going through spring practices with the Grizzlies, Edwards entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in April. One month later, he committed to New Mexico State.Most of Edwards’ summer was hampered by injuries and he struggled to make an impact with zero sacks in the Aggies’ first six games. But the senior defensive end had his coming-out party against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 15, earning four sacks and winning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honors in a 33-30 double overtime win.A breakout game could be exactly what Edwards needs to rebound. He wants to be one of the Aggies’ best pass rushers and hopes to reach that standard heading into the NM State’s (2-5, 1-3 CUSA) road contest against Florida International (2-6, 1-3 CUSA) at 5 p.m. Tuesday.”It does snowball a little bit,” Edwards said. “When you start moving in the right direction, it’s hard to get it stopped. Hopefully, it just keeps rolling in` the right direction.”Edwards has only played defensive end for a short time. He played quarterback and safety at Coeur d’Alene High School in Idaho, and committed to Montana as a linebacker in 2018. Edwards switched to defensive end as a redshirt freshman in 2020 and began a second transition in as many years.Edwards started eating more to increase his weight, specifically adding more potatoes to his diet. He also learned how to use his hands more aggressively, unlike the finesse manner he had before.”It’s like playing dirty down on the block compared to a three-point shooter,” Edwards said. “There’s a lot of fighting down in the trenches. It’s not finesse. It sometimes is, but most of the time, you have to strike with power.”Edwards grew in his new position and saw more playing time for Montana from 2022-23 seasons, recording 6.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles over both years. But then, Edwards wanted to leave. Many of his friends had graduated from Montana and he also believed he “accomplished everything” he wanted to with the Grizzlies.He also wanted a new challenge.”I loved every minute of Montana,” Edwards said. “But, I just wanted to see somewhere new. I’ve never been down to a place like this before, and I love it.”NM State needed transfers after losing dozens to the portal after 2023. Edwards took a visit and met new head coach Tony Sanchez, defensive coordinator Joe Morris and defensive line coach Eti Ena. He bought into their vision and felt they provided a “welcoming” atmosphere. Just a few weeks after entering the portal, Edwards was on his way to Las Cruces.Edwards hurt his ankle during Montana’s spring practices and spent most of the offseason recovering after graduating with a master’s degree in business. He couldn’t practice like he wanted to, so he “started mentoring NM State’s younger defensive linemen with junior defensive end Buddha Peleti.He also started bonding with the Aggies’ tight ends like Jerry Lydiatt and Trevor Stephens and some of NM State’s quarterbacks. But he mostly keeps to himself, saying he’s a “private person.””Kale is a super quiet dude off the field,” said junior linebacker Tyler Martinez. “He’s obviously very nice and respectful. But when he gets on the field, I would not want to be in that dude’s way. I love having him on my side.”Edwards worked on the “basics” and simple pass-rush moves once he got healthy and hoped it would translate to a fast start. However, he and others struggled. Edwards tallied eight pressures in the Aggies’ first six games but couldn’t obtain a sack or a quarterback hit, while NM State recorded a CUSA-worst five sacks.It took a toll on Edwards, who felt he wasn’t affecting games. Edwards believes focusing on his mistakes, or his “1/11th”, would help the rest of the defense improve for LA Tech.”It was super frustrating,” Edwards said. “But as soon as you start trying to do more than (your job), it affects the team in a negative way.”I come out to practice every day with the same attitude. That never changed through any of the weeks, and I always go into the game expecting to do well.”Edwards got his moment, becoming the first NM State player to record more than 3.5 sacks in a game since Cedric Wilcots II in 2017. His efforts helped the Aggies pull off an emphatic victory to snap their five-game losing streak.”Kale is a steady guy… He’s purposeful when he gets out there,” Sanchez said. “It’s not shocking that he had a big game like that. I’m happy for him.”Heading into his final five regular season games of his career, Edwards hopes he can finish it on a high note.”I hope we reach our potential as a team,” Edwards said. “And I also just want to win. That’s what it’s all about.”

OEM Business Model Does Not Align Well With VCs: Blume Ventures’ Arpit Agarwal

Business News

SUMMARY
The VC firm is happy with its five investments in the EV space and does not have any more investments planned. While it can invest in a software company in the next three years but nothing in the main sub-segments
The industry veteran believes that imposing a green tax on diesel vehicles can help generate enough money for the EV space
While our discussions with Agarwal were largely focussed on Blume’s EV thesis, investments, trends and analysis of the emobility sector, we also touched upon the much-talked-about semiconductor and electronics manufacturing

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The Indian EV industry has achieved several major milestones recently. Some of the noteworthy ones include the IPO of two-wheeler EV startup Ola Electric and its competitor Ather Energy preparing to make its market debut. 
This is happening at a time when the industry is learning to rely less on subsidies, indicating that the Indian EV ecosystem is moving towards maturity.

After the FAME-II fiasco in 2023, a cutback in EV subsidies negatively impacted the sector, but it’s now in the recovery mode. Recently, after much speculation, the Centre also introduced the INR 10,900 Cr PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme as an extension of FAME to further support the EV segment.
Meanwhile, the country is striving to enhance its domestic manufacturing capabilities. Electronics component manufacturing is strengthening, semiconductor fabs are in the process of being set up, and EV players are now working under stricter regulations of domestic value addition. 
In light of these developments, Inc42 spoke to Blume Ventures’ partner Arpit Agarwal, one of the early investors in deeptech in India and a top EV investor. Blume’s EV portfolio includes electric mobility startup Yulu, battery swapping platform Battery Smart, EV charging infra provider ElectricPe, and three-wheeler EV OEM Euler Motors, among others.
Besides, Blume has invested in robotics startups GreyOrange and Niqo Robotics, spacetech startup Pixxel, deeptech manufacturing startup Ethereal Machines, just to count a few.

While our discussions with Agarwal were largely focussed on Blume’s EV thesis, investments, trends and analysis of the emobility sector, we also touched upon the much-talked-about semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. 
However, during our conversation what stood out was Agarwal’s take on the OEM business model, which, according to him, does not align well with VCs. What made him say so, and where is the VC interest skewed towards the most?
Here are the edited excerpts…
Inc42: What has motivated Blume to start investments in the EV space? Also, what has been the firm’s thesis here?
Arpit Agarwal: We have made five investments in the sector so far. We started investing in the EV sector not because we found it special but because of our curiosity to understand the EV space deeply as deeptech investors. 
Our first EV investment was in Yulu. Honestly, we didn’t have a clear thesis at the time. We knew Amit Gupta, the founder and CEO of Yulu, so we decided to get involved.
Through this investment, we learnt a few things about electric vehicles and understood how businesses could be built in this space. Alongside, we were also looking at global trends, with companies like Tesla gaining popularity. 
Around 2019, we found out that Delhi alone had 5 Lakh e-rickshaws on the road, which was a big number, and I realised something interesting was happening in the sector that we were not aware of. While doing our research, we realised that the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) was driving the market. 
Globally, the widespread adoption of new technology happens for economic reasons. Now, it could be economical because a government is subsidising it, because someone is absorbing all the cost, or because the technology itself is superior. 
Once the cost of production comes down, everyone starts moving towards it. We have seen this in CNG earlier, and we knew a similar thing was set to happen in EV.
Inc42: None of the five EV investments you have made is in the electric two-wheeler OEM space. Why did you avoid this segment?
Arpit Agarwal: We did invest in Euler Motors, and what we learnt is that building a successful business in the EV space is not just about creating a good product. You also need to make sure that the vehicle is manufactured at the right cost.
Now, this requires significant capital expenditure and the venture capital model is generally anti-capex. In EV manufacturing, a company will only be able to get to the right price point once they receive initial investments in the range of $10-$20 Mn. However, most companies do not have access to this kind of capital.

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RECOMMENDED FOR yOU

Ola Electric did the right thing when it started with $250 Mn in investment as the company knew it required the capex to produce at scale and cost that the market wanted. Therefore, I think that the OEM business model is not a great fit for VCs, at least not for early-stage VCs. 
Inc42: What trends are you currently noticing in the EV sector, and how have they shifted over the past two years?
Arpit Agarwal: Let me give you a six-year paradigm. When we invested in Euler in 2018, OEMs were new in the market, and it felt like investing in a technology company. Today, OEMs have become larger and more mature, hence less suitable for early stage investors. 
Similarly, no new trend is emerging in the battery-swapping segment. Two companies, Sun Mobility and Battery Smart, have become established players. However, the investors who are now entering these companies are the ones typically with $30-$50 Mn cheque sizes.
The component manufacturing space is also capex-heavy. Therefore, early-stage investors have not touched it, except for data and intelligence components like Battery Management Systems (BMS), which companies like Vecmocon make. While some of these companies have already raised venture capital, they aren’t mature enough to raise more money. 
Even the financing space has reasonably large companies like RevFin, Turno, and Vidyut. We looked at some of them but could not see differentiation, so we stayed away. Charging infra is experiencing a similar trend.
With these spaces taken, the emerging opportunity now lies in software around EVs. We have met companies making middleware. There is a company that is creating a software platform through which customers and financiers can get access to certain data. OEMs don’t have this capability, making it an interesting area to watch. 
There is enough scope for companies to create new features around EVs, such as mobile apps for finding charging stations or services. There is also an opportunity coming around the secondary use case of the batteries.
A lot of later-stage investors are now coming in across the EV sub-segments. Globally, with an increase in green financing, more global players are likely to check into these companies.
Inc42: What is your take on the new EV subsidy scheme PM E-Drive? Are you satisfied with the current government support for the sector?
Arpit Agarwal: PM E-Drive is the continuation of FAME-III, which is a step in the right direction. However, what we need to understand is that the prerogative of the government of India or any state government goes beyond just reducing pollution.
While pollution is a serious issue, the push for EVs is more driven by geopolitical concerns. We rely heavily on oil imports (about 80-85%), which makes us vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and geopolitical risks. Reducing this dependency is critical, and that’s where EV adoption comes in.
India could have chosen a more aggressive subsidiary regime, but the reason why we have not is that the automotive industry employs crores of people. Choosing anything more aggressive could have hurt a lot of stakeholders. Therefore, the government chose to tread carefully.
I do not have anything against the subsidy scheme, except that it could have been sharper and more intentional. For instance, why isn’t there a green tax on diesel cars? Imposing a green tax on the sales of diesel vehicles could generate enough money, which could then be deployed in the EV space. 
Similarly, why is the registration price of an EV and an ICE vehicle still the same? Also, the road tax for both vehicle categories is the same in most states across India.
Inc42: Are you looking to invest in more EV startups in the coming days? 
Arpit Agarwal: We are happy with our five investments and do not have any more investments planned. We can invest in a software company in the next three years but nothing in the main sub-segments. 

The way our business works is we have a very narrow window of opportunity where both the sector and timing must be right. Once that has passed, it is no longer worth investing in the space.
Inc42: Is Blume looking to exit any of its current investments?
Arpit Agarwal: Not right now. However, this will happen after five to six years when the likes of Yulu, Battery Smart, and Euler start going for IPO.
Inc42: How do you look at deeptech from an investment and growth point of view?
Arpit Agarwal: Deeptech is gaining prominence in the country due to two primary reasons. The first one is the availability of capital. There are about 15-20 early stage funds, which didn’t exist three years ago, but are now actively investing in the space.  
The second reason is that the domestic market has become very receptive to technology. Startups in industrial automation that have been around for over a decade struggled to gain traction in India until 2018 or 2019. Now, they are being well received as the Indian manufacturing sector has expanded in both scale and standards.
When we invested in Ati Motors, which is a factory automation company, we didn’t think that it would find strong adoption in India. Today, India is a huge market for it.
The evolution of Indian buyers is also playing a role in making these Indian companies more successful, be it in the defence tech space, biotechnology, or industrial automation.
Tomorrow, I can imagine there will be Series B funds exclusively set up for deeptech companies because there is so much supply of deeptech companies, and these funds would have the special capability to just invest in those companies at that scale.
Inc42: What is your view on the semiconductor industry? How do you see it helping the EV ecosystem and broader electronics sector?
Arpit Agarwal: The current challenge is that even though we are able to reduce our reliance on global supply chains for oil, doing this for semiconductors will not be as easy. 
Also, it is unlikely that consumer electronics will see sourcing of computing electronics from India because the necessary fabs are not expected to be established in the country anytime soon. 
However, automotive electronics is likely to move where you will have Indian fabs providing to Indian OEMs, which is a good trend. However, are we going to be completely independent despite our significant demand? I don’t foresee that happening for at least the next 20 years. 
Setting up a fab itself requires lakhs of crores of investment, and even then, it won’t be the most cutting-edge facility that is on par with global fabs producing 2-4 nanometer chips. Building an entire fab-friendly ecosystem — covering design, packaging, verification, and global supply — will take at least a decade or two.
[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

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MIT scientists discover 1st-ever black hole triple system”

Science and Health

Simplifying…
Inshort

MIT scientists have stumbled upon the first-ever black hole triple system, centered around the well-studied black hole, V404 Cygni.

This unexpected discovery, made while examining global telescope data, challenges traditional theories of violent supernova formations, suggesting a gentler “direct collapse” process.

The synchronized movement of a distant star orbiting the central black hole, a one-in-10-million occurrence, further solidifies this groundbreaking find.

Was a long read? Making it simpler…

Next Article

New study redefines traditional views on black hole formation

Oct 26, 2024

01:21 pm

What’s the story

In a recent study, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have discovered a black hole triple system.

This is the first time such a configuration has been observed.

The unique system consists of a central black hole consuming a nearby star that orbits it every 6.5 days, and another distant star orbiting it every 70,000 years.

Theory challenge

Black hole must have formed due to ‘direct collapse’

The discovery of the black hole triple system is challenging existing theories about how black holes are formed.

Traditionally, black holes are believed to form from the violent explosion of a dying star, a process known as a supernova.

However, the newly discovered triple system suggests that this black hole may have formed through a gentler process called “direct collapse” rather than a violent supernova, due to the presence of a distant star orbiting the central black hole.

Accidental find

Discovery of black hole triple system was unexpected

The discovery of the black hole triple system was somewhat fortuitous. The scientists stumbled upon it while examining Aladin Lite, a collection of astronomical observations from telescopes worldwide.

They were initially searching for new black holes within our Milky Way galaxy when they made this unprecedented discovery.

System focus

Triple system centers on well-studied black hole

The triple system revolves around V404 Cygni, a black hole situated some 8,000 light-years away from Earth.

Even though it is one of the most studied black holes (since 1992), none of the previous studies reported what study author Kevin Burdge and his colleagues observed.

The team spotted two different sources of light near V404 Cygni, which led to the discovery of this unique triple system.

Motion confirmation

Outer star’s motion confirms triple system

To confirm the link between the outer star and the black hole, scientists examined data from Gaia, a satellite that has been monitoring all stars in our galaxy since 2014.

They observed that both the stars moved in perfect sync as opposed to other nearby stars.

The odds of such synchronized movement are about one in 10 million, further solidifying their discovery of this unique triple system.

Simulation support

Simulations support theory of black hole’s gentle formation

To understand how this triple system could have evolved and retained the outer star, Burdge and colleagues conducted simulations.

The results overwhelmingly showed that the most plausible way for this triple system to exist is through direct collapse.

This supports their theory that the black hole in question was formed gently, without a violent supernova explosion.

Scientists worked out the maximum age a person can actually live to after conducting study

Science and Health

In his script for the 1966 film A Man for All Seasons, screenwriter Robert Bolt stated: “Death comes for us all; even at our birth, death does but stand aside a little.”And you know what? He’s pretty spot on because the only thing that’s certain in life is death… and taxes, as the idiom goes.While eating a well-balanced diet, not smoking cigarettes and enjoying an active lifestyle may potentially increase your life expectancy, death does eventually come knocking.But thanks to medical advancements and documented economic growth the modern-day human’s life span is much longer than our ancestors.The Office for National Statistics claims life expectancy at birth in the UK from 2020 to 2022 was 78.6 years for males and 82.6 years for females.This beats out the US, where it sits at around 74.8 years and 80.2 years for males and females, respectively.But just because there’s an average doesn’t mean there aren’t anomalies, just look at Jeanne Calment.The Frenchwoman was at the ripe old age of 122 when she died in 1997, making her a supercentenarian – a person who is 110 years or older.While most people get nowhere near that, the question of just how long the human body theoretically can survive is one of science’s most pressing questions.Scientists believe they know how long the human body can survive (Getty Stock Image)In 2022, researchers from Singapore biotech company Gero and the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, studied human resilience and the body’s ability to recover from damage.Using AI, they combed through the medical data of hundreds of thousands of volunteers to estimate a human’s maximum lifespan.Factoring in age, illness and lifestyle factors, they found that somewhere between 120 and 150 years, the human body’s ability to recover completely gave out, meaning that a person couldn’t really survive beyond then.Other studies into the science of ageing suggest the record for the world’s oldest person will probably be broken again by 2100, but not everyone’s going to be making it past Calment’s grand old age.Meanwhile, drugs which could try to slow down the body’s ageing process and theoretically let someone live for up to 200 years are being tested, but the idea that we’re all about to live to 200 is a long way off.The oldest person to ever live managed to make it to their 122nd birthday (Getty Stock Image)Of course, you could always hope that space travel advances to the point where you could move to another planet we discovered where people could live over 3,000 years.Although, that’s because that planet has much shorter years, orbiting its sun once every 2.7 Earth days.While you could technically call that living for plenty of years, by human standards it’d be cheating, and it wouldn’t make you live longer.Still, if you could make it to 150 that’d count as pretty good innings, and maybe by then we’d have invented a way for people to actually live forever – perhaps as robots.