This week on Mornings with Carmen, we talked about how scientists are trying to develop transparent solar panels, gravity waves in the upper atmosphere due to Hurricane Helene, whether wood can withstand space conditions, and why more middle-aged women are asking for testosterone.
Transparent Solar Panels
A group of engineers at Michigan State University have developed transparent solar panels made with an organic molecule that absorbs certain wavelengths of the sun’s light.
Other research groups have worked on transparent solar panels, but this research is interesting because they can tweak their organic molecule to absorb certain wavelengths of the sun’s light.
What’s neat about these see-through panels is they can be placed on windows, like those on buildings, without looking like they are solar panels. This would help with two big problems with opaque solar panels: 1) they’re eye sores, and 2) they take up a lot of area. Transparent solar panels can be incorporated into windows that are already on homes and buildings or any clear surface. These transparent solar panels are still less efficient than opaque ones, so they still have a lot of research to do to bring them up to speed, but it is something that many people are interested and is a great example of human creativity to make life better.
NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment and Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene was a massive hurricane that grew very large very fast. Those of us in Texas keep our eyes on hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico because even if they don’t land in Texas, they will affect the weather here.
Well, it turns out major weather events like hurricanes and tsunamis also affect the weather in space. This time last year NASA launched its Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE), which is a sensor mounted on the outside of the International Space Station. It scans for gravity waves in the lower part of the upper atmosphere, or the mesosphere. After Hurricane Helene, there were indications of very large gravity waves in upper atmosphere.
Don’t let the term “gravity” mislead you. The sensor looking for ripple patterns in the air. These are unseen, but we can see the effects of these gravity waves, sometimes in ripple patterns in clouds after a major weather event or in something called “airglow.” The AWE looks at colorful bands of light in the mesosphere that are not due to sun or stars but to excited oxygen and nitrogen atoms emitting photons of light.
Why is this important? They want to study this because these gravity waves can affect satellites other communication signals, and a major weather events are when we really want our communication signals to work.
Why on Earth (or in Space) would we want a wooden satellite?
Japanese researchers at Kyoto University have developed a wood-paneled satellite, called LingoSat, that weighs about 2 pounds. Technically, this satellite is not completely made of wood, but it is the first wood-paneled satellite. The made the satellite out of magnolia wood and did not use any screws or glue to put it together. Space X’s Dragon cargo capsule delivered the small satellite to the International Space Station to test the durability of wood in space.
Two reasons why we want to test the durability of wood in space:
- Can we grow trees or build structures on other planet locations?
- Can we decrease the amount of aluminum used so it doesn’t pollute the Earth’s atmosphere.
Recently, people in parts of the U.S., including here in North Texas, said they saw a fireball in the sky. Well, it wasn’t a fireball, it was a decommissioned Space X Starlink satellite that was reentering the earth’s atmosphere. Every time that happens, that puts burnt aluminum and other metals in the air, so wood would be better, if it’s possible for wood to withstand the conditions of space.
The wooden satellite will send data back to researchers on the temperature and the strain on the wooden parts of the structure.
The latest TikTok health fad: testosterone therapy for women
Many women in their 40s and 50s who are dealing with the hormonal changes that happen during perimenopause and menopause are asking their doctors for testosterone. Testosterone is in both men and women, but in much higher quantities in men, while women have higher quantities of estrogen. Both of these hormones decrease as we age. Testosterone in both men and women helps with building and maintaining muscle mass, energy levels, and low dose testosterone is approved as a last resort for women with a low sex drive. However, the clinical trial data on this does not show that testosterone hormone therapy confers much benefit to women.
Here is another example of a hormone medication that is used in very specific circumstances, that received some TikTok endorsements, and now many women are asking for it without understanding the side effects or if they even really need it.
I did my bioethics thesis on performance enhancement in sports. This isn’t for sports, but women who take testosterone experience side effects like facial hair growth, deepening voice, and acne. Important for women in their 40s and 50s, testosterone can increase your cholesterol levels.
This is not meant as medical advice, but I will say that my brother, who has been a trainer and nutritionist for almost twenty years says one of the best ways for women to deal with menopause and hormone changes is to exercise, including strength training. But that is not a quick fix, and influencers want to promote quick fixes.