Emerging Technologies in CpE Assignment No.

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1. Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a key solution

to decarbonizing the aviation industry. It can be produced
from biological and non-biological resources, and it can be
blended with conventional jet fuel at a ratio of up to 50%.
SAF production is steadily increasing, and an increasing
number of airlines have committed to using it.
Nine SAFs have been approved for blending by
the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). The
availability and collection of raw materials, along with the
need for sustainably produced green hydrogen, remain
major challenges for SAF production.
However, new technologies are being developed to
address these challenges. For example, genetically
engineered
microorganisms could potentially reduce dependence on plant oils and animal fats. SAF is a
rapidly evolving technology, and it has the potential to play a major role in decarbonizing the
aviation industry.

2. Designer Phages

Designer phages are emerging as a powerful tool for

engineering microbiomes and enhancing human, animal, and plant
health. Recent advances in synthetic biology have made it possible
to reprogram the genetic information of phages, viruses that
selectively infect specific types of bacteria. This allows scientists to
create designer phages that can be used to change the functions of
bacteria, causing them to produce therapeutic molecules or to
become sensitive to certain drugs, for example.

Designer phages are showing potential for treating

microbiome-associated diseases such as hemolytic uremic
syndrome (HUS), a rare but serious condition that affects the
kidneys and blood-clotting functions. Scientists have engineered
phages to target and kill the specific strain of E. coli that causes
HUS, and this approach has been shown to be effective in animal studies.

Designer phages are also being developed for a variety of other applications, including:

• Enhancing the growth of livestock

• Treating certain plant diseases
• Eliminating dangerous bacteria in food supply chains

Promising early results of designer phage therapies have attracted significant venture
capital investment, and clinical trials are underway to test the safety and efficacy of these
engineered phages for a variety of human diseases.

3. Spatial Omics

Spatial omics is a powerful new technology that combines advanced imaging techniques
with DNA sequencing to map the what, where, and when of biological processes at the molecular
level. It has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of life and lead to new and more
effective treatments for diseases.

Here is a summary of the potential benefits of spatial omics:

• Unraveling the mysteries of cell architecture and biological events: Spatial omics can
be used to visualize previously unobservable cell architecture and biological events in
 unprecedented detail. This could lead to new insights into how cells develop, function, and
interact with each other.
• Creating molecular-level cell atlases: Spatial omics is being used to create
molecularlevel cell atlases of humans and other species. These atlases provide a
comprehensive overview of the different cell types present in different tissues and organs,
as well as the genes and proteins that they express. This information could be used to
develop new diagnostic tools and treatments for diseases.
• Understanding and treating diseases: Spatial omics can be used to study the molecular
changes that occur in diseased tissues. This could lead to a better understanding of how
diseases develop and progress, as well as the identification of new drug targets.
• Developing personalized treatments: Spatial omics can be used to characterize the
different cell types present in a tumor. This information could be used to develop
personalized treatment plans for cancer patients.

Here are some specific examples of how spatial

omics
isbeing used to advance our understanding of biology
and disease:

• Scientists used spatial omics to construct a

three-dimensional cell atlas of fruit fly larvae
and unlocked the black box of
organ development in mouse embryos.
• Another study revealed that the
injured amphibian axolotl brain heals
itself using mechanisms mirroring
those activated during brain
development.
• Using spatial omics, scientists identified a
population of neurons in the spinal cord that
appears to be responsible for recovery after spinal cord injury. Stimulating these neurons
in paralysed mice sped up their recovery to walking.
• A spatial omics study of samples from people who died from COVID-19 revealed that
SARS-CoV-2 causes widespread disruption of cellular pathways across all tissues.

4. Flexible Neural Electronics

Flexible brain-machine interfaces (BMIs)are

a promising new technology that has the
potential to revolutionize our understanding of the
brain and develop new treatments for neurological disorders.
They are made of soft and flexible materials that can conform
to the brain, reducing scarring and sensor drift. They can
also be packed with enough sensors to stimulate
millions of brain cells at once, vastly outperforming the scale
and timeframe of hard probes.

Flexible BMIs have the potential to:

• Deepen understanding of neurological conditions:

Flexible BMIs can be used to record neural activity in
real time, which could help researchers to better
understand neurological conditions such as dementia
and autism.
• Improve neuroprosthetic control: Flexible BMIs could provide greater control of
neuroprosthetics, such as robotic limbs, without requiring frequent recalibration.
 • Treat neurological disorders: Flexible BMIs could be used to develop new treatments for
neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

Clinical trials of flexible BMIs are already underway, and this technology is rapidly
becoming a reality. In the future, other implantable devices, such as cardiac pacemakers, could
adopt similar types of materials.
However, there are also some ethical considerations that need to be addressed before flexible
BMIs are widely implemented. These include:

• Potential health risks: Flexible BMIs are still under development, and there is a risk of
potential health complications, such as infection and inflammation.
• Public acceptance and trust: It is important to ensure that the public accepts and trusts
flexible BMI technology before it is widely used.
• Privacy and ethical use of data: Flexible BMIs collect sensitive brain-derived data, and it
is important to have guidelines in place for how this data can be used in a responsible and
ethical way.
Flexible BMIs are a promising new technology with the potential to revolutionize our
understanding of the brain and develop new treatments for neurological disorders. However, it is
important to carefully consider the ethical implications of this technology before it is widely
implemented.

5. Artificial Gravity

Artificial gravity is the creation of an inertial force that mimics the effects of a gravitational
force, usually by rotation. Artificial gravity, or rotational gravity, is thus the appearance of a
centrifugal force in a rotating frame of reference (the transmission of centripetal acceleration via
normal force in the non-rotating frame of reference), as opposed to the force experienced in
linear acceleration, which by the equivalence principle is indistinguishable from gravity.
Artificial gravity has the potential to revolutionize space travel. It would allow us to build
long-term space stations and habitats, and it would also make it possible to travel to distant
planets. However, artificial gravity is still in its early stages of development, and there are a few
challenges that need to be overcome before it can be used in real-world applications. But despite
the challenges, artificial gravity is a promising technology that has the potential to make space
travel more accessible and comfortable.

Here are some of the potential benefits of artificial gravity in space:

• It would allow us to build long-term space stations and habitats.
• It would make it possible to travel to distant planets.
• It would improve the health and well-being of astronauts.
• It would make space travel more accessible to people with disabilities.

Overall, artificial gravity is a technology with the potential to revolutionize space travel and make
it more accessible and comfortable for everyone.