An imaging technique currently available only at synchrotrons like the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) could one day enable doctors to detect osteoarthritis while patients can still be treated with medication – before they require joint replacement — thanks to research by USask scientist Brian Eames and colleagues.
In a pair of studies, Eames, a professor of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology in the USask College of Medicine, found that phase contrast imaging (PCI) detects very subtle changes in cartilage. He says the technique, which takes advantage of the high-energy light produced by the synchrotron, provides “fantastic” imaging of cartilage.
In the most recent study, Eames and colleagues (Daniel Chen, College of Engineering; Ali Honoramooz, Western College of Veterinary Medicine; Bill Dust, College of Medicine; and PhD student Hamed Alizadeh) used PCI to determine how well 3D-bioprinted cartilage could repair damaged joints. They compared the performance of cells impregnated in two different materials – one a squishy material called hydrogel and the other a hybrid construct combining hydrogel with a stiff plastic material. They hypothesized that the hybrid construct would shield the cells from forces in the recovering joint, so that the proper type of cartilage (hyaline) could form.
When they implanted these materials into animal joints, the researchers found that both helped new cartilage form, with the hydrogel doing slightly better by some measures. The hybrid, however, had one advantage: It formed less fibrocartilage, which was consistent with the team’s hypothesis. Fibrocartilage is a tougher form of cartilage that is created when joints are under stress. Having less fibrocartilage provides better joint function.
In an earlier study, Eames found that the superior resolution of PCI enabled more precise mapping of the articular cartilage surface than MRI – currently the “go to” imaging technique for osteoarthritis
Eames says that, while both sets of results are interesting, he’s more excited about the potential they hint at for bringing PCI into the clinical setting. PCI’s precision and ability to detect subtle changes “might be able to increase the ability to detect osteoarthritis earlier than regular clinical monitoring,” giving doctors more options for early treatment and researchers potential new targets for drug development.
While a football-field-sized synchrotron will never be a standard part of a hospital imaging suite, Eames says some companies are already working on ways to adapt the technology to make it portable for clinical use.
“The [CLS] is a nice test case for the technology that others can try to adapt for clinical use in humans,” he says.
Eames is seen discussing the work in this video,
Here are links to both papers mentioned in the news release, with the most recent work being first,
There weren’t too many highlights in the 2024 budget as far as I was concerned. Overall, it was a bread and butter budget concerned with housing, jobs, business, and prices along with the government’s perennial focus on climate change and the future for young people and Indigenous peoples. There was nothing particularly special about the funds allocated for research and, as for defence spending in the 2024 budget, that was and is nominally interesting.
“Boosting Research, Innovation, and Productivity” was found in Chapter Four: Economic Growth for Every Generation.
4.1 Boosting Research, Innovation, and Productivity
For anyone who’s not familiar with ‘innovation’ as a buzzword, it’s code for ‘business’. From 4.1 of the budget,
Key Ongoing Actions
Supporting scientific discovery, developing Canadian research talent, and attracting top researchers from around the planet to make Canada their home base for their important work with more than $16 billion committed since 2016.
Supporting critical emerging sectors, through initiatives like the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, [emphases mine] the National Quantum Strategy, the Pan-Canadian Genomics Strategy, and the Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy.
Nearly $2 billion to fuel Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters to grow these innovation ecosystems, promote commercialization, support intellectual property creation and retention, and scale Canadian businesses.
Investing $3.5 billion in the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to strengthen the innovation, competitiveness, and resiliency of the agriculture and agri-food sector.
Flowing up to $333 million over the next decade to support dairy sector investments in research, product and market development, and processing capacity for solids non-fat, thus increasing its competitiveness and productivity.
The only ’emerging’ sector singled out for new funding was the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy and that is almost all ‘innovation’, from 4.1 of the budget,
Strengthening Canada’s AI Advantage
Canada’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is among the best in the world. Since 2017, the government has invested over $2 billion towards AI in Canada. Fuelled by those investments, Canada is globally recognized for strong AI talent, research, and its AI sector.
Today, Canada’s AI sector is ranked first in the world for growth of women in AI, and first in the G7 for year-over-year growth of AI talent. Every year since 2019, Canada has published the most AI-related papers, per capita, in the G7. Our AI firms are filing patents at three times the average rate in the G7, and they are attracting nearly a third of all venture capital in Canada. In 2022-23, there were over 140,000 actively engaged AI professionals in Canada, an increase of 29 per cent compared to the previous year. These are just a few of Canada’s competitive advantages in AI and we are aiming even higher.
To secure Canada’s AI advantage, the government has already:
Established the first national AI strategy in the world through the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy;
Supported access to advanced computing capacity, including through the recent signing of a letter of intent with NVIDIA and a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.K. government; and,
Scaled-up Canadian AI firms through the Strategic Innovation Fund and Global Innovation Clusters program.
Figure 4.1 Building on Canada’s AI Advantage
AI is a transformative economic opportunity for Canada and the government is committed to doing more to support our world-class research community, launch Canadian AI businesses, and help them scale-up to meet the demands of the global economy. The processing capacity required by AI is accelerating a global push for the latest technology, for the latest computing infrastructure.
Currently, most compute capacity is located in other countries. Challenges accessing compute power slows down AI research and innovation, and also exposes Canadian firms to a reliance on privately-owned computing, outside of Canada. This comes with dependencies and security risks. And, it is a barrier holding back our AI firms and researchers.
We need to break those barriers to stay competitive in the global AI race and ensure workers benefit from the higher wages of AI transformations; we must secure Canada’s AI advantage. We also need to ensure workers who fear their jobs may be negatively impacted by AI have the tools and skills training needed in a changing economy.
To secure Canada’s AI advantage Budget 2024 announces a monumental increase in targeted AI support of $2.4 billion, including:
$2 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, to launch a new AI Compute Access Fund and Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy, to help Canadian researchers, start-ups, and scale-up businesses access the computational power they need to compete and help catalyze the development of Canadian-owned and located AI infrastructure.
$200 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to boost AI start-ups to bring new technologies to market, and accelerate AI adoption in critical sectors, such as agriculture, clean technology, health care, and manufacturing. This support will be delivered through Canada’s Regional Development Agencies.
$100 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, for the National Research Council’s AI Assist Program to help Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses and innovators build and deploy new AI solutions, potentially in coordination with major firms, to increase productivity across the country.
$50 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, to support workers who may be impacted by AI, such as creative industries. This support will be delivered through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, which will provide new skills training for workers in potentially disrupted sectors and communities.
The government will engage with industry partners and research institutes to swiftly implement AI investment initiatives, fostering collaboration and innovation across sectors for accelerated technological advancement.
Before moving to the part of budget that focuses on safe and responsible use of AI, I’ve got some information about the legislative situation and an omnibus bill C-27 which covers AI, from my October 10, 2024 posting,
You can find more up-to-date information about the status of the Committee’s Bill-27 meetings on this webpage where it appears that September 26, 2024 was the committee’s most recent meeting. If you click on the highlighted meeting dates, you will be given the option of watching a webcast of the meeting. The webpage will also give you access to a list of witnesses, the briefs and the briefs themselves.
November 2024 update: The committee’s most recent meeting is still listed as September 26, 2024.
AI has tremendous economic potential, but as with all technology, it presents important considerations to ensure its safe development and implementation. Canada is a global leader in responsible AI and is supporting an AI ecosystem that promotes responsible use of technology. From development through to implementation and beyond, the government is taking action to protect Canadians from the potentially harmful impacts of AI.
The government is committed to guiding AI innovation in a positive direction, and to encouraging the responsible adoption of AI technologies by Canadians and Canadian businesses. To bolster efforts to ensure the responsible use of AI:
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $50 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to create an AI Safety Institute of Canada to ensure the safe development and deployment of AI. The AI Safety Institute will help Canada better understand and protect against the risks of advanced and generative AI systems. The government will engage with stakeholders and international partners with competitive AI policies to inform the final design and stand-up of the AI Safety Institute.
Budget 2024 also proposes to provide $5.1 million in 2025-26 to equip the AI and Data Commissioner Office with the necessary resources to begin enforcing the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.
Budget 2024 proposes $3.5 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to advance Canada’s leadership role with the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, securing Canada’s leadership on the global stage when it comes to advancing the responsible development, governance, and use of AI technologies internationally.
Using AI to Keep Canadians Safe
AI has shown incredible potential to toughen up security systems, including screening protocols for air cargo. Since 2012, Transport Canada has been testing innovative approaches to ensure that air cargo coming into Canada is safe, protecting against terrorist attacks. This included launching a pilot project to screen 10 to 15 per cent of air cargo bound for Canada and developing an artificial intelligence system for air cargo screening.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $6.7 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to Transport Canada to establish the Pre-Load Air Cargo Targeting Program to screen 100 per cent of air cargo bound for Canada. This program, powered by cutting-edge artificial intelligence, will increase security and efficiency, and align Canada’s air security regime with those of its international partners.
There was a small section which updates some information about intellectual property retention (patent box retention) but otherwise is concerned with industrial R&B (a perennial Canadian weakness), from 4.1 of the budget,
Boosting R&D and Intellectual Property Retention
Research and development (R&D) is a key driver of productivity and growth. Made-in-Canada innovations meaningfully increase our gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, create good-paying jobs, and secure Canada’s position as a world-leading advanced economy.
To modernize and improve the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives, the federal government launched consultations on January 31, 2024, to explore cost-neutral ways to enhance the program to better support innovative businesses and drive economic growth. In these consultations, which closed on April 15, 2024, the government asked Canadian researchers and innovators for ways to better deliver SR&ED support to small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses and enable the next generation of innovators to scale-up, create jobs, and grow the economy.
Budget 2024 announces the government is launching a second phase of consultations on more specific policy parameters, to hear further views from businesses and industry on specific and technical reforms. This includes exploring how Canadian public companies could be made eligible for the enhanced credit. Further details on the consultation process will be released shortly on the Department of Finance Canada website.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $600 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $150 million per year ongoing for future enhancements to the SR&ED program. The second phase of consultations will inform how this funding could be targeted to boost research and innovation.
On January 31, 2024, the government also launched consultations on creating a patent box regime to encourage the development and retention of intellectual property in Canada. The patent box consultation closed on April 15, 2024. Submissions received through this process, which are still under review, will help inform future government decisions with respect to a patent box regime.
Nice to get an update on what’s happening with the patent box regime.
The Tri-Council consisting of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) don’t often get mentioned in the federal budget but they did this year, from 4.1 of the budget,
Enhancing Research Support
Since 2016, the federal government has committed more than $16 billion in research, including funding for the federal granting councils—the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
This research support enables groundbreaking discoveries in areas such as climate change, health emergencies, artificial intelligence, and psychological health. This plays a critical role in solving the world’s greatest challenges, those that will have impacts for generations.
Canada’s granting councils already do excellent work within their areas of expertise, but more needs to be done to maximize their effect. The improvements we are making today, following extensive consultations including with the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, will strengthen and modernize Canada’s federal research support.
To increase core research grant funding and support Canadian researchers, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $1.8 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $748.3 million per year ongoing to SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR.
To provide better coordination across the federally funded research ecosystem, Budget 2024 announces the government will create a new capstone research funding organization. The granting councils will continue to exist within this new organization, and continue supporting excellence in investigator-driven research, including linkages with the Health portfolio. This new organization and structure will also help to advance internationally collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and mission-driven research. The government is delivering on the Advisory Panel’s observation that more coordination is needed to maximize the impact of federal research support across Canada’s research ecosystem.
To help guide research priorities moving forward, Budget 2024 also announces the government will create an advisory Council on Science and Innovation. This Council will be made up of leaders from the academic, industry, and not-for-profit sectors, and be responsible for a national science and innovation strategy to guide priority setting and increase the impact of these significant federal investments.
Budget 2024 also proposes to provide a further $26.9 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $26.6 million in remaining amortization and $6.6 million ongoing, to the granting councils to establish an improved and harmonized grant management system.
The government will also work with other key players in the research funding system—the provinces, territories, and Canadian industry—to ensure stronger alignment, and greater co-funding to address important challenges, notably Canada’s relatively low level of business R&D investment.
More details on these important modernization efforts will be announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.
World-Leading Research Infrastructure
Modern, high-quality research facilities and infrastructure are essential for breakthroughs in Canadian research and science. These laboratories and research centres are where medical and other scientific breakthroughs are born, helping to solve real-world problems and create the economic opportunities of the future. World-leading research facilities will attract and train the next generation of scientific talent. That’s why, since 2015, the federal government has made unprecedented investments in science and technology, at an average of $13.6 billion per year, compared to the average from 2009-10 to 2015-16 of just $10.8 billion per year. But we can’t stop here.
To advance the next generation of cutting-edge research, Budget 2024 proposes major research and science infrastructure investments, including:
$399.8 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, to support TRIUMF, Canada’s sub-atomic physics research laboratory, located on the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus. This investment will upgrade infrastructure at the world’s largest cyclotron particle accelerator, positioning TRIUMF, and the partnering Canadian research universities, at the forefront of physics research and enabling new medical breakthroughs and treatments, from drug development to cancer therapy.
$176 million over five years, starting in 2025‑26, to CANARIE, a national not-for-profit organization that manages Canada’s ultra high-speed network to connect researchers, educators, and innovators, including through eduroam. With network speeds hundreds of times faster, and more secure, than conventional home and office networks, this investment will ensure this critical infrastructure can connect researchers across Canada’s world-leading post-secondary institutions.
$83.5 million over three years, starting in 2026-27 to extend support to Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon. Funding will continue the important work at the only facility of its kind in Canada. A synchrotron light source allows scientists and researchers to examine the microscopic nature of matter. This specialized infrastructure contributes to breakthroughs in areas ranging from climate-resistant crop development to green mining processes.
$45.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to support the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, a network of universities and institutes that coordinate astroparticle physics expertise. Headquartered at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, the institute builds on the legacy of Dr. McDonald’s 2015 Nobel Prize for his work on neutrino physics. These expert engineers, technicians, and scientists design, construct, and operate the experiments conducted in Canada’s underground and underwater research infrastructure, where research into dark matter and other mysterious particles thrives. This supports innovation in areas like clean technology and medical imaging, and educates and inspires the next wave of Canadian talent.
$30 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support the completion of the University of Saskatchewan’s Centre for Pandemic Research at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon. This investment will enable the study of high-risk pathogens to support vaccine and therapeutic development, a key pillar in Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. Of this amount, $3 million would be sourced from the existing resources of Prairies Economic Development Canada.
These new investments build on existing federal research support:
The Strategic Science Fund, which announced the results of its first competition in December 2023, providing support to 24 third-party science and research organizations starting in 2024-25;
Canada recently concluded negotiations to be an associate member of Horizon Europe, which would enable Canadians to access a broader range of research opportunities under the European program starting this year; and,
The steady increase in federal funding for extramural and intramural science and technology by the government which was 44 per cent higher in 2023 relative to 2015.
…
Advancing Space Research and Exploration
Canada is a leader in cutting-edge innovation and technologies for space research and exploration. Our astronauts make great contributions to international space exploration missions. The government is investing in Canada’s space research and exploration activities.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $8.6 million in 2024-25 to the Canadian Space Agency for the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program to support Canada’s world-class space industry and help accelerate the development of new technologies. This initiative empowers Canada to leverage space to solve everyday challenges, such as enhancing remote health care services and improving access to healthy food in remote communities, while also supporting Canada’s human space flight program.
Budget 2024 announces the establishment of a new whole-of-government approach to space exploration, technology development, and research. The new National Space Council will enable the level of collaboration required to secure Canada’s future as a leader in the global space race, addressing cross-cutting issues that span commercial, civil, and defence domains. This will also enable the government to leverage Canada’s space industrial base with its world-class capabilities, workforce, and track record of innovation and delivery.
I found two responses to the budget from two science organizations and the responses fall into the moderately pleased category. Here’s an April 17, 2024 news release from Evidence for Democracy (E4D), Note: Links have been removed,
As a leading advocate for evidence-informed decision-making and the advancement of science policy in Canada, Evidence for Democracy (E4D) welcomes the budget’s emphasis on scientific research and innovation. Since its inception, E4D has been at the forefront of advocating for policies that support robust scientific research and its integration into public policy. To support this work, we have compiled a budget analysis for the science and research sector here for more context on Budget 2024.
“Budget 2024 provides an encouraging investment into next generation researchers and research support systems,” says Sarah Laframboise, Executive Director of E4D, “By prioritizing investments in research talent, infrastructure, and innovation, the government is laying the foundation for a future driven by science and evidence.”
The budget’s initiatives to enhance graduate student scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships reflect a commitment to nurturing Canada’s research talent, a cornerstone of E4D’s advocacy efforts through its role on the Coalition for Canadian Research. E4D is encouraged by this investment in next generation researchers and core research grants, who form the bedrock of scientific discovery and drive innovation across sectors. Additionally, the formation of a new capstone research funding organization and Advisory Council on Science and Innovation are signs of a strategic vision that values Canadian science and research.
While Budget 2024 represents a significant step forward for science and research in Canada, E4D recognizes that challenges and opportunities lie ahead.
“We note that funding for research in Budget 2024 is heavily back-loaded, with larger funding values coming into effect in a few years time,” adds Laframboise, “Given that this also includes significant structural and policy changes, this leaves some concern over the execution and roll-out of these investments in practice.”
As the details of the budget initiatives unfold, E4D remains committed to monitoring developments, advocating for evidence-based policies, and engaging with stakeholders to ensure that science continues to thrive as a driver of progress and prosperity in Canada.
The April 16, 2024 E4D budget analysis by Farah Qaiser, Nada Salem, Sarah Laframboise, Simarpreet Singh is here. The authors provide more detail than I do.
The second response to the 2024 budget is from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is posted on a federal government website, from an April 29, 2024 letter, Note: Links have been removed,
Dear colleagues,
On April 16, 2024, the Government of Canada released Budget 2024 – Fairness for Every Generation – a Budget that proposes a historic level of investment in research and innovation. Most notably for CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, this included $1.8 billion in core research grant funding over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $748.3 million per year ongoing). This proposed investment recognizes the vital role played by research in improving the lives of Canadians. We are thrilled by the news of this funding and will share more details about how and when these funds will be distributed as the Budget process unfolds.
Budget 2024 also proposes $825 million over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $199.8 million per year ongoing) to increase the annual value of master’s and doctoral student scholarships to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively, and post-doctoral fellowships to $70,000. This will also increase the number of research scholarships and fellowships provided, building to approximately 1,720 more graduate students or fellows benefiting each year. To make it easier for students and fellows to access support, the enhanced suite of scholarships and fellowship programs will be streamlined into one talent program. These proposals are the direct result of a coordinated effort to recognize the importance of students in the research ecosystem.
The Budget proposes other significant investments in health research, including providing:
a further $26.9 million over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $26.6 million in remaining amortization and $6.6 million ongoing) to the granting councils to establish an improved and harmonized grant management system.
$10 million in 2024-2025 for CIHR to support an endowment to increase prize values awarded by the Gairdner Foundation for excellence in health research.
$80 million over five years for Health Canada to support the Brain Canada Foundation in its advancement of brain research.
$30 million over three years (starting in 2024-25) to support Indigenous participation in research, with $10 million each for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit partners.
$2 billion over five years (starting in 2024-25) to launch a new AI Compute Access Fund and Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy, to help Canadian researchers, start-ups, and scale-up businesses access the computational power they need to compete and help catalyze the development of Canadian-owned and located AI infrastructure.
As well, to help guide research priorities moving forward, Budget 2024 announces that the government will create an Advisory Council on Science and Innovation. This Council will be comprised of leaders from the academic, industry, and not-for-profit sectors, and will be responsible for a national science and innovation strategy to guide priority setting and increase the impact of these significant federal investments.
In addition to these historic investments, Budget 2024 includes a proposal to create a “new capstone research funding organization” that will provide improved coordination across the federally funded research ecosystem. This proposal stems directly from the recommendations of the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, and recognizes the need for more strategic coordination in the federal research system. The Budget notes that the granting councils will each continue to exist within this new organization, and continue supporting excellence in investigator-driven research, including linkages with the Health portfolio. While the governance implications of this new organization are not known at this time, the CIHR Institutes will remain in place as an integral part of CIHR. As stated in the Budget, the timing and details with respect to the creation of this organization still need to be determined, but it did indicate that more details will be announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.
As well, CIHR will be working closely with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Health Canada, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in the coming months to implement various Budget measures related to research. In the meantime, CIHR will continue its business as usual.
These announcements and investments are significant and unprecedented and will create exciting opportunities for the Tri-Agencies and other partners across the federal research ecosystem to contribute to the health, social, and economic needs and priorities of Canadians. They will also ensure that Canada remains a world leader in science. This is positive and welcome news for the CIHR community. We look forward to embarking on this new journey with Canada’s health research community.
Tammy Clifford, PhD Acting President, CIHR
Defence
I have taken to including information about the funding for the military on the grounds that the military has historically been the source of much science, medical, and technology innovation. (Television anyone?)
As the world becomes increasingly unstable, as climate change increases the severity and frequency of natural disasters, and as the risk of conflict grows, Canada is asking more of our military. Whether it is deploying to Latvia as part of Operation REASSURANCE, or Nova Scotia as part of Operation LENTUS, those who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces have answered the call whenever they are needed, to keep Canadians safe.
On April 8 [2024], in response to the rapidly changing security environment, the government announced an update to its defence policy: Our North, Strong and Free. In this updated policy, the government laid out its vision for Canada’s national defence, which will ensure the safety of Canadians, our allies, and our partners by equipping our soldiers with the cutting-edge tools and advanced capabilities they need to keep Canadians safe in a changing world.
Budget 2024 proposes foundational investments of $8.1 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $73.0 billion over 20 years to the Department of National Defence (DND), the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to ensure Canada is ready to respond to global threats and to protect the well-being of Canadian Armed Forces members. Canada’s defence spending-to-GDP ratio is expected to reach 1.76 per cent by 2029-30. These include:
$549.4 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $267.8 billion in future years, for DND to replace Canada’s worldwide satellite communications equipment; for new tactical helicopters, long-range missile capabilities for the Army, and airborne early warning aircraft; and for other investments to defend Canada’s sovereignty;
$1.9 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $8.2 billion in future years, for DND to extend the useful life of the Halifax-class frigates and extend the service contract of the auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel, while Canada awaits delivery of next generation naval vessels;
$1.4 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $8.2 billion in future years, for DND to replenish its supplies of military equipment;
$1.8 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $7.7 billion in future years, for DND to build a strategic reserve of ammunition and scale up the production of made-in-Canada artillery ammunition. Private sector beneficiaries are expected to contribute to infrastructure and retooling costs;
$941.9 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $16.2 billion in future years, for DND to ensure that military infrastructure can support modern equipment and operations;
$917.4 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $10.9 billion in future years and $145.8 million per year ongoing, for CSE and GAC to enhance their intelligence and cyber operations programs to protect Canada’s economic security and respond to evolving national security threats;
$281.3 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $216 million in future years, for DND for a new electronic health record platform for military health care;
$6.9 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $1.4 billion in future years, for DND to build up to 1,400 new homes and renovate an additional 2,500 existing units for Canadian Armed Forces personnel on bases across Canada (see Chapter 1);
$100 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to DND for child care services for Canadian Armed Forces personnel and their families (see Chapter 2);
$149.9 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $1.8 billion in future years, for DND to increase the number of civilian specialists in priority areas; and,
$52.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $54.8 million in future years, to DND to support start-up firms developing dual-use technologies critical to our defence via the NATO Innovation Fund.
To support Our North, Strong and Free, $156.7 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, and $537.7 million in future years would be allocated from funding previously committed to Canada’s 2017 Defence Policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged.
Budget 2024 also proposes additional measures to strengthen Canada’s national defence:
$1.2 billion over 20 years, starting in 2024-25, to support the ongoing procurement of critical capabilities, military equipment, and infrastructure through DND’s Capital Investment Fund; and,
$66.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $7.4 billion in future years to DND for the Future Aircrew Training program to develop the next generation of Royal Canadian Air Force personnel. Of this amount, $66.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, would be sourced from existing DND resources.
Budget 2024 also announces reforms to Canadian defence policy and its review processes:
Committing Canada to undertake a Defence Policy Review every four years, as part of a cohesive review of the National Security Strategy; and,
Undertaking a review of Canada’s defence procurement system.
With this proposed funding, since 2022, the government has committed more than $125 billion over 20 years in incremental funding to strengthen national defence and help keep Canadians and our democracy safe in an increasingly unpredictable world—today and for generations. Since 2015, this adds up to over $175 billion in incremental funding for national defence.
Enhancing CSIS Intelligence Capabilities
As an advanced economy and an open and free democracy, Canada continues to be targeted by hostile actors, which threaten our democratic institutions, diaspora communities, and economic prosperity. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) protects Canadians from threats, such as violent extremism and foreign interference, through its intelligence operations in Canada and around the world.
To equip CSIS to combat emerging global threats and keep pace with technological developments, further investments in intelligence capabilities and infrastructure are needed. These will ensure CSIS can continue to protect Canadians.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $655.7 million over eight years, starting in 2024-25, with $191.1 million in remaining amortization, and $114.7 million ongoing to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to enhance its intelligence capabilities, and its presence in Toronto.
Maintaining a Robust Arctic Presence
The Canadian Arctic is warming four times faster than the world average, as a result of climate change. It is also where we share a border with today’s most hostile nuclear power—Russia. The shared imperatives of researching climate change where its impacts are most severe, and maintaining an ongoing presence in the Arctic enable Canada to advance this important scientific work and assert our sovereignty.
Maintaining a robust research presence supports Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. Scientific and research operations in the Arctic advance our understanding of how climate change is affecting people, the economy, and the environment in the region. This is an important competitive advantage, as economic competition increases in the region.
To support research operations in Canada’s North, Budget 2024 proposes:
$46.9 million over five years starting in 2024-25, with $8.5 million in remaining amortization and $11.1 million ongoing, to Natural Resources Canada to renew the Polar Continental Shelf Program to continue supporting northern research logistics, such as lodging and flights for scientists; and,
$3.5 million in 2024-25 to Polar Knowledge Canada to support its activities, including the operation of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station.
…
Protecting Canadians from Financial Crimes
Financial crimes are serious threats to public safety, national security, and Canada’s financial system. They can range from terrorist financing, corruption, and the evasion of sanctions, to money laundering, fraud, and tax evasion. These crimes have real world implications, often enabling other criminal behaviour. Financial crime also undermines the fairness and transparency that are so essential to our economy.
Since 2017, the government has undertaken significant work to crack down on financial crime:
Investing close to $320 million since 2019 to strengthen compliance, financial intelligence, information sharing, and investigative capacity to support money laundering investigations;
Creating new Integrated Money Laundering Investigative Teams in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, which convene experts to advance investigations into money laundering, supported by dedicated forensic accounting experts;
Launching a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry for federal corporations on January 22, 2024. The government continues to call upon provinces and territories to advance a pan-Canadian approach to beneficial ownership transparency;
Modernizing Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing framework to adapt to emerging technologies; vulnerable sectors; and growing risks such as sanctions evasion; and,
Establishing public-private partnerships with the financial sector, that are improving the detection and disruption of profit-oriented crimes, including human trafficking, online child sexual exploitation, and fentanyl trafficking.
Budget 2024 takes further action to protect Canadians from financial crimes.
Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing
Criminal and terrorist organizations continually look for new ways to perpetrate illicit activities. Canada needs a robust legal framework that keeps pace with evolving financial crimes threats.
To combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion, Budget 2024 announces:
The government intends to introduce legislative amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), the Criminal Code the Income Tax Act, and the Excise Tax Act.
Proposed amendments to the PCMLTFA would:
Enhance the ability of reporting entities under the PCMLTFA to share information with each other to detect and deter money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion, while maintaining privacy protections for personal information, including an oversight role for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner under regulations;
Permit the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) to disclose financial intelligence to provincial and territorial civil forfeiture offices to support efforts to seize property linked to unlawful activity; and, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to strengthen the integrity of Canada’s citizenship process;
Enable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulatory obligations to cover factoring companies, cheque cashing businesses, and leasing and finance companies to close a loophole and level the playing field across businesses providing financial services;
Allow FINTRAC to publicize more information around violations of obligations under the PCMLTFA when issuing administrative monetary penalties to strengthen transparency and compliance; and,
Make technical amendments to close loopholes and correct inconsistencies.
Proposed amendments to the Criminal Code would:
Allow courts to issue an order to require a financial institution to keep an account open to assist in the investigation of a suspected criminal offence; and,
Allow courts to issue a repeating production order to authorize law enforcement to obtain ongoing, specified information on activity in an account or multiple accounts connected to a person of interest in a criminal investigation.
Proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act would:
Ensure Canada Revenue Agency officials who carry out criminal investigations are authorized to seek general warrants through court applications, thereby modernizing and simplifying evidence gathering processes and helping to fight tax evasion and other financial crimes.
Canada Financial Crimes Agency
As announced in Budget 2023, the Canada Financial Crimes Agency (CFCA) will become Canada’s lead enforcement agency against financial crime. It will bring together expertise necessary to increase money laundering charges, prosecutions, and convictions, and the seizure of criminal assets.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $1.7 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to the Department of Finance to finalize the design and legal framework for the CFCA.
Fighting Trade-Based Fraud and Money Laundering
Trade-based financial crime is one of the most pervasive means of laundering money; it’s estimated that this is how hundreds of millions of dollars are laundered each year. To strengthen efforts to fight trade fraud and money laundering, the 2023Fall Economic Statement announced enhancements to the Canada Border Services Agency’s authorities under the PCMLTFA to combat trade-based financial crime and the intent to create a Trade Transparency Unit.
Budget 2024 builds on this work by proposing to provide $29.9 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $5.1 million in remaining amortization and $4.2 million ongoing, for the Canada Border Services Agency to support the implementation of its new authorities under the PCMLTFA to combat financial crime and strengthen efforts to combat international financial crime with our allies.
Supporting Veterans’ Well-Being
After their service and their sacrifice, veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces deserve our full support. Veterans’ organizations are often best placed to understand the needs of veterans and to develop programming that improves their quality of life. In 2018, the federal government launched the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund, which provides funding to public, private, and academic organizations, to advance research projects and innovative approaches to deliver services to veterans and their families.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide an additional $6 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to Veterans Affairs Canada for the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund. A portion of the funding will focus on projects for Indigenous, women, and 2SLGBTQI+ veterans.
Telemedicine Services for Veterans and Their Families
After serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, many veterans who previously received their health care from the Forces need to find a family doctor in the provincial system, which makes their transition to civilian life more stressful, especially if they need health care for service-related injuries.
To ensure veterans and their families have access to the care they deserve after their service to Canada:
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $9.3 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to Veterans Affairs Canada to extend and expand the Veteran Family Telemedicine Service pilot for another three years. This initiative will provide up to two years of telemedicine services to recent veterans and their families.
The system of rules and institutions that were established in the wake of the Second World War unleashed an era of prosperity unprecedented in human history. This era generated a massive expansion of global trade, and lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. As a trading nation with privileged access to more than two-thirds of the global economy, Canada has benefitted enormously from the stability and certainty that this system provided.
Supply chain disruptions and rising protectionism threaten this Canadian advantage that has been enjoyed for generations. Canada is taking action to make sure we preserve the rules-based international order. We are strengthening our trade relationships and making sure they reflect our values. We are ensuring our economy is resilient and secure, protecting Canadians and Canada from economic pressure from authoritarian regimes, and defending Canada’s economic interests.
Budget 2024 makes investments to ensure the opportunities and prosperity of trade, enjoyed by generations of Canadians, continue to be there for every generation.
Key Ongoing Actions
Launching in 2017 Strong, Secure, Engaged, to maintain the Canadian Armed Forces as an agile, multi-purpose, combat-ready force, ensuring Canada is strong domestically, an active partner in North America, and engaged internationally.
Upholding Canada’s 15 free trade agreements with 51 countries. Canada is the only G7 country with comprehensive trade and investment agreements with all other G7 members.
Implementing the modernized Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement and the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Establishing a new Canada-Taiwan foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement in December 2023.
Launching Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy in November 2022, committing almost $2.3 billion to strengthen Canada’s role as a strong partner in the region. The strategy included:
$492.9 million over five years to reinforce Canada’s Indo-Pacific naval presence and increase Canadian Armed Forces participation in regional military exercises.
$227.8 million over five years to increase Canada’s work with partners in the region on national security, cyber security, and responses to crime, terrorism, and threats from weapons proliferation.
Canada is negotiating free trade agreements with Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to provide additional trade and investment opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region.
To further reinforce Canada’s role as a trusted supply chain partner, and its commitment to cooperate with like-minded partners in meeting emerging global challenges, including the economic resilience of the world’s democracies, Canada undertook the following actions:
Joined with the U.S. in the Energy Transformation Task Force to accelerate cooperation on critical clean energy opportunities and to strengthen integrated Canada-U.S. supply chains, which as announced in Chapter 4, has been extended for another year.
Canada signed a new agreement in May 2023 with South Korea for cooperation on critical mineral supply chains, clean energy transition, and energy security.
Canada endorsed the Joint Declaration Against Trade-Related Economic Coercion and Non-Market Policies and Practices with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. in June 2023.
Protecting Canadian Businesses from Unfair Foreign Competition
Canadian companies and workers are able to do business around the world, selling their goods and expertise, because the government has delivered free trade agreements that cover 61 per cent of the world’s GDP and 1.5 billion consumers. This means Canadians can do business in Japan and Malaysia with the CPTPP; in Europe with CETA; in the United States and Mexico with the new NAFTA; and in Ukraine with a modernized CUFTA. These agreements mean good jobs and good salaries for people across the country.
However, this is only true when Canadian workers and businesses are competing on an even playing field, and countries respect agreed trade rules.
That is why the government has taken steps to ensure that Canada’s trade remedy and import monitoring systems have the tools needed to defend Canadian workers and businesses from unfair practices of foreign competitors. For instance, earlier this year, Canada introduced a system to track the countries steel imports are initially melted and poured in, to increase supply chain transparency and support effective enforcement of Canada’s trade laws.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $10.5 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for the Canada Border Services Agency to create a dedicated Market Watch Unit to monitor and update trade remedy measures annually, to protect Canadian workers and businesses from unfair trade practices, and ensure greater transparency and market predictability.
Ensuring Reciprocal Treatment for Canadian Businesses Abroad
Canada is taking action to protect Canadian businesses and workers from additional global economic and trade challenges. These challenges include protectionist and non-market policies and practices implemented by our trading partners. When Canada opens its markets to goods and services from other countries, we expect those countries to equally grant Canadian businesses the access that we provide their companies.
As detailed in the Policy Statement on Ensuring Reciprocal Treatment for Canadian Businesses Abroad, published alongside the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, Canada will consider reciprocity as a key design element for new policies going forward. This approach builds on Canada’s commitment to implement reciprocal procurement policies, including for infrastructure and sub-national infrastructure spending, in the near term. A reciprocal lens will also be applied to a range of new measures including, but not limited to, investment tax incentives, grants and contributions, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, investment restrictions, and intellectual property requirements.
In pursuing reciprocity, Canada will continue working with its allies to introduce incentives for businesses to reorient supply chains to trusted, reliable partners, and will ensure that any new measures do not unnecessarily harm trading partners who do not discriminate against Canadian goods and suppliers.
Protecting Critical Supply Chains
Recent events around the world, from the pandemic to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have exposed strategic vulnerabilities in critical supply chains, to which Canada and countries around the world are responding by derisking, or friendshoring, their supply chains. Canada is actively working with its allies to strengthen shared supply chains and deepen our economic ties with trusted partners, including in the context of accelerating the transition to a net-zero economy.
Ongoing efforts to build our critical supply chains through democracies like our own represent a significant economic opportunity for Canadian businesses and workers, and the government will continue to design domestic policies and programs with friendshoring as a top-of-mind objective.
To reinforce Canada’s role as a trusted supply chain partner for our allies, Budget 2023 took action to mobilize private investment and grow Canada’s economy towards net-zero. These investments are growing Canada’s economic capacity in industries across the economy, while simultaneously reducing Canada’s emissions and strengthening our essential trading relationships.
Eradicating Forced Labour from Canadian Supply Chains
Canada is gravely concerned by the ongoing human rights violations against Uyghurs and Muslim minorities in China, as well as by the use of forced labour around the world.
Budget 2024 reaffirms the federal government’s commitment to introduce legislation in 2024 to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains and to strengthen the import ban on goods produced with forced labour. The government will also work to ensure existing legislation fits within the overall framework to safeguard our supply chains.
This will build on funding committed in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement that, starting January 1, 2024, supports the requirement for annual reporting from public and private entities to demonstrate measures they have taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour is used in their supply chains.
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Before moving on to an interesting analysis of the defence portion of the 2024 budget by someone else, here’s a link to the national defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence, which was released on April 8, 2024 just days before the April 16, 2024 release date for this latest federal budget.
It seems there was a shift in policy during the nine-day interval. From Murray Brewster’s April 16, 2024 article for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) news online website, Note: Links have been removed,
The new federal budget promises good things will happen at the Department of National Defence … next year, and hopefully in the years after.
The new fiscal plan, presented Tuesday by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, marks a subtle but significant shift from what was proposed in last week’s long-awaited defence policy [emphasis mine], which committed to spending an additional $8.1 billion on defence.
The funding envelope in the budget earmarks the same amount but includes not only the defence department but proposed spending on both the Communications Security Establishment — the country’s electronic spy agency — and Global Affairs Canada. [emphases mine]
While the overall defence budget is expected to increase marginally in the current fiscal year to $33.8 billion, defence experts told CBC News that when the internal cost-cutting exercise ordered by the Liberal government and the new defence policy are factored in, the military can expect roughly $635 million less this year [emphasis mine] than was anticipated before spending restraint kicked in.
Freeland’s fiscal plan projects a 30 per cent increase in defence spending in the next fiscal year, bringing it to $44.2 billion.
…
This is how I understand what Brewster is saying:
2024/25 defence budget as listed is $33.8B
Not all of this money is going directly to defence (the Communications Security Establishment and Global Affairs Canada will be partaking)
the defence department has been ordered to cut costs
so, there will be $635M less than defence might have expected
in 2025/26 defence spending will be increased to $44.2 billion, whatever that means
That’s quite the dance and Brewster’s April 16, 2024 article points out at least one more weakness,
Sahir Khan, the executive vice-president of the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, said he would love to see the specifics.
“That’s one of the difficulties, I think, with this government is we have seen a lot of aspiration, but not always the perspiration,” said Khan, a former deputy parliamentary budget officer. “What is the plan to achieve the results?”
The politically charged promise to increase Canada’s defence spending to 1.76 per cent of the gross domestic product by the end of the decade could be left in doubt when the spending plans are laid alongside the budget’s economic projections during that time frame.
Generally, the better the economy does, the more the defence budget would have to be increased to meet the target.
“It’s really unclear how we actually get to 1.76 per cent of GDP, if you take the figures that are presented which outline how spending is going to increase,” said Dave Perry, a defence expert and president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
“You can’t put that against the nominal GDP projection provided in the budget” and then add in other government departments, such as Veterans Affairs Canada, “and get anywhere close” to the GDP projection in the defence policy, he said.
About five weeks after the budget was released, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received a letter, from a May 23, 2024 article by Alexander Panetta for CBC News online,
Nearly one-quarter of the members of the United States Senate have sent an unusually critical letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressing dismay over Canada’s level of defence spending.
They pressed Trudeau to come to this summer’s NATO summit with a plan to fulfil Canada’s commitment to reach the alliance’s longstanding spending target.
The letter from 23 members of the U.S. Senate, from both parties, represents a dramatic and public escalation of pressure from Washington over a longstanding bilateral irritant.
…
That written critique [letter] comes just days after Defence Minister Bill Blair completed what he referred to as a productive trip to Washington to promote Canada’s new military strategy.
“We are concerned and profoundly disappointed,” says the letter, referring to the spending levels in the strategy Blair came to promote.
A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators say they expect Canada and the U.S. to work collaboratively on shared issues of defence and the border, but suggested Ottawa’s policies on military spending need to change to speed up progress.
Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson from the Halifax International Security Forum in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block, Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire downplayed concerns that incoming president-elect Donald Trump will penalize Canada on things like trade if it doesn’t step up on defence spending.
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As far as I’m concerned, this budget offers some moderate gains from a science and technology perspective and with regard to military spending, it seems a little lacklustre overall and with regard to military research, that might be called nonexistent.
Ingenium (portfolio name for Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, and Canada Aviation and Space Museum) sent out a November 28, 2024 announcement about it holiday season events (received via email),
This winter break, put the “Wonder” in Winter Wonderland!
This winter break, create unforgettable family memories at our three museums, each offering exciting and affordable adventures!
Tickets are almost sold out! Create your own mechanical toy automata at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in a hands-on workshop on November 30. Perfect for ages 8 and up, this two-hour bilingual session lets you craft a moving sculpture with a personal story—an ideal keepsake or holiday gift. Your $20 advance registration is required and includes admission for one participant and an accompanying adult.
Back to the November 28, 2024 Ingenium announcements,
Explore Aerospace Careers
Explore the exciting world of aerospace at the Aerospace Experiences public Career Pathways Fair on December 11 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum! Engage with over 20 industry exhibitors, enjoy hands-on activities, and discover diverse career opportunities in the air and space sector. Don’t miss inspiring presentations from students sharing their research from the Aerospace Experiences pilot project. A must-attend event for aspiring aerospace enthusiasts!
All aboard the Santa Holiday Train for a festive adventure like no other at the Canada Science and Technology Museum! On December 14 from noon to 5 p.m. (including a low-sensory hour from noon to 1 p.m.) and December 15 from noon to 4 p.m., step into a vintage holiday-themed train car, meet Santa, and snap a cherished keepsake photo. Then, enjoy a delightful ride in our festive caboose around the museum grounds. On December 15, we’re proud to partner with Colour Me Christmas to bring you a truly special and inclusive experience featuring Black Santa. Don’t miss this free, magical experience, offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Discover the heartwarming story of Nana’s Jamaican Christmas Pudding at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum! This special exhibit celebrates one family’s tradition of baking this cherished dessert, passed down through generations and lovingly continued in Canada since 1974. Learn about the history, preparation, and significance of this holiday treat, featuring treasured items like the handmade wooden spoon and mixing bowl that bring the tradition to life. Celebrate the making of a timeless dessert in this festive and meaningful exhibit opening December 21!
This holiday season at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Santa’s swapping his sleigh for a Cessna! From Dec 14–31, join him for a magical tour over the city and see the sights from above. New this year: Donate a new toy for Toy Mountain and receive a discount on your flight. Reserve your spot now—spaces are limited!
Here’s the press release, Note: Links have been removed,
“It feels like I’m moving my own hand”. A research team from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa has developed the prosthesis of the future, the first in the world with magnetic control
It is a completely new way of controlling the movements of a robotic hand. “The trial on the first patient was successful. We are ready to extend these results to a broader range of amputations” says Prof. Christian Cipriani
It is the first magnetically controlled prosthetic hand, that allows amputees to reproduce all movements simply by thinking and to control the force applied when grasping fragile objects. No wires, no electrical connection, only magnets and muscles to control the movements of the fingers and enable everyday activities such as opening a jar, using a screwdriver, picking up a coin. A research team from the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, coordinated by Prof. Christian Cipriani, has developed a radically new interface between the residual arm of the amputee and the robotic hand to decode motor intentions. The system involves implanting small magnets into the muscles of the forearm. The implant, integrated with the Mia-Hand robotic hand developed by the spin-off Prensilia, was successfully tested on the first patient, a 34-year-old Italian named Daniel, who used the prosthesis for six weeks. The results of the trial were presented in the scientific journal Science Robotics and represent a significant step forward for the future of prostheses.
“This result rewards a decades-long research path. We have finally developed a functional prosthesis that meets the needs of a person who has lost a hand” says Christian Cipriani, professor at the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.
Myokinetic control for the development of a natural prosthesis
Myokinetic control: the decoding of motor intentions by means of implantable magnets in the muscles. This is the frontier explored by the research team of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna to revolutionise the future of prostheses. The idea behind the new interface, developed as part of the MYKI project, funded by the European Commission through an ERC [European Research Council] Starting Grant, is to use small magnets, a few millimetres in size, to be implanted in the residual muscles of the amputated arm and use the movement resulting from contraction to open and close the fingers.
“There are 20 muscles in the forearm and many of them control the hand movements. Many people who have lost a hand keep on feeling it as if it is still in place and the residual muscles move in response to the commands from the brain” Cipriani explains.
The research team mapped the movements and translated them into signals to guide the fingers of the robotic hand. The magnets have a natural magnetic field that can be easily localized in space. When the muscle contracts, the magnet moves and a special algorithm translates this change into a specific command for the robotic hand.
Daniel, the first patient to test the new prosthesis
Daniel lost his left hand in September 2022. “I suddenly found myself without a hand: one moment I had it and the next moment it was gone”. He was selected as a volunteer for the study because he still felt the presence of his hand and the residual muscles in his arm responded to his movement intentions.
In April 2023, Daniel underwent surgery to implant magnets in his arm. The surgery was carried out at the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (AOUP), thanks to the collaboration of a team coordinated by Dr Lorenzo Andreani of the Orthopaedics and Traumatology 2 Operative Unit, Dr Manuela Nicastro of the Anaesthesia and Reanimation Orthopaedics and Burns Centre unit, and Dr Carmelo Chisari of the Neurorehabilitation unit.
“This is a significant advancement in the field of advanced prosthetic medicine – says Dr. Lorenzo Andreani – The surgery was successful thanks to a careful patient selection process based on strict criteria. One of the most complex challenges was identifying the residual muscles in the amputation area, which were precisely selected using preoperative MRI imaging and electromyography. However, the actual condition of the tissue, due to scarring and fibrosis, required intraoperative adaptation”.
“Despite these difficulties – Andreani continues – we were able to complete the implant and establish the connections—a success that would have been impossible without the collaboration of an exceptional team, whom I would like to thank. Starting with Dr. Manuela Nicastro, head of anaesthesia, to the nurses who worked with dedication and professionalism, contributing decisively to the positive outcome of the operation, which represents an important step forward in medical research”.
Six magnets were implanted in Daniel’s arm. For each one, the team of surgeons and doctors located and isolated the muscle, positioned the magnet and checked that the magnetic field was oriented in the same way.
“To make the connection between the residual arm where the magnets were implanted and the robotic hand easier, we made a carbon fibre prosthetic socket containing the electronic system capable of localising the movement of the magnets” Cipriani explains.
The results of the experiment went far beyond the most optimistic expectations. Daniel was able to control the movements of his fingers, picked up and moved objects of different shapes, performed classic everyday actions such as opening a jar, using a screwdriver, cutting with a knife, closing a zip; he was able to control the force when he had to grasp fragile objects.
“This system allowed me to recover lost sensations and emotions: it feels like I’m moving my own hand” says Daniel.
“To see the work of years of research realised in this study was a great emotion. Working together with Daniel has given us the awareness that we can do a lot to improve his life and the lives of many other people. This is the greatest motivation that drives us to continue our work and to always do better,” explains Marta Gherardini, assistant professor at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and first author of the study.
Next steps
“We are ready to extend these results to a broader range of amputations – Cipriani concludes – In fact, our work on this new implant is going ahead thanks to European and national funding. Among these, I would like to mention the MYTI [MYKI?} project, financed by the European Research Council, which aims at the clinical translation of the interface we have developed; the Fit For Medical Robotics project, financed by the Ministry of University and Research, and all the collaborations we have had for years with INAIL Centro Protesi”.
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The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy) is a public university working in the field of applied sciences: Economics and Management, Law, Political Sciences, Agricultural Sciences and Plant Biotechnology, Medicine, and Industrial and Information Engineering. It is first in the list of Italian Universities, and consistently in the top 2% globally in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings. https://www.santannapisa.it/en
Restoration of grasping in an upper limb amputee using the myokinetic prosthesis with implanted magnets by Marta Gherardini, Valerio Ianniciello, Federico Masiero, Flavia Paggetti, Daniele D’Accolti, Eliana La Frazia, Olimpia Mani, Stefania Dalise, Katarina Dejanovic, Noemi Fragapane, Luca Maggiani, Edoardo Ipponi, Marco Controzzi, Manuela Nicastro, Carmelo Chisari, Lorenzo Andreani, and Christian Cipriani. Science Robotics 11 Sep 2024 Vol 9, Issue 94 DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adp3260
It’s been a while since BC-based Lomiko Metals has rated more than a passing mention here. Back in June 2024 the company experienced a rough patch regarding their plans to mine for graphite in one of their Québec mines, from a June 9, 2024 article by Joe Bongiorno for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) news online,
In Quebec’s Laurentians region, a few kilometres from a wildlife reserve and just outside the town of Duhamel, lies a source of one of the world’s most sought after minerals for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries: graphite.
Since Lomiko Metals Inc., a mining company based in Surrey, B.C., announced plans to build a graphite mine in the area, some residents living nearby have protested the project, fearing the potential harm to the environment.
But opposition has only gained steam after locals found out last month that the [US] Pentagon is involved in the project.
In May, Lomiko announced it received a grant of $11.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defence and another $4.9 million from Natural Resources Canada to study the conversion of graphite into battery-grade material for powering electric vehicles.
In its own announcement, the Pentagon said Lomiko’s graphite will bolster North American energy supply chains and be used for “defence applications,” words that make Duhamel resident Louis Saint-Hilaire uneasy.
…
Depending on how you view things, this is either good news for bad news in a September 17, 2024 news item on CBC news online, Note: Links have been removed,
Two Quebec cabinet ministers say the province will not fund a proposed graphite mine north of Gatineau because it doesn’t meet the government’s standards for local support.
B.C.-based Lomiko Metals has been testing samples from its La Loutre site near the town of Duhamel, which the company says on its project website has shown “excellent graphite properties” for making batteries.
Many nearby residents have been against the proposal for years due to a perceived threat to outdoor recreation and associated businesses. No environmental assessment of the site has been conducted.
La Loutre has drawn funding from the Canadian and American governments for its potential role in the switch from gas to electric vehicles and related drop in fossil fuel emissions, but Minister Responsible for the Outaouais Region Mathieu Lacombe said Monday [Sept4ember 16, 2024] the project lacks provincial support.
…
Lacombe pointed to Premier François Legault indicating in 2022 that no mining project will be carried out without what’s referred to in the province as “social acceptability” — essentially, buy-in from affected communities.
Natural Resources Minister Blanchette Vézina said the company’s request for funding from Investissement Québec wouldn’t be successful because it lacks public support.
Lomiko Metals has not responded to requests from Radio-Canada for an interview. It’s not clear what the company will do next, or what will happen with a referendum on the project scheduled for November 2025.
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Embedded in the September 17, 2024 news item is a radio segment where an expert further dissects the implications of the news.
For anyone interested in graphite, I have a January 3, 2023 posting, “Making graphite from coal and a few graphite facts.” There have been some changes with the ‘graphite facts’ since the posting was published but most of the other information should still be valid.
Graphite is a non-metallic mineral that has properties similar to metals, such as a good ability to conduct heat and electricity. Graphite occurs naturally or can be produced synthetically. Purified natural graphite has higher crystalline structure and offers better electrical and thermal conductivity than synthetic material.
Key facts
In 2022, global graphite mine production was about 1.3 million tonnes, a 15% increase from 2021.
Canadian natural graphite production comes from the Lac des Iles mine in Quebec.
Canada ranks as the sixth global producer of graphite with 13,000 tonnes of production in 2022.
Canada exported $22 million worth of natural graphite and $14 million worth of synthetic graphite globally in 2022, mostly to the United States.
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Production
The Lac des Iles mine in Quebec is the only mine in Canada that produced graphite in 2022 [emphasis mine]. However, many other companies are working on advancing graphite projects. Canada produced 13,000 tonnes of natural graphite in 2022, which was an increase from 2021 of 9,743 tonnes.
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International context
Global production and demand for graphite are anticipated to increase in the coming years, largely because of the use of graphite in the batteries of electric vehicles. In 2022, global consumption of graphite reached 3.8 million tonnes, compared to 3.6 million tonnes in 2021. Synthetic graphite accounted for about 56% of the graphite consumption, which was concentrated largely in Asia. North America consumes only 1% of global natural graphite, but almost 9% of synthetic graphite.
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Global mine production of graphite was 1.3 million tonnes in 2022, up 15% compared to the previous year. China is the leading global producer, accounting for 66% of production in 2022. Canada ranks sixth globally for natural graphite production, producing about 1% of global natural graphite.
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It seems Lomiko Metals’ La Loutre mine will not be adding to the country’s graphite production. I wonder what the company will do now as that La Loutre mine appears to be its chief asset, from a November 23, 2023 news release, Note: A link has been removed,
Montreal, Quebec – November 23, 2023 – Lomiko Metals Inc. (TSX.V: LMR) (“Lomiko Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the launch of a private placement (the “Private Placement“) to support the Company’s progress with its graphite and lithium projects in Quebec, Canada. The Private Placement will consist of hard dollar units for gross proceeds of up to $500,000.
Belinda Labatte, CEO and Director of Lomiko Metals: “Lomiko has accomplished many milestones in the last 18 months, including an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for La Loutre, environmental baseline studies and advancing the metallurgical studies. With this financing and committed investors, we will advance pre-feasibility level initiatives, and continue to advance the important discussions with communities, partners and First Nation Kitigan Zibi.”
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Retirement of Director
A special thank you and note of appreciation for Paul Gill, Executive Chair, who will not stand for re-election as he pursues other opportunities. We appreciate his service to the company and long-standing leadership at Lomiko. We wish him well in his future endeavours. Paul Gill will continue to serve as Executive Chair until the Company’s Annual and Special Meeting on December 20, 2023.
About Lomiko Metals Inc.
The Company holds mineral interests in its La Loutre graphite development in southern Quebec. The La Loutre project site is within the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (KZA) First Nation’s territory. The KZA First Nation is part of the Algonquin Nation, and the KZA traditional territory is situated within the Outaouais and Laurentides regions. Located 180 kilometers northwest of Montreal, the property consists of one large, continuous block with 76 mineral claims totaling 4,528 hectares (45.3 km2).
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In addition to La Loutre, Lomiko is working with Critical Elements Lithium Corporation towards earning its 49% stake in the Bourier Project as per the option agreement announced on April 27th, 2021. The Bourier project site is located near Nemaska Lithium and Critical Elements south-east of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory in Quebec which consists of 203 claims, for a total ground position of 10,252.20 hectares (102.52 km2), in Canada’s lithium triangle near the James Bay region of Quebec that has historically housed lithium deposits and mineralization trends.
It seems that while the company has regrouped it has entirely given up on La Loutre, from an October 30, 2024 news release,
October 30th, 2024 – Montreal, Québec: Lomiko Metals Inc. (TSX.V: LMR) (“Lomiko Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the 2024 Beep-Map prospecting and sampling program is well underway on the Grenville Graphite Mineral Belt regional graphite exploration project. The “Grenville” project includes 268 mineral claims covering 15,639 hectares on six blocks in the Laurentian region of Quebec, approximately 200 kilometers northwest of Montréal within a 100 km radius of the Company’s flagship La Loutre graphite project [emphasis mine]. The 2024 work is focused on following up on the very successful graphite results reported in the Company’s press release dated July 11, 2023. To date, a total of 265 samples have been collected and submitted for analysis from the Dieppe, Meloche, Ruisseau and Tremblant properties, the focus of this campaign. No work is being conducted on the Carmin or North Low properties at this time. The results of the exploration campaign will be reported as they become available. The regional exploration program focuses on improving knowledge of graphite showings at the most prospective targets outlined in the 2022 and 2023 exploration programs.
Corporate and market update
Lomiko is part of the global transition to electrification and localization of transportation supply chains, a change that impacts all forms of transportation, cars, heavy equipment, marine etc. It also impacts communities and our talent pool to build these businesses of the future. Natural flake graphite, and specifically fine flake graphite, is crucial for the development of the North American anode industry in the new energy framework driven by tariffs on critical minerals, long-term supply chain resilience, and responsible domestic industrial growth. The La Loutre graphite is 67% fine flake distribution, making it an important source of long-term future graphite supply [emphasis mine] with demonstrated success for anode battery technology – among other uses currently being evaluated by Lomiko. According to Fortune Business Insights report dated October 14, 2024, the North American EV market is expected to grow almost quadruple to $230 billion in 2030 from $63 billion in 2022, with growth from other transportation sectors still nascent. Lomiko continues to engage with partners, customers and suppliers in building the future of this industry and developing R&D for the responsible extraction of this material.
Lomiko is initiating the reimbursement process for its recently awarded grant from the United States government and contribution agreement from the Canadian government, for work completed to date and within the scope of the agreements. It is the recipient of a Department of Defense (“DoD”) Technology Investment Agreement (“TIA”) grant of US$8.35 million (approximately CA$11.4 million) where Lomiko will match the funding over a period of 5 years, for a total agreement with the DoD of US$16.7 million. The grant falls under Title III of the Defense Production Act and is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure energy security in North America. The Company has also been approved for funding of CA$4.9 million in a non-repayable contribution agreement from the Critical Mineral Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program administered by Natural Resources Canada, with the total project cost being CA$6.6 million. The announcement was made on May 16, 2024 and can be viewed on our website at www.lomiko.com.
In addition, Lomiko announces the resignation of CFO and Corporate Secretary, Vince Osbourne, who will be pursuing a role with a private company and maintain a strategic advisory role with Lomiko going forward. Jacqueline Michael, Controller, will replace Vince Osbourne as CFO on an interim basis, with the role of Corporate Secretary to be assumed by current professionals working with Lomiko.
On behalf of the board of directors and management, Belinda Labatte, CEO and Interim Chair of the board of directors stated: “Vince has been an integral member of the Lomiko team, and we wish him success in his future endeavors, and we are pleased to continue our working relationship in his new capacity to Lomiko as advisor to the Company.”
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Now with a new administration entering the US White House has a chief advisor and co-leader of a new government agency [Department of Government Efficiency] in Elon Musk who is extremely wealthy and has many businesses, notably Tesla, an electronic vehicle (EV) business. It would seem that M. Musk might have an interest in easy access to minerals important to Tesla’s business.
Pollinator Pathmaker Eden Project Edition. Photo Royston Hunt. Courtesy Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg Ltd
I suppose you could call this a kind of citizen science as well as an art project. A September 11, 2024 news item on phys.org describes a new scientific art project designed for insects,
Gardens can become “living artworks” to help prevent the disastrous decline of pollinating insects, according to researchers working on a new project.
Pollinator Pathmaker is an artwork by Dr. Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg that uses an algorithm to generate unique planting designs that prioritize pollinators’ needs over human aesthetic tastes.
Originally commissioned by the Eden Project in Cornwall in 2021, the general public can access the artist’s online tool (www.pollinator.art) to design and plant their own living artwork for local pollinators.
While pollinators – including bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, ants and beetles – are the main audience, the results may also be appealing to humans.
Pollinator Pathmaker allows users to input the specific details of their garden, including size of plot, location conditions, soil type, and play with how the algorithm will “solve” the planting to optimise it for pollinator diversity, rather than how it looks to humans.
The new research project – led by the universities of Exeter and Edinburgh – has received funding from UK Research and Innovation as part of a new cross research council responsive mode scheme to support exciting interdisciplinary research.
The project aims to demonstrate how an artwork can help to drive innovative ecological conservation, by asking residents in the village of Constantine in Cornwall to plant a network of Pollinator Pathmaker living artworks in their gardens. These will become part of the multidisciplinary study.
“Pollinators are declining rapidly worldwide and – with urban and agricultural areas often hostile to them – gardens are increasingly vital refuges,” said Dr Christopher Kaiser-Bunbury, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
“Our research project brings together art, ecology, social science and philosophy to reimagine what gardens are, and what they’re for.
“By reflecting on fundamental questions like these, we will empower people to rethink the way they see gardens.
“We hope Pollinator Pathmaker will help to create connected networks of pollinator-friendly gardens across towns and cities.”
A virtual haptic implementation technology that allows all users to experience the same tactile sensation has been developed. A research team led by Professor PARK Jang-Ung from the Center for Nanomedicine within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and Professor JUNG Hyun Ho from Severance Hospital’s Department of Neurosurgery has developed a technology that provides consistent tactile sensations on displays.
Virtual haptic implementation technology, also known as tactile rendering technology, refers to the methods and systems that simulate the sense of touch in a virtual environment. This technology aims to create the sensation of physical contact with virtual objects, enabling users to “feel” textures, shapes, and forces as if they were interacting with real-world items, even though the objects are digital. The technology is seeing increasing uses in the realms of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), where it is used alongside visual and auditory cues to bridge the gap between the virtual and physical worlds.
Notably, electrotactile systems, which generate tactile sensations through electrical stimulation rather than physical vibrations, are emerging as promising next-generation tactile rendering technologies. The sensation of touch is mediated by mechanoreceptors, which are tactile sensory cells located in the skin that transmit tactile information to the brain in the form of electrical signals. Electrotactile systems artificially generate these electrical signals, thereby simulating the sense of touch. Precise and varied tactile experiences can be created by adjusting current density and frequency.
Despite their potential, existing electrotactile technologies face challenges, particularly in safety and consistency. Variations in skin contact pressure can lead to unstable tactile sensations, and the use of high currents raises safety concerns. To address these issues, the IBS research team developed a Transparent Pressure-Calibratable Interference Electrotactile Actuator (TPIEA).
TPIEA comprises two main components: an electrode section responsible for generating electrotactile sensations and a pressure sensor section that adjusts for finger pressure. Researchers greatly reduced the impedance of the electrode by applying platinum nanoparticles to an indium tin oxide-based electrode. This not only decreased impedance compared to conventional electrodes but also achieved a high transmittance of approximately 90%. The integrated pressure sensor ensures that users experience consistent tactile feedback regardless of how they touch the display.
Moreover, the research team conducted a Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP) test to quantify tactile sensations. By examining the responses of the user’s somatosensory system to variations in the current and frequency of electrotactile stimulation, they were able to quantitatively differentiate and standardize tactile sensations. The team successfully implemented over nine distinct types of electrotactile sensations, ranging from those resembling hair to those resembling glass, depending on the current density and frequency of the electrical stimulation. The team further demonstrated that the TPIEA could be integrated with smartphone displays to reliably produce complex tactile patterns.
Additionally, the research introduced interference phenomena into the realm of electrotactile technology. The interference phenomenon pertains to the alterations in frequency and amplitude that occur when two electromagnetic fields overlap. This allowed the researchers to elicit the same intensity of electrotactile sensation with a current density that is 30% lower than previously required and to achieve an approximate 32% enhancement in tactile resolution.This research demonstrates the highest level of tactile resolution among current electrotactile technologies, including the Teslasuit.
Lead researcher PARK Jang-Ung remarked, “Through this electrotactile technology, we can effectively integrate visual information from displays with tactile information,” and further expressed, “We anticipate that the findings of this research will significantly enhance the interaction between users and devices across various AR, VR, and smart device applications based on interference stimulation.”
This research has been conducted in collaboration with colleagues from Yonsei University Severance Hospital. It was published in Nature Communications on August 21, 2024.
A September 10, 2024 news item on ScienceDaily provides a technical explanation of how memristors, without a power source, can retain information,
Phase separation, when molecules part like oil and water, works alongside oxygen diffusion to help memristors — electrical components that store information using electrical resistance — retain information even after the power is shut off, according to a University of Michigan led study recently published in Matter.
Up to this point, explanations have not fully grasped how memristors retain information without a power source, known as nonvolatile memory, because models and experiments do not match up.
“While experiments have shown devices can retain information for over 10 years, the models used in the community show that information can only be retained for a few hours,” said Jingxian Li, U-M doctoral graduate of materials science and engineering and first author of the study.
To better understand the underlying phenomenon driving nonvolatile memristor memory, the researchers focused on a device known as resistive random access memory or RRAM, an alternative to the volatile RAM used in classical computing, and are particularly promising for energy-efficient artificial intelligence applications.
The specific RRAM studied, a filament-type valence change memory (VCM), sandwiches an insulating tantalum oxide layer between two platinum electrodes. When a certain voltage is applied to the platinum electrodes, a conductive filament forms a tantalum ion bridge passing through the insulator to the electrodes, which allows electricity to flow, putting the cell in a low resistance state representing a “1” in binary code. If a different voltage is applied, the filament is dissolved as returning oxygen atoms react with the tantalum ions, “rusting” the conductive bridge and returning to a high resistance state, representing a binary code of “0”.
It was once thought that RRAM retains information over time because oxygen is too slow to diffuse back. However, a series of experiments revealed that previous models have neglected the role of phase separation.
“In these devices, oxygen ions prefer to be away from the filament and will never diffuse back, even after an indefinite period of time. This process is analogous to how a mixture of water and oil will not mix, no matter how much time we wait, because they have lower energy in a de-mixed state,” said Yiyang Li, U-M assistant professor of materials science and engineering and senior author of the study.
To test retention time, the researchers sped up experiments by increasing the temperature. One hour at 250°C is equivalent to about 100 years at 85°C—the typical temperature of a computer chip.
Using the extremely high-resolution imaging of atomic force microscopy, the researchers imaged filaments, which measure only about five nanometers or 20 atoms wide, forming within the one micron wide RRAM device.
“We were surprised that we could find the filament in the device. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” Li said.
The research team found that different sized filaments yielded different retention behavior. Filaments smaller than about 5 nanometers dissolved over time, whereas filaments larger than 5 nanometers strengthened over time. The size-based difference cannot be explained by diffusion alone.
Together, experimental results and models incorporating thermodynamic principles showed the formation and stability of conductive filaments depend on phase separation.
The research team leveraged phase separation to extend memory retention from one day to well over 10 years in a rad-hard memory chip—a memory device built to withstand radiation exposure for use in space exploration.
Other applications include in-memory computing for more energy efficient AI applications or memory devices for electronic skin—a stretchable electronic interface designed to mimic the sensory capabilities of human skin. Also known as e-skin, this material could be used to provide sensory feedback to prosthetic limbs, create new wearable fitness trackers or help robots develop tactile sensing for delicate tasks.
“We hope that our findings can inspire new ways to use phase separation to create information storage devices,” Li said.
Researchers at Ford Research, Dearborn; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; University at Albany; NY CREATES; Sandia National Laboratories; and Arizona State University, Tempe contributed to this study.
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Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Thermodynamic origin of nonvolatility in resistive memory by Jingxian Li, Anirudh Appachar, Sabrina L. Peczonczyk, Elisa T. Harrison, Anton V. Ievlev, Ryan Hood, Dongjae Shin, Sangmin Yoo, Brianna Roest, Kai Sun, Karsten Beckmann, Olya Popova, Tony Chiang, William S. Wahby, Robin B. Jacobs-Godrim, Matthew J. Marinella, Petro Maksymovych, John T. Heron, Nathaniel Cady, Wei D. Lu, Suhas Kumar, A. Alec Talin, Wenhao Sun, Yiyang Li. Matter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2024.07.018 Published online: August 26, 2024
A September 7, 2024 news item on phys.org offers some intriguing information about nanoscale silver and its self-healing abilities, Note: A link has been removed,
As an innovative concept in materials science and engineering, the inspiration for self-healing materials comes from living organisms that have the innate ability to self-heal. Along this line, the search for self-healing materials has been generally focused on “soft” materials like polymers and hydrogels. For solid-state metals, one may intuitively imagine that any form of self-healing will be much more difficult to achieve.
While a few past studies have showcased the self-healing behavior in metals that more or less requires the assistance of external triggers (e.g., by heating, mechanical stimulus, or electron beam irradiation), whether the autonomous self-healing can occur in metal solids without any external intervention remains a scientific curiosity.
Now in a new study published in Matter, researchers from the Institute of Physics (IOP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered that such an intrinsic and autonomous self-healing phenomenon can occur in nanoscale silver (Ag).
This study, which combines advanced in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, reveals that nanoscale Ag can autonomously repair itself from structural damages such as nanocracks and nanopores without external intervention.
This remarkable ability is observed not only at room temperature but also at frigid temperatures as low as 173 K.
Notably, over the same damaging area, the repeated reversible self-healing cycles can also be achieved with the same level of efficiency.
The experiments were performed inside an atomic-resolution TEM by utilizing single-crystalline Ag nanosheets as testing specimens. Both nanopores and nanocracks were purposefully fabricated through in-situ drilling by TEM electron beam.
To avoid any possible intervention to the healing process, Ag nanosheet specimen was afterwards kept at a “beam-off” state all through until each moment for interval TEM imaging.
As an interesting and perhaps surprising result, the two representative kinds of structural damages were observed to undergo rapid self-healing autonomously within several to dozens of minutes, with the healed regions perfectly restoring the crystal lattice of Ag with atomically precise ordering.
Unlike Ag, gold (Au) did not show similar self-healing behavior at room temperature, despite the fact that Au is the most relevant element to Ag in the Periodic Table and they share many similarities in physical and chemical properties.
Further MD simulation results well reproduce the experimental observations, especially regarding the difference in the healing behavior between Ag and Au. What sets Ag apart from Au is its high mobility of surface diffusion, a trait not commonly found in other metal solids.
By employing TEM, the researchers were able to in-situ track the trajectories of healing process in Ag at the atomic level. With a combination of atomistic imaging and theoretical simulation results, the research highlights that self-healing is enabled by the surface-mediated self-diffusion of Ag atoms as driven by chemical potential imbalance due to Gibbs-Thomson effect.
When a nascent damage structure (either nanopore or nanocrack) begins its existence in Ag nanosheet, there will create a concave site with the negative local curvature. Due to the general curvature-dependence of chemical potential, the concave damage site will thereby have smaller chemical potential relative to the undamaged areas of the nanosheet. This built-in imbalance of chemical potential drives Ag atoms to migrate and repair the damage autonomously, showcasing a sophisticated form of material self-maintenance in negative feedback way.
The ability of Ag to autonomously self-heal nanoscale damages at room temperature and below shows promising possibility for developing damage-tolerant components and devices at the sub-micrometer length scale.
Perhaps more importantly, in a broader term, this unusual finding at a mechanistic level may provide a guiding framework for deeper understanding of the self-healing phenomena and concepts in metal solids in general.
A September 4, 2024 news item on ScienceDaily announced some research in Switzerland that improves on electrodes used in brain implants, e.g., like Elon Musk’s company, Neuralink,
Neurostimulators, also known as brain pacemakers, send electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain via special electrodes. It is estimated that some 200,000 people worldwide are now benefiting from this technology, including those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease or from pathological muscle spasms. According to Mehmet Fatih Yanik, Professor of Neurotechnology at ETH Zurich, further research will greatly expand the potential applications: instead of using them exclusively to stimulate the brain, the electrodes can also be used to precisely record brain activity and analyse it for anomalies associated with neurological or psychiatric disorders. In a second step, it would be conceivable in future to treat these anomalies and disorders using electrical impulses.
To this end, Yanik and his team have now developed a new type of electrode that enables more detailed and more precise recordings of brain activity over an extended period of time. These electrodes are made of bundles of extremely fine and flexible fibres of electrically conductive gold encapsulated in a polymer. Thanks to a process developed by the ETH Zurich researchers, these bundles can be inserted into the brain very slowly, which is why they do not cause any detectable damage to brain tissue.
This sets the new electrodes apart from rival technologies. Of these, perhaps the best known in the public sphere is the one from Neuralink, an Elon Musk company [emphasis mine]. In all such systems, including Neuralink’s, the electrodes are considerably wider. “The wider the probe, even if it is flexible, the greater the risk of damage to brain tissue,” Yanik explains. “Our electrodes are so fine that they can be threaded past the long processes that extend from the nerve cells in the brain. They are only around as thick as the nerve-cell processes themselves.”
The research team tested the new electrodes on the brains of rats using four bundles, each made up of 64 fibres. In principle, as Yanik explains, up to several hundred electrode fibres could be used to investigate the activity of an even greater number of brain cells. In the study, the electrodes were connected to a small recording device attached to the head of each rat, thereby enabling them to move freely.
No influence on brain activity
In the experiments, the research team was able to confirm that the probes are biocompatible and that they do not influence brain function. Because the electrodes are very close to the nerve cells, the signal quality is very good compared to other methods.
At the same time, the probes are suitable for long-term monitoring activities, with researchers recording signals from the same cells in the brains of animals for the entire duration of a ten-month experiment. Examinations showed that no brain-tissue damage occurred during this time. A further advantage is that the bundles can branch out in different directions, meaning that they can reach multiple brain areas.
Human testing to begin soon
In the study, the researcher used the new electrodes to track and analyse nerve-cell activity in various areas of the brains of rats over a period of several months. They were able to determine that nerve cells in different regions were “co-activated”. Scientists believe that this large-scale, synchronous interaction of brain cells plays a key role in the processing of complex information and memory formation. “The technology is of high interest for basic research that investigates these functions and their impairments in neurological and psychiatric disorders,” Yanik explains.
The group has teamed up with fellow researchers at the University College London in order to test diagnostic use of the new electrodes in the human brain. Specifically, the project involves epilepsy sufferers who do not respond to drug therapy. In such cases, neurosurgeons may remove a small part of the brain where the seizures originate. The idea is to use the group’s method to precisely localise the affected area of the brain prior to tissue removal.
Brain-machine interfaces
There are also plans to use the new electrodes to stimulate brain cells in humans. “This could aid the development of more effective therapies for people with neurological and psychiatric disorders”, says Yanik. In disorders such as depression, schizophrenia or OCD, there is often impairments in specific regions of the brain, which leads to problems in evaluation of information and decision making. Using the new electrodes, it might be possible to detect the pathological signals generated by the neural networks in the brain in advance, and then stimulate the brain in a way that would alleviate such disorders. Yanik also thinks that this technology may give rise to brain-machine interfaces for people with brain injuries. In such cases, the electrodes might be used to read their intentions and thereby, for example, to control prosthetics or a voice-output system.
A bundle of extremely fine electrode fibres in the brain (microscope image). (Image: Yasar TB et al. Nature Communications 2024, modified) Courtesy: ETH Zurich
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Months-long tracking of neuronal ensembles spanning multiple brain areas with Ultra-Flexible Tentacle Electrodes by Tansel Baran Yasar, Peter Gombkoto, Alexei L. Vyssotski, Angeliki D. Vavladeli, Christopher M. Lewis, Bifeng Wu, Linus Meienberg, Valter Lundegardh, Fritjof Helmchen, Wolfger von der Behrens & Mehmet Fatih Yanik. Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 4822 (2024) DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49226-9 Published online: 06 June 2024
