A new type of soft robot can go under the knife and make a full recovery in about a day.

Researchers fashioned a robotic hand, gripper and muscle from self-healing rubbery material. To test their robots’ resilience, the engineers sliced each with a scalpel, then put them in an oven. After cranking up the heat to 80° Celsius, baking the bots for 40 minutes, then cooling them to room temperature, the researchers found that all three bots’ cuts had completely closed up. Twenty-four hours later, the machines had regained at least 98 percent of their original strength and flexibility, the researchers report online August 16 in Science Robotics.
Incisions broke bonds between two chemical ingredients that make up the material, furan and maleimide. At higher temperatures, these chemical compounds can also split up, as well as move around more easily. So as the researchers cooled the material, the compounds were able to re-bond with those on the other side of an incision.
“This material could heal, in theory, an infinite number of times,” says study coauthor Bram Vanderborght, an engineer at Vrije University Brussels.

The work helps address a major limitation of squishy, flexible robots — which are better suited than their traditional, rigid counterparts for navigating rough terrain and handling fragile objects, but are vulnerable to punctures and tears. Self-healing machines could pave the way for creating more durable, reusable soft bots.

Brains are like sponges, slurping up new information. But sponges may also be a little bit like brains.

Sponges, which are humans’ very distant evolutionary relatives, don’t have nervous systems. But a detailed analysis of sponge cells turns up what might just be an echo of our own brains: cells called neuroids that crawl around the animal’s digestive chambers and send out messages, researchers report in the Nov. 5 Science.

The finding not only gives clues about the early evolution of more complicated nervous systems, but also raises many questions, says evolutionary biologist Thibaut Brunet of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, who wasn’t involved in the study. “This is just the beginning,” he says. “There’s a lot more to explore.”

The cells were lurking in Spongilla lacustris, a freshwater sponge that grows in lakes in the Northern Hemisphere. “We jokingly call it the Godzilla of sponges” because of the rhyme with Spongilla, say Jacob Musser, an evolutionary biologist in Detlev Arendt’s group at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany.

Simple as they are, these sponges have a surprising amount of complexity, says Musser, who helped pry the sponges off a metal ferry dock using paint scrapers. “They’re such fascinating creatures.”
With sponges procured, Arendt, Musser and colleagues looked for genes active in individual sponge cells, ultimately arriving at a list of 18 distinct kinds of cells, some known and some unknown. Some of these cells used genes that are essential to more evolutionarily sophisticated nerve cells in other organisms for sending or receiving messages in the form of small blobs of cellular material called vesicles.

One such cell, called a neuroid, caught the scientists’ attention. After seeing that this cell was using those genes involved in nerve cell signaling, the researchers took a closer look. A view through a confocal microscope turned up an unexpected locale for the cells, Musser says. “We realized, ‘My God, they’re in the digestive chambers.’”

Large, circular digestive structures called choanocyte chambers help move water and nutrients through sponges’ canals, in part by the beating of hairlike cilia appendages (SN: 3/9/15). Neuroids were hovering around some of these cilia, the researchers found, and some of the cilia near neuroids were bent at angles that suggested that they were no longer moving.
The team suspects that these neuroids were sending signals to the cells charged with keeping the sponge fed, perhaps using vesicles to stop the movement of usually undulating cilia. If so, that would be a sophisticated level of control for an animal without a nervous system.

The finding suggests that sponges are using bits and bobs of communications systems that ultimately came together to work as brains of other animals. Understanding the details might provide clues to how nervous systems evolved. “What did animals have, before they had a nervous system?” Musser asks. “There aren’t many organisms that can tell us that. Sponges are one of them.”

And then there were three.

Just three races in the 2021 Formula 1 world championship remain, and it looks like Red Bull's Max Verstappen is in the driver's seat to secure his first world driver's championship.
But hot on his tail is still Lewis Hamilton, who took home the victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix to once again tighten the gap at the top between he and Verstappen entering the final three sprints of the season.
To say "hot on his tail" would maybe be a bit of an undersell. Hamilton put together a fantastic trio of drives during the weekend, from qualifying to sprint qualifying to the race, starting in 10th and ending up first, even after taking a five-spot grid penalty for a violation.

It doesn't get much hotter than Qatar — or the 2021 F1 championship.

Here's what you need to know about this weekend's F1 race:

What channel is the F1 race on today?
Race: Qatar Grand Prix
Date: Sunday, Nov. 21
TV channel: ESPN 2
Live stream: fuboTV
The ESPN family of networks will broadcast all 2021 F1 races in the United States using Sky Sports' feed, with select races heading to ABC later in the season.

ESPN Deportes serves as the exclusive Spanish-language home for all 2021 F1 races in the U.S.

What time does the F1 race start today?
Date: Sunday, Nov. 21
Start time: 9 a.m. ET
The 9 a.m. ET start time for Sunday's race means the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix will start at 5 p.m. local time. Lights out will likely take place just after 9 a.m. ET. ESPN's prerace show usually airs in the hour before the start of the race.

Below is the complete TV schedule for the weekend's F1 events at the Qatar Grand Prix. All times are Eastern.

Date Event Time TV channel
Friday, Nov. 19 Practice 1 5:30 a.m. ESPN2
Friday, Nov. 19 Practice 2 9 a.m. ESPN2
Saturday, Nov. 20 Practice 3 6 a.m. ESPN2
Saturday, Nov. 20 Qualifying 9 a.m. ESPN2
Sunday, Nov. 21 Race 9 a.m. ESPN2
Formula 1 live stream for Qatar Grand Prix
For those who don't have a cable or satellite subscription, there are five major OTT TV streaming options that carry ESPN — fuboTV, Sling, Hulu, YouTubeTV and AT&T Now. Of the five, Hulu, fuboTV and YouTubeTV offer free-trial options.

Below are links to each.
For those who do have a cable or satellite subscription but are not in front of a TV, Formula 1 races in 2021 can be streamed live via phones, tablets and other devices on the ESPN app with authentication.

Formula 1 schedule 2021
In all, there are 23 scheduled races in the 2021 F1 season, with the Portuguese Grand Prix sliding onto the docket the first week in March. The originally scheduled Vietnam Grand Prix was removed after the arrest of Nguyen Duc Chung, while the Chinese Grand Prix is up in the air. It was originally scheduled for April 11 but will likely not take place this season.

The Singapore Grand Prix was also removed from the schedule, with the Turkish Grand Prix returning to the schedule in its stead.

All races will be broadcast in the U.S. on the ESPN family of networks, with the United States Grand Prix and Mexico City Grand Prix both airing on ABC.

Please note: The on-the-hour start times do not include the broadcast start time, which is typically five minutes before the start of the race. Times do not include ESPN's customary prerace shows.

MORE: Live stream F1 races all season on fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Here's the latest schedule:

Date Race Course Start time (ET) TV channel Winner
March 28 Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit 11 a.m. ESPN2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
April 18 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
May 2 Portuguese Grand Prix Algarve International Circuit 10 a.m. ESPN Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
May 9 Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 9 a.m. ESPN Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
May 23 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco 9 a.m. ESPN2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
June 6 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku City Circuit 8 a.m. ESPN Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
June 20 French Grand Prix Circuit Paul Ricard 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
June 27 Styrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
July 4 Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
July 18 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit 10 a.m. ESPN Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Aug. 1 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring 9 a.m. ESPN Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Aug. 29 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 9 a.m. ESPN2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sept. 5 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort 9 a.m. ESPN2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sept. 12 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 9 a.m. ESPN2 Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
Sept. 26 Russian Grand Prix Sochi Autodrom 8 a.m. ESPN2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Oct. 10 Turkish Grand Prix Intercity Istanbul Park 8 a.m. ESPN2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Oct. 24 United States Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas 3 p.m. ABC Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Nov. 7 Mexico City Grand Prix Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 2 p.m. ABC Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Nov. 14 São Paulo Grand Prix Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace Noon ESPN2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Nov. 21 Qatar Grand Prix Losail International Circuit 9 a.m. ESPNews TBD
Dec. 5 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Jeddah Street Circuit 11 p.m. ESPN2 TBD
Dec. 12 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina Circuit 8 a.m. ESPN2 TBD

Grizzlies star Ja Morant has earned a lot of attention early on in the 2021-22 season, and rightfully so.

The 22-year-old has taken a monster leap from Year 2 to Year 3, looking like a player who is aiming higher than just a Most Improved Player of the Year award or the first All-Star bid of his career.
He is, of course, arguably the frontrunner for Most Improved and is well on his way to an All-Star nod, but Morant's name was a part of even bigger conversations through the first couple weeks of the season. It was a small sample size, but Morant started to carve a realistic path to an MVP trophy. And although that momentum has decelerated as we get further into the season – primarily because the Grizzlies might not win enough games for him to truly be considered – Morant has still earned that level of respect from his peers.
After the last time Morant faced off against the Clippers, a game in which he had 28 points and eight assists in a win, All-Star forward Paul George couldn't help but compare the No. 2 overall pick to a former MVP in Derrick Rose.

"He’s just explosive, electrifying," George said of Morant. "I’d compare him to like, D-Rose. I guarded him my rookie year, Indy-Chicago, and guarding Ja is very similar to how D-Rose was.

"It was just how quick and his ability to change direction, move his body in-air," George continued. "He made it tough for us. He put a lot of pressure on us. He’s explosive. You know the direction he wants to go. He wants to go left, we knew that, but he’s just so good and so fast, he still gets to it."

It's hard to argue with the comparison and when you actually line them up side-by-side, it gets even scarier.

When Rose became the youngest MVP in league history back in 2010-11, it was his age 22 season and third year in the league. Morant entered this season at 22 years old, marking his third in the league.

Their numbers during their third season are almost identical, too.

Comparing Ja Morant's 2021-22 season to Derrick Rose's MVP season
Year GP PPG APG RPG SPG FG% 3P% FT%
Derrick Rose 2010-11 81 25.0 7.7 4.1 1.0 44.5 33.2 85.8
Ja Morant 2020-21 14 25.9 7.3 5.1 1.6 49.3 38.2 77.5
Morant has only played 14 games and would obviously have to keep up this production over the course of an entire season the way Rose did, but still, he's on quite the trajectory.

As George did, you could use these same adjectives to describe both players: explosive, electrifying, shifty and athletic. They both even have that same killer instinct, never shying away from a big moment.

I mean, who is the first player that comes to mind when you see dunks like this:

What about drives like this, where he's changing direction, changing speed, floating in the air and still finding a way to finish amongst the trees:

You'll see a whole lot of those same moves in any season-long highlight tape from Rose back in 2010-11.

Even if Morant can't match Rose as a 22-year-old MVP, it's looking like the star guard will see his name in those types of discussions for many years to come with the potential to win the league's most prestigious individual award at some point down the line.

The Week 12 College Football Playoff rankings were easily adjustable for the selection committee. But they also set up to be a potentially chaotic final weekend of football.

Only one top-10 team in the most recent set of rankings lost on Saturday. That would be Oklahoma, a team the committee clearly didn't value in the first two sets of rankings, considering the Sooners' position at No. 8 overall in each of those weeks. The top seven teams remained the same following their loss, with Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Wake Forest moving up to fill in the Sooners' spot.
A looming concern for this committee is what will happen if each of the one-loss Power 5 favorites win out the rest of the season. That could create a logjam of Oregon, Ohio State/Michigan/Michigan State and Oklahoma State/Oklahoma. That's to say nothing of the SEC, which could presumably lock up two spots should Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC championship.

Then there's the question of a potentially undefeated Cincinnati team, which if left out would join UCF as a twice-undefeated Group of 5 team that never got a chance to compete for a title.

There's still plenty of football left to be played, including the two Michigan teams vs. Ohio State in the Big Ten; Alabama taking on two ranked teams in the last three weeks of the season; Bedlam; and a not-insignificant end to the season for Cincy, which plays a ranked team in Houston.

It's all shaping up to be a wild, fun and potentially chaotic stretch to end the season. Best take a deep breath while you're still able. Until then, here's the latest top 25 rankings from Week 12:
College Football Playoff rankings 2021
Who are the top four CFP teams of third CFP poll of 2021?
Ranking Team Record
1 Georgia 10-0
2 Alabama 9-1
3 Oregon 9-1
4 Ohio State 9-1
Who are the first two teams out of third CFP poll of 2021?
Ranking Team Record
5 Cincinnati 10-0
6 Michigan 9-1
CFP top 25 rankings from third CFP poll of 2021
Rank Team Record
1 Georgia 10-0
2 Alabama 9-1
3 Oregon 9-1
4 Ohio State 9-1
5 Cincinnati 10-0
6 Michigan 9-1
7 Michigan State 9-1
8 Notre Dame 9-1
9 Oklahoma State 9-1
10 Wake Forest 9-1
11 Baylor 8-2
12 Ole Miss 8-2
13 Oklahoma 9-1
14 BYU 8-2
15 Wisconsin 7-3
16 Texas A&M 7-3
17 Iowa 8-2
18 Pitt 8-2
19 San Diego State 9-1
20 N.C. State 7-3
21 Arkansas 7-3
22 UTSA 10-0
23 Utah 7-3
24 Houston 9-1
25 Mississippi State 6-4