42 articles from MONDAY 13.1.2020
Living robots built using frog cells
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 23:56
Scientists repurposed living frog cells -- and assembled them into entirely new life-forms. These tiny 'xenobots' can move toward a target and heal themselves after being cut. These novel living machines are neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. They're a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism.
Connector fungi offer new clues to fate of nitrogen in warming tundra
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 23:56
New research could have implications for researchers and computer models that predict where nitrogen and carbon go at both regional and global levels.
International movements of Atlantic tarpon, need for protection
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 23:56
The results of an 18-year study of Atlantic tarpon revealed that these large silvery fish take extensive seasonal migrations -- 1,000s of kilometers in distance -- beyond US borders.
Connecting the dots in the sky could shed new light on dark matter
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 23:56
Astrophysicists have come a step closer to understanding the origin of a faint glow of gamma rays covering the night sky. They found that this light is brighter in regions that contain a lot of matter and dimmer where matter is sparser -- a correlation that could help them narrow down the properties of exotic astrophysical objects and invisible dark matter.
The advantage of changing sex in fish population recovery
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 23:56
Some fish species recover at different rates when fishing is eliminated inside MPAs. A new study explores how sex-changing fish species can actually recover faster than fixed-sex species.
How nodules stay on top at the bottom of the sea
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 23:56
Rare metallic elements found in clumps on the deep-ocean floor mysteriously remain uncovered despite the shifting sands and sediment many leagues under the sea. Scientists now think they know why, and it could have important implications for mining these metals while preserving the strange fauna at the bottom of the ocean.
Potential new treatment for preventing post traumatic stress disorder
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 22:50
Scientists have discovered the first biomarker unique to PTSD patients and they have created a peptide shown in a preclinical trial to treat and even prevent PTSD.
A controlled phage therapy can target drug-resistant bacteria while sidestepping potential unintended consequences
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 22:50
The fight against drug-resistant pathogens remains an intense one. While the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) 2019 'biggest threats' report reveals an overall decrease in drug-resistant microbe-related deaths as compared to its previous report (2013) the agency also cautions that new forms of drug-resistant pathogens are still emerging.
Life's clockwork: Scientist shows how molecular engines keep us ticking
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 22:50
In the The Demon in the Machine, physicist Paul Davies argues that what's missing in the definition of life is how biological processes create 'information,' and such information storage is the stuff of life, like person's ability to solve complex problems. Over the past 75 years, scientists have chipped away at this problem without identifying precise details of how any of our enzyme machines...
Windows 7 users, beware: no more free security updates
If you're still using Microsoft's Windows 7, your computer might soon be at risk. Microsoft will stop providing free security updates for the system on...
Oldest material on Earth discovered
Scientists analysing a meteorite discover material that is older than the Solar System itself.
A single gene for scent reception separates two species of orchid bees
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 21:33
Orchid bees are master perfumers. Males collect chemicals to concoct perfumes unique to their specific species. Researchers link the evolution of sexual signaling in orchid bees to a single gene shaped by species' perfume preferences.
Nanosatellites improve detection of early-season corn nitrogen stress
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 21:33
For corn growers, the decision of when and how much nitrogen fertilizer to apply is a perennial challenge. Scientists have shown that nanosatellites known as CubeSats can detect nitrogen stress early in the season, potentially giving farmers a chance to plan in-season nitrogen fertilizer applications and alleviate nutrient stress for crops.
Artificial muscle sheets transform stem cells into bone
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 21:33
Specifically programmed materials can, under specific conditions, encourage stem cells to transform into bone cells. To do this, scientists implemented a so-called shape-memory polymer in stem cell research.
Long-term memory performance depends upon gating system
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 21:33
Why do we remember some experiences for our entire lives but quickly forget others? The brain is constantly deciding which events are important enough for long-term storage. A new study sheds light on one element of that process.
Mysteries of grasshopper response to gravity unlocked
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 21:33
How do insects control the effects of gravity when they climb a tree or hang upside-down waiting for prey? They don't have closed circulatory systems that restrict fluid flow to certain parts of the body. Researchers discovered how insects adjust their cardiovascular and respiratory activity in response to gravity. When they change orientation, they respond to gravity just like humans, and they...
Genetic anomaly associated with poor response to common asthma treatment
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 21:33
A new study has uncovered a genetic anomaly associated with poor response to a common asthma treatment. The findings showed that asthmatic patients with the gene variant are less likely to respond to glucocorticoids and often develop severe asthma.
Meteorite contains the oldest material on Earth: 7-billion-year-old stardust
- ScienceDaily
- 20/1/13 21:33
Scientists have discovered the oldest solid material on Earth: 7-billion-year-old stardust trapped inside a meteorite. This stardust provides evidence for a 'baby boom' of new stars that formed 7 billion years ago, contrary to thinking that star formation happens at a steady, constant rate.
A meteor that struck Australia brought indestructible stardust more ancient than the sun. It's the oldest solid material ever found on Earth.
In 1969, a meteorite broke into pieces above Murchison, Australia. The fragments contain grains of stardust up to 7 billion years...
Secrets of '1,000-year-old trees' unlocked
Scientists discover how the ginkgo lives to such an old age, surviving for centuries or millennia.
First 'living robots' designed on supercomputer – video
Tiny 'xenobots' made up of living cells have been created by teams of scientists at the University of Vermont and Tufts University using a supercomputer to design them.The millimetre-wide bots could move toward a target and automatically repair themselves and researchers hope they will help clear human arteries, clean microplastics from the oceans and find radioactive waste Continue...
Scientists use stem cells from frogs to build first living robots
Researchers foresee myriad benefits for humanity, but also acknowledge ethical issues Be warned. If the rise of the robots comes to pass, the apocalypse may be a more squelchy affair than science fiction writers have prepared us for.Researchers in the US have created the first living machines by assembling cells from African clawed frogs into tiny robots that move around under their own steam....
Stardust older than the Earth and sun found in Australian meteorite
Granules, shed by dying stars over 5bn years ago, are oldest known solid material on EarthStardust that formed more than 5bn years ago, long before the birth of the Earth and the sun, has been discovered in a meteorite that crashed down in Australia, making it the oldest known solid material on the planet.The tiny granules of stardust, shed by ancient stars as they expired, reveal clues about how...
Meet Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire giving away $9 million on Twitter and looking for a 'female partner' to fly to the moon with him and Elon Musk
Maezawa says the giveaway is a "social experiment" to see if the money would make his followers...
Analysis: Boeing’s new CEO plays it safe — but more will be needed to get the company flying right
Veteran aerospace executive David Calhoun took the reins as Boeing's CEO today, telling employees in a company-wide email that his top priorities are to get the 737 MAX flying again and restore confidence in the troubled aerospace giant. It was just the kind of email you'd expect Calhoun to send — and that's the problem. In the midst of what's likely to be a yearlong grounding of...
Identifying Opportunities with Helena Chapman
Helena Chapman, NASA Earth Science Division
Helena Chapman is an associate program manager for the Earth Applied Sciences' Health and Air Quality Applications program at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. She also supports the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Health Community of Practice. As a global network of governments, organizations and observers, it promotes the use of Earth...
Did you solve it? The poco poco puzzle
The solution to today’s problemEarlier today I set you the following puzzle: Continue reading...
3D Printing and the Murky Ethics of Replicating Human Bones
Some scientist worry that a new way of studying human remains could be misused
NASA May Have Found the Goldilocks Planet of Goldilocks Planets: TOI 700 d
If you ask astronomers how many planets in the universe harbor life, they will likely say there are only two possible answers: one or infinity. We can rule out zero, thanks to the decidedly alive Earth, which means that so far one is the answer. But if we discover another, the answer jumps straight past two to infinity. The reason: You can posit a universe in which the confluence of factors that...
Endangered turtle swims again with prosthetic flipper
Goody, an endangered olive ridley sea turtle, can swim with ease again, after receiving the first prosthetic flipper developed in...
New tech aims to extract lithium for electric car batteries from oilfield waste
Mining the metal can come at a high environmental cost, so some Alberta companies are developing greener extraction methods by partnering with an unlikely ally — the oil and gas...
Canada imposing mandatory gear marking for some fisheries in 2020
Specially coloured rope will become mandatory in every lobster and crab fishery in Eastern Canada this year. The rope must identify the region, species being fished and individual fishing...
Pop bottles will be the main material in Cape Breton school's greenhouse
Students at Coxheath Elementary in Cape Breton plan to add a greenhouse to their schoolyard this spring made out of roughly 3,000 two-litre pop...
'A difficult choice': Will Ottawa's Huawei 5G decision consider fates of Canadians jailed in China?
As Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou prepares for her extradition hearing, Canada is still trying to decide if the Chinese telco should be part of this country's 5G network. Is it possible to make that decision without considering the fate of the two Canadians jailed in China following Meng's...
More shippers and shipping companies promise to avoid Arctic routes
Environmental groups are applauding what they call a trend among international shippers and shipping companies to voluntarily promise to stay away from controversial Arctic...
Rumbling volcano shuts down Philippine capital
Schools and businesses shut across the Philippine capital on Monday as a volcano belched clouds of ash across the city and seismologists warned an eruption could happen at any time, potentially triggering a...
Can you solve it? The poco poco puzzle
How to count a little in SpanishUPDATE: The answer is now available hereHow many “fews” do you need until you have “a lot”? In Spanish, the answer to this philosophical conundrum would seem to be 15.At least, that’s according to the puzzle below, in which the addition of 15 POCOs makes a MUCHO. Continue...
Yusaku Maezawa: Japanese billionaire seeks 'life partner' for Moon voyage
Yusaku Maezawa appeals for a "life partner" to join him on Space X's maiden Moon voyage in 2023.
Here's how Ontario would respond to a real nuclear emergency
Early Sunday morning, an emergency message was sent across Ontario alerting residents about an incident at the Pickering nuclear generating station east of Toronto. The alert turned out to be an error but it raises questions about the preparedness of the province in case of a reactor...