A new material can absorb up to 90 times its own weight in spilled oil and then be squeezed out like a sponge and reused, raising hopes for easier clean-up of oil spill sites. But to determine whether this material could help sort out a big spill in marine waters, they needed to perform a Read more about Sponge can soak up and release spilled oil hundreds of times[…]
“It has been established that charge transport is possible in DNA, but for a useful device, one wants to be able to turn the charge transport on and off. We achieved this goal by chemically modifying DNA,” said Tao, who directs the Biodesign Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors and is a professor in the Fulton Read more about Switched-on DNA: Sparking nano-electronic applications[…]
Many charts don’t tell the truth. This is a simple guide to spotting them. Source: How to Spot Visualization Lies and more!
A genetically modified bacterium destroys tumors by provoking an immune response, according to a study published Wednesday. Using mice and cultures of human cancer cells, a South Korean-led scientific team demonstrated that Salmonella typhimurium engineered to make a foreign protein caused immune cells called macrophages and neutrophils to mobilize against the cancer. […] Tumors shrank Read more about GM Salmonella destroys cancer[…]
Over the last few years, advances in science have made the kind of experiments once only accessible to PhDs with fancy labs far more attainable. College undergrads are constructing gene drives. Anyone can buy a kit on the internet to concoct their own bioluminescent beer. […] The German government, it seems, is none too pleased Read more about Germany Is Threatening Biohackers With Prison[…]
In a paper for the journal Biofabrication, the team details how the printer lays down bioinks containing human plasma as well as primary human fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The printer first lays down a layer of external epidermis and then a thicker layer of fibroblasts that produce collagen, which will make the flesh strong and elastic. Read more about Boffins perfect 3D bioprinter that produces slabs of human skin[…]
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have announced the development of the first stable semisynthetic organism. Building on their 2014 study in which they synthesized a DNA base pair, the researchers created a new bacterium that uses the four natural bases (called A, T, C and G), which every living organism possesses, but that Read more about Scientists create first stable semisynthetic organism[…]
Now researchers have shown that there is a grey area where Nature cannot tell the difference between the classical and the quantum. This opens the possibility of first performing quantum experiments with a type of classical light called “classically entangled” light. By preparing and sending a so-called “classically entangled” beam the team could show that Read more about Physicists show that real-time error correction in quantum communications is possible[…]
Already researchers have developed photovoltaic paint, which can be used to make “paint-on solar cells” that capture the sun’s energy and turn it into electricity. Now in a new study, researchers have created thermoelectric paint, which captures the waste heat from hot painted surfaces and converts it into electrical energy. “I expect that the thermoelectric Read more about Thermoelectric paint enables walls to convert heat into electricity[…]
Scientists from the National Institutes of Health have identified an antibody from an HIV-infected person that potently neutralized 98 percent of HIV isolates tested, including 16 of 20 strains resistant to other antibodies of the same class. The remarkable breadth and potency of this antibody, named N6, make it an attractive candidate for further development Read more about NIH Scientists Identify Potent Antibody that Neutralizes Nearly All HIV Strains[…]
Touch is essential for hand use. Yet, brain-controlled prosthetic limbs have not been endowed with this critical sense. In a new study by Flesher et al ., microelectrode arrays were implanted into the primary somatosensory cortex of a person with spinal cord injury and, by delivering current through the electrodes, generated sensations of touch that Read more about making paralysed people feel through fake hands[…]
A popular antibiotic called rifampicin, used to treat tuberculosis, leprosy, and Legionnaire’s disease, is becoming less effective as the bacteria that cause the diseases develop more resistance. […] “Antibiotic resistance is one of the major problems in modern medicine,” said Adbelwahab. “Our studies have shown how this enzyme deactivates rifampicin. We now have a blueprint Read more about Team unravels mystery of bacteria’s antibiotic resistance[…]
Introducing the LudusScope, a 3D-printed, open-sourced system that lets you control and play games with living microbes on your smartphone. Tormenting single-celled organisms has never been so much fun. Source: This Smartphone Microscope Lets You Play Games With Microbes
A British man could become the first person in the world to be cured of HIV using a new therapy designed by a team of scientists from five UK universities. The 44-year-old is one of 50 people currently trialling a treatment which targets the disease even in its dormant state. Scientists told The Sunday Times Read more about HIV cure close after disease ‘vanishes’ from blood of British man […]
Scientists have long known that cells have various types of sensory abilities that are key to their function, such as sensing light, heat, nerve signals, damage, chemicals or other inputs. In this process, a chemical stimulus called ATP functions as a signaling molecule, which in turn causes calcium levels in a cell to rise and Read more about Research outlines cellular communication processes that show it’s a majority rule in your body[…]
Wind map and weather forecast Source: Windyty, wind map & forecast Absolutely gorgeous interactive moving windmap
The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 challenged our Nation to grow our technical and scientific abilities in air and space. Since the 1970s, numerous economic reports and articles have demonstrated that NASA investments help grow the US economy. Perhaps most importantly NASA-funded R&D helped stimulate our long-term capacity for innovation and economic growth Read more about NASA publishes all papers funded by it for free![…]
When placed in an acoustic field, small objects experience a net force that can be used to levitate the objects in air. In a new study, researchers have experimentally demonstrated the acoustic levitation of a 50-mm (2-inch) solid polystyrene sphere using ultrasound—acoustic waves that are above the frequency of human hearing. The demonstration is one Read more about Researchers demonstrate acoustic levitation of a large sphere[…]
New research suggests that it is possible to create a new form of light by binding light to a single electron, combining the properties of both. […] by using theoretical physics to model the behaviour of light and a recently-discovered class of materials known as topological insulators, Imperial researchers have found that it could interact Read more about Scientists discover light could exist in a previously unknown form[…]
The sheep are just four of 13 clones that Sinclair shepherds, but they’re the most famous because of their relation to Dolly, the sheep that made headlines two decades ago as the first successfully cloned mammal. ” ‘Sister clones’ probably best describes them,” Sinclair says. “They actually come from the exactly the same batch of Read more about ‘Sister Clones’ Of Dolly The Sheep Are Alive And Kicking[…]
Scientists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have made an object disappear by using a composite material with nano-size particles that can enhance specific properties on the object’s surface. Researchers from QMUL’s School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, worked with UK industry to demonstrate for the first time a practical cloaking device that Read more about Scientists move one step closer to creating an invisibility cloak[…]
Using a small quantum system consisting of three superconducting qubits, researchers at UC Santa Barbara and Google have uncovered a link between aspects of classical and quantum physics thought to be unrelated: classical chaos and quantum entanglement. Their findings suggest that it would be possible to use controllable quantum systems to investigate certain fundamental aspects Read more about Researchers blur the line between classical and quantum physics by connecting chaos and entanglement[…]
Dror and Hampikian gave the DNA evidence to 17 lab technicians for examination, withholding context about the case to ensure unbiased results. All of the techs were experienced, with an average of nine years in the field. Dror and Hampikian asked them to determine whether the mixture included DNA from the defendant. In 2011, the Read more about Evidence mounting that DNA matching is more of an art than a science due partly to proprietary algorhythms[…]
An exclusive look at data from the controversial web site Sci-Hub reveals that the whole world, both poor and rich, is reading pirated research papers. Source: Who’s downloading pirated papers? Everyone
It turns out to be two factors: 1. Polar ice is melting. 2. We are storing water in different places and moving it around the planet using piping. These factors redistribute the weight of the water around the planet, making the poles wander around. We analyze space geodetic and satellite gravimetric data for the period Read more about Why are our planets’ poles moving? Water.[…]