gear Push settings
MIT engineers have taken one step forward to the realm of sci-fi gadgets, transforming bacterial cells into living calculators that can compute logarithms, divide, and take square roots, using three or fewer genetic parts. Using cells as analog circuits Inspired by how analog electronic circuits function, the researchers created synthetic computation circuits by combining existing […]
An itch is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Researchers have long tried to characterize itch, but in its typical annoying fashion, the sensation resisted any such attempts. For a very long time, the itch has been thought of as a low-level form of pain, but now, a new study conducted […]
Rodents are able to move their eyes in different directions, thus always keeping an eye on the the airspace above them, researchers from Max Planck Institute have shown. Using miniaturised high-speed cameras and high-speed behavioural tracking, they found that rats can move their eyes in different directions, both in the horizontal and in the vertical […]
Cockroaches, the blight of every urban apartment; they’re adaptable, they’re sturdy, and they reproduce really fast. The nasty, disease carrying bugs can eat pretty much anything they find around the house, from mold and rotten food to the thing they love the most – sugar. When given the opportunity, cockroaches always go for the sugary […]
It’s the Middle Ages, the 1600s, and the Little Ice Age is striking the planet. The Little Ice Age, as the name describes it pretty much was a period of cooling that occurred after the Medieval Warm Period (Medieval Climate Optimum). It is usually described as lasting from the 16th to the 19th centuries, but […]
Think about mucus – what comes to mind? It’s slimy, it’s gross, no one really likes it, right? Well, as a team from San Diego State University showed, mucus is also home to a very powerful immune system that has the possibility to change the way doctors treat a number of diseases. Bacteriophages are basically […]
Here we go: once again, Colorado’s fracking boom raised fears that something dangerous will be leaked in the water, and what do you know? Carcinogenic benzene it is! A plant for fracked natural gas processor Williams Energy, near Parachute, Colo., spilled an estimated 241 barrels of mixed natural gas liquid into the ground, some of […]
Well the title may be a little flashy, but here’s what it’s about: some highly unusual minerals have been found at the centers of impact craters on the moon. Geologists working on the case believe that they may be the shattered remains of the space rocks that made the craters, but didn’t exhume any material […]
Two generations from now, the over 9 billion people which are likely to walk the face of the planet will face dramatic water shortage, as climate change, pollution and overusage of resources start taking their toll, a group of 500 researchers warns. The thing is, if we, as a society continue developing at the same […]
Last week, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization suggested that consuming edible insects can not only fight world hunger and help secure the global food supply, but also reduce greenhouse gases, and help save the environment. As far fetched and sci-fi that idea may sound, it’s not really as crazy as it sounds. 2 […]
It’s the early 1950s, and some strange experiments are going on at Tulane University in Louisiana. Well, maybe not weird, but definitely pushing the limits of neurophysiological knowledge one step further. Dr. Robert G. Heath is at the forefront of these experiments, and he found that he can manipulate both the pleasure and pain centers […]
People with higher IQ have a much better ability to ignore background distractions, because they are just much better at filtering out useless information. Now personally, I’m not a big fan at defining intelligence, especially using the IQ type of tests, and even less any results that are demonstrated starting from here. Reality has shown […]
The Pavlof volcano lies in the long chain of the Aleutian Islands off the west coast of Alaska, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the United States. It’s about seven kilometers (4 miles) across and 2500 meters (1.5 miles) high; after being quiet since 2007, it started erupting again in May 2013. […]
A team of Canadian researchers has discovered a bacterium that thrives in the Arctic regions, much below freezing point, at -15 degrees C in one the coldest temperature ever reported for bacterial growth. The discovery of the bacterium Planococcus halocryophilus OR1 was made in Ellesmere Island, Canada, a part of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, […]
Lately, the sun has received a lot of thrash talk for the harm it causes with exposure, increasing the risk of skin cancer. But a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Edinburgh has shown that the benefits of exposure to UV rays may be greater than the risk of getting skin cancer, […]
“Marijuana use is associated with an acute increase in caloric intake” – marijuana preconception #234. The thing is, even though they eat more while high, pot smokers have been showed to be thinner, have a lower body mass index, and even lower cholesterol. Researchers at the University of Nebraska, the Harvard School of Public Health, […]
3D printing is the stuff of the future, today. Basically you can create absolutely anything, just by using a digital computer model of it. In the latest of its remarkable feats, 3D printing has saved the life of a 20 year old baby by creating a bioresorbable splint that stopped a life-threatening condition called tracheobronchomalacia. […]
Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, 80, reached the top of Mount Everest Thursday, thus becoming the oldest man to reach the highest summit in the world. Miura and his nine-person team climbed on the southern ridge, the same path that Edmund Hillary took 60 years ago when he became the first documented man to climb Everest. […]
In case you didn’t know, bee popullations all around the world are dwindling. The disorder which is causing this massive decline in bee numbers is called CCD – colony collapse disorder. In 2012 alone, a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder (CCD) wiped out about half of honeybee hives [read more here]. What happens in CCD […]
When you think about a spider, you usually imagine a big, silky, web used to trap unfortunate insects. But a new study conducted by biologists of the Kiel University and the University of Bern has shown that about half of all spiders have found an alternative to that and don’t use web at all. These […]
Scientists have successfully identified an immune protein which has the possibility to stop or even revert development of type 1 diabetes in its early stages – that is, before insulin producing cells have been destroyed. Why is this not inaccurate/sensationalistic? This is a new thing we’re going to do with most of these articles; why? […]
Researchers in Sweden have shown that children whose moms and dads placed their childrens pacifiers in their own mouths, thus sharing some of their own bacteria with them, had a lower risk of allergies, asthma and eczema. Arguably, the sample size of the study is too small, and more research is needed in order to […]
Paleontologists working at Ohio University have unearthed evidence of two new species of ancient primates, named Rukwapithecus fleaglei and Nsungwepithecus gunnellifa, which offer solid evidence of a split between Old World monkeys and apes. Geological and paleontological analysis have shown that the fossils are approximately 25 million years old, which puts them in the late […]
Usually, species are named after defining trait, or sometimes, more rarely, after somebody famous in the field, but every once in a while, they get some rather cooky names – like is the case with Kooteninchela deppi. Cambrian and scrissors Pronounced Koo-ten-ee-che-la depp-eye, the 505-million-year-old fossil is a distant relative of lobsters and scorpions, and […]
For the first time, scientists have observed in a patient the evolution of an immune molecule that recognizes different HIV types and adapt accordingly. A neutralizing antibody, or NAb is an antibody which defends a cell from an antigen or infectious body by inhibiting or neutralizing any effect it has biologically. They’re your body’s elite […]
For decades, the accepted theory was that the mountain chains running from Alaska to Mexico were created from fragments of land scraped off a huge tectonic plate moving eastwards, called the Farallon, that converged with North America and sunk below it over the past 200 million years or so. But alas, geologists and geophysicists aren’t […]
The humble dragonfly is the most efficient predator in the world.
Unborn lizards can erupt from their eggs days before they should if they recept vibrations that hint at a predator coming. The premature hatchlings literally begin their life by running as fast as they can. Talk about having an escape plan! The fact that lizards can have such spectacular survival reflexes even before they are […]
A magnetic solar ‘heartbeat’ beats deep down in the Sun’s interior, generating energy that leads to solar flares and sunspots. Solar flares and sunspots A solar flare is a large energy release in the form of a sudden brightening of the surface or the solar limb. The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms […]
A paleoclimate study has shown that a huge mass of warm water stretched out from Indonesia over to Africa and South America four million years ago had a huge impact on tropical changes, suggesting that current climate models are a too conservative. The Pliocene era started 5.332 million years ago and lasted until 2.588 million […]
It’s been discussed since the 70s – can hydrogen fuel be the much anticipated solution that ends our full dependence on fossil fuels? A team of researchers from Virginia Tech believes the answer is ‘yes’. They found a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, bringing low-cost, environmentally friendly hydrogen-based fuel one […]
In case you don’t know, global bee populations have been dropping dramatically in latest years – and this is not an exaggeration. In 2012 alone, a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder (CCD) wiped out about half of honeybee hives. What happens in CCD is that bees just leave the hive, never to return again. This […]
Just 9% of the millions of tonnes of fish caught by China’s giant fishing fleet in international waters (most notably in Africa) is reported to the UN. Overfishing is one of the most serious issues mankind is facing – people don’t really understand that aquatic resources are not neverending, and this is probably the kind […]
Paracetamol or acetaminophen (going by trade names such as Tylenol, Panadol, Efferalgan, and many more) is one of the most common and effective drugs out there. You’ve almost certainly took it at some point in your life, your parents have, your friends have, I don’t think I know more than a few people who never […]
Florida country radio morning-show hosts Val St. John and Scott Fish are currently serving indefinite suspensions and possibly criminal charges for what can only be described as a successful April Fools. They told their listeners that “dihydrogen monoxide” was coming out of the taps throughout the Fort Myers area – as I’m sure you all […]
New research by The Open University and Lancaster University showed that another type of volcanic eruption in Iceland could cause significant disruption throughout the Old Continent. Published in Geology, the study found magma that is twice as ‘fizzy’ as previously believed, which increases the likelihood of disruptive ash clouds from future eruptions. Magma can […]
Life on Mars The sedimentary processes on Mars have generally been governed by wind, not water – but is this the case where the Curiosity rover is searching for life at the moment. If this is the case (and Curiosity will either confirm or infirm this when it reaches Mount Sharp next year), then odds […]
Usually, the military taps into what science does and uses its technologies – but for once, it was the other way around. Using unmannes planes typically designed for city warfare, scientists were able to keep track of toxic volcanic fumes. The Dragon Eye remote-controlled plane weighs in at just under 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms), with […]
A decade ago, American physics professor John Cramer released an audio file which made history: the sound of the theorized Big Bang that formed the universe. Now, armed with new data and more observations, Cramer has released a remix – an improved version of the universe’s first one hit wonder. “In general, there are no sounds […]
In ancient times, Pluto’s Gate (Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin) was a place most people would go to any length to avoid; it held a considerable importance in their mythology, celebrate as the gate to the underworld – Pluto being the Roman name for Hades. “This space is full of a vapor so misty […]
I was always puzzled by the tentacle-like spiral arms some galaxies (including our own) develop; it just seems so counter intuitive and senseless, that most researchers agreed they are only transient features, which come and go in galactic history. But astronomers working at University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics claim that these […]
While relatively small quantities of water appear to be colorless, water's tint becomes bluer and bluer as its thickness increases.
Especially after the Fukushima events, nuclear energy has been painted black by most of the media, with everybody suddenly realizing just how dangerous and not really desirable it is. But a recent report conducted by NASA showed that as a matter of fact, nuclear energy leads to substantially fewer pollution-related deaths and greenhouse gas emissions […]
Few destinations in our solar systems are as likely to hold life as Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Even though on the surface it’s a barren, frozen wasteland, there is every reason for it to host life beneath its surface. So it’s quite easy to understand why we’re so excited to see that on page […]
If you know your physics (or optics, to be more specific), you’ve probably heard a lot about Fermat’s principle (or the principle of least time). Basically, what it states is that the path taken between two points by a ray of light is the path that can be traversed in the least time. A ray […]
A recent study led by WCS-India scientist Vidya Athreaya finds that certain areas in India, in which human settlements have greatly expanded, and which, as a result, are basically devoid of wilderness are teeming with another type of backyard wildlife: leopards. Camera traps set up at night in a densely populated region of India virtually […]
It’s hard to find two populated areas as far apart as Brazil and Polynesia; however, a recent genetic study showed that indigenous people that lived in southeastern Brazil in the late 1800s shared some genetic sequences with Polynesians. This could suggest that Pacific islanders traded with South America thousands of years ago (or traveled across […]
There’s a lot of fuss about climate modeling is definitely a hot one, with the validity of certain models (and models in general) often being brought to question. So how could you test if the today’s models are correct, except for waiting? That’s still a debatable question, but if we were to look at past […]
Overgrowth of invasive algae can have huge detrimental effects both on the environment and on human activities. This is quite clearly observed in lake Erie, where a study published by the National Academy of Sciences documents some serious problems. Farmers and the environment According to Anna Michalak, the study’s co-author and a researcher at the […]
The misinformation going on in some fields of science is just staggering. For example, I woke up today to see my email, Facebook and even phone filled with messages about this new discovery that can use the CO2 in the atmosphere and transform it into biofuel. My first take on that was “Cool, a plant”. […]
