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Archive for the ‘Science’ Category
Miniature Robots to Swarm the Oceans
10, Nov 2009(livescience.com) Swarms of soup-can-sized robots will soon plunge into the ocean seeking data on poorly understood phenomena from currents to biology. With $2.5 million in new funding from the National Science Foundation, researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography will create and deploy fleets of autonomous underwater explorers (AUEs) to explore the depths. Tens [...]
- In: Science|Technology
- Tags: minature, ocean, robot
(Wired.com) Biologists have figured out the most efficient way to destroy an ecosystem — and it’s based on the Google search algorithm. Scientists have long known that the extinction of key species in a food web can cause collapse of the entire system, but the vast number of interactions between species makes it difficult [...]
Blue M&M’s Repair Spinal Injuries
28, Jul 2009(telegraph.co.uk) The food dye that gives blue M&Ms their colour can help mend spinal injuries, researchers have claimed after tests on rats. The compound Brilliant Blue G blocks a chemical that kills healthy spinal cord cells around the damaged area – an event that often causes more irreversible damage than the original injury. BBG not [...]
Europe’s Space Freighter Almost Ready
15, Jul 2009(bbcnews.co.uk) “It’s clear from space history that often it was not the prototype that experienced the problems; it was the mission that came later. That’s why specific attention has to be paid to what we do now.” Nico Dettmann is in charge of producing the European Space Agency’s (Esa) next space freighter. He knows the [...]
(manolith.com) Science moves forward, and takes with it the human body. Over the centuries humans have adapted to live longer, healthier lives. And as the pace of scientific advancement continues, so with it does our ability to modify and improve ourselves to deal with the changing circumstances of our world. Some of these advancements [...]
Aztec King on Verge of Discovery?
13, Jul 2009nationgeographic.com) After nearly 30 years in the field, archaeologist Leonardo López Luján may be on the verge of the discovery of a lifetime: the only known tomb of an Aztec king. An air of excitement has been thickening around Mexico’s Templo Mayor (Great Temple) since 2006, when excavations near the temple revealed a stone [...]
Can Hackers “HACK” Your Brain?
9, Jul 2009(Wired.com) Hackers who commandeer your computer are bad enough. Now scientists worry that someday, they’ll try to take over your brain. In the past year, researchers have developed technology that makes it possible to use thoughts to operate a computer, maneuver a wheelchair or even use Twitter — all without lifting a finger. But [...]
Cancer Drug Delays Aging in Mice
8, Jul 2009(Wired.com) In a potentially landmark study on the biology of aging and how to delay it, a drug gave elderly mice the human equivalent of thirteen extra years of life. Though the drug is an immune system suppressant that almost certainly won’t have the same effect in humans, the study provides compelling evidence that pharmacologically [...]
Humans Can Be Taught To “See” With Their Ears
7, Jul 2009(nationalgeographic.com) With just a click of the tongue, anyone can learn to “see” with their ears, according to a new study of human echolocation. Several animals, such as bats, dolphins, whales, and some shrews, are known to use echolocation—sound waves bounced off nearby objects—to sense what’s around them. Inspired by a blind man who also [...]
Nuon Solar Team Unveils “Nuna5″
6, Jul 2009(tudelft.nl) On 25 June 2009 Nuna5 was unveiled by the new 14-strong Nuon Solar Team. The team members, all students at Delft University of Technology, have worked on the construction of their solar car for almost a year. During this period they have set everything else aside to ensure that Nuna5 is even faster [...]
(Worldarea.info) The world’s largest and most advanced underwater observatory project was launched in a ceremony at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in the western Pacific province British Columbia. The 100-million-dollar Neptune Canada project will make it possible for life beneath the ocean to go live on the Internet, giving people an unprecedented experience. Led by [...]
- In: Science
- Tags: canada, largest, launched, observatory, underwater, world
Although It has taken homo sapiens several million years to evolve from the apes, the useful information in our DNA, has probably changed by only a few million bits. So the rate of biological evolution in humans, Stephen Hawking points out in his Life in the Universe lecture, is about a bit a year. [...]
- In: Science
- Tags: evolution, Stephen Hawking