Phages—tiny entities that infect bacteria—were discovered over 100 years ago but were largely abandoned as therapies. Now they’re making a comeback.
Category: futurism – Page 108
The fastest animals are neither the largest, nor the smallest, but rather intermediately sized, though the mechanism for this is unknown. This study built predictive musculoskeletal simulations, scaled in mass from the size of a mouse to an elephant to understand the underlying mechanisms.
Nuclear scattering data suggest the possible observation of a predicted but never-observed nuclear vibration.
Spotting the Scars of Spacetime
Posted in futurism
Scientists have devised a way to use current gravitational-wave detectors to observe permanent deformations of spacetime caused by certain supernovae.
Inside every jar of honey is a taste of the local environment, its sticky sweet flavor enhanced by whichever nearby flowers bees have decided to sample. But a new study from Tulane University has found that honey can also offer a glimpse of nearby pollution.
The study, published in Environmental Pollution, tested 260 honey samples from 48 states for traces of six toxic metals: arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and cobalt. None of the honeys showed unsafe levels of toxic metals—based on a serving size of one tablespoon per day—and concentrations in the United States were lower than global averages.
However, researchers found regional differences in toxic metal distribution: the highest arsenic levels were found in honeys from a cluster of states in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Nevada); the Southeast tested highest for cobalt levels, including Louisiana and Mississippi; and two of the three highest lead levels were found in the Carolinas.
Natural selection isn’t just something that happens to organisms, their activities also play a role, giving some species – including humans – a supercharged ability to evolve.
By Kevin Lala
New findings, published in the journal Ecology, describe a previously undocumented behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). For the first time, these have been reported to feed on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa) – the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar. In doing so, the wolves may act as pollinators, perhaps the first known plant-pollinator interaction involving a large carnivore.
The study was carried out by researchers at the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP), a partnership between the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), and Dinkenesh Ethiopia. They observed that some individual wolves would visit as many as 30 blooms in a single trip, with multiple wolves from different packs exploiting this resource. There was also some evidence of social learning, with juveniles being brought to the flower fields along with adults.
Even the languages we haven’t deciphered yet, such as the one in the Voynich Manuscript, appear to follow this rule.
Scientists have discovered previously hidden “dark” genes. These genes code for tiny proteins involved in important processes.
Here’s how the winners of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge are making food out of thin air.
A few weeks ago, I arrived hungry to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City, ready for a unique culinary experience. Finalists of NASA and the Canadian Space Agency’s Deep Space Food Challenge had come from all across the planet to demonstrate how future astronauts might grow their own food. I descended upon a tiny cup of chocolate mousse topped with a raspberry.