Menu

Blog

Page 2406

Feb 26, 2023

Unexpected protein interactions needed to build flowers

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The pros and cons of moonlighting—taking up an extra job in addition to full-time employment—are hotly debated. But in biology, moonlighting is not uncommon, as individual proteins often perform multiple functions. For many years, scientists knew that the Unusual Floral Organ (UFO) protein seems to do some moonlighting.

Based on the protein’s structure, its role in plants is thought to target proteins for destruction. But it also works with the Leafy (LFY) protein to aid flower formation. A team of scientists from France has now shed light on how this protein performs two roles.

Feb 26, 2023

Want to see the Earth from a stratosphere balloon? This startup says it will happen

Posted by in category: space

“It’s safe, economical and gentle for people,” Iwaya told reporters. “The idea is to make space tourism for everyone.” He said he wants to “democratize space.”

The company, Iwaya Giken, based in Sapporo in northern Japan, has been working on the project since 2012 and says it has developed an airtight two-seat cabin and a balloon capable of rising up to an altitude of 25 kilometers (15 miles), where the curve of the Earth can be clearly viewed. While passengers won’t be in outer space—the balloon only goes up to roughly the middle of the stratosphere—they’ll be higher than a jet plane flies and have an unobstructed view of outer space.

Feb 26, 2023

Bacteria used to create bone-like 3D-printed composite material

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, materials

Calcium carbonate is an impressive material, in that it combines strength, light weight and porosity. Scientists have devised a new bacteria-based method of 3D-printing the substance, for use in applications such as bone repair and coral reef restoration.

First of all, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the 3D-printing of calcium carbonate objects.

Earlier approaches have involved extruding a gel containing mineral particles, which subsequently dries and hardens. Some of the resulting items have been rather soft and fragile, however, or they’ve shrunk as they dried, creating cracks and causing their shape to change.

Feb 25, 2023

Nokia launches smartphone you can fix yourself, jumping on ‘right to repair’ trend

Posted by in categories: mobile phones, sustainability

Armed with tools and repair guides from hardware repair advocacy firm iFixit, a user can remove and replace the phone’s back cover, battery, screen and charging port.

Adam Ferguson, head of product marketing at HMD Global, said that this process would cost on average 30% less than replacing an old phone with a new one.

Smartphone companies are increasingly working to make phones last for longer amid pressure from regulators to make electronics devices more sustainable.

Feb 25, 2023

‘We have made science fiction come true!’ Scientists prove particles in a quantum system can be rejuvenated

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

An Austrian and Spanish team demonstrated that a process can be ‘rewound’ to restore the components of an atom to their previous state.

Feb 25, 2023

AI-enhanced protein design makes proteins that have never existed

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Protein engineers are drawing on rapidly evolving machine learning tools, deep reservoirs of data, and the structure-predicting firepower of AlphaFold2 to pursue more sophisticated de novo protein designs.

Feb 25, 2023

ChatGPT fails PSLE after acing Wharton Business School exam

Posted by in categories: business, mathematics, robotics/AI

Was given test for Singapore students and failed.


The publication compared ChatGPT with students who have taken the PSLE in the past three years using questions from the latest collection of past year papers that are available in bookstores.

ChatGPT received a mere 16 out of 100 points for three math papers, 21 points for the science papers, and 11 out of 20 for the English papers.

Continue reading “ChatGPT fails PSLE after acing Wharton Business School exam” »

Feb 25, 2023

Is the sun a node in a gigantic alien space internet? Scientists scanned the skies to check

Posted by in categories: alien life, internet, solar power

Through a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, aliens could be transmitting signals using the sun, but a quick scan for such signals has turned up nothing.

Feb 25, 2023

Dark energy could lead to a second (and third, and fourth) Big Bang, new research suggests

Posted by in category: cosmology

Scientists have proposed a way that the universe could stop expanding, ending in a ‘Big Crunch’ that resets space and time as we know it.

Feb 25, 2023

OmniVision OV6948, the world’s smallest commercially available image sensor

Posted by in categories: computing, electronics

The OVM6948 is the only ultra small “chip on tip” camera with backside illumination, which provides excellent image quality.