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Nov 8, 2022

Scientists Tap Into Biology’s ‘Mirror Dimension’ to Create Ultra-Strong Synthetic RNA

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, genetics

Even more daring, biology’s “mirror dimension” may be a springboard to engineer synthetic life forms that exist outside of nature, but are literal reflections of ourselves. To rephrase: building a mirror-image version of biology means rewriting the fundamental operating system of life.

Sound a bit too sci-fi? Let me explain. Similar to how our left hand can’t wear a right-hand glove, the building blocks of life—DNA, RNA, and proteins—are etched into specific 3D structures. Flip them around, as if reflected by a mirror, and they can no longer function inside the body. Scientists aren’t yet sure why nature picked just one shape out of two potential mirror images. But they’re ready to test it out.

A new study in Science made strides by reworking parts of the body’s protein-making machine into its mirror image. At the center is a structure called the ribosome, which intakes genetic code and translates it into amino acids—the Lego blocks for all proteins. The ribosome is an iconic cellular architecture, fused from two main molecular components: RNA and proteins.

Nov 8, 2022

Neuronal Mechanism Involved in the Learning of Maternal Behavior Discovered

Posted by in category: neuroscience

Summary: Female mice who have not been pregnant or given birth show activation in the anterior cingulate cortex when they acquire maternal behaviors after exposure to pups. The findings reveal through repeated exposure to pups, virgin female mice are capable of learning maternal behaviors that resemble those of mothers following birth.

Source: Medical University of Vienna.

Various conditions such as postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis can lead to an alteration in maternal behavior and disrupt the mother-child bonding process.

Nov 8, 2022

Inside NASA’s most mind-blowing Mars base designs — including inflatable homes

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, space

THE most impressive designs for near-future Mars bases have finally been revealed.

These elaborate celestial plans are the difference between human life surviving on Mars – and thriving.

When it comes to planning how to live on a planet like Mars, 3D printing has provided scientists with the easiest way of navigating an environment that has similarities, but ultimately boasts a vastly different environment from Earth.

Nov 8, 2022

Incredibly, Microbes Inside Our Mouths Turn Into a Superorganism That Moves Around

Posted by in categories: biological, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies

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Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about unusual discoveries coming directly from within our mouths — biofilm complexity.
Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofilm.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2209699119
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorum_sensing.
Slime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spZwZLkMsYw.
Biofilm communication and bacterial cities: https://youtu.be/4M872c27bSc.
#biology #dentistry #biofilm.

Continue reading “Incredibly, Microbes Inside Our Mouths Turn Into a Superorganism That Moves Around” »

Nov 8, 2022

Older Adults Who Sleep Less Are More Likely to Develop Multiple Chronic Diseases

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

Older adults who sleep just five hours a night or fewer have a greater risk of developing more than one chronic disease, new research shows. The findings underscore the importance of healthy sleep patterns throughout life, and especially in middle and old age.

The new study, published in PLOS Medicine, examined sleep duration and its effect on multimorbidity—or the occurrence of more than one chronic condition, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, at once. People ages 50 or older who slept a total of five hours a night or less were found to have at least a 30% greater risk of multimorbidity.

Prior studies have largely focused on the link between sleep and the development of individual chronic diseases, but it’s been unclear how sleep duration contributes to the development of multiple chronic conditions. The new findings add to growing evidence suggesting that sleep deficiencies can affect health outcomes.

Nov 8, 2022

People with speech paralysis can now talk using this intelligent spelling device

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, cyborgs, neuroscience

It gives new meaning to the phrase “speak your mind.

Do you remember how legendary cosmologist Stephen Hawking communicated using his special screen-equipped chair? Well, that was a brain-computer interface (BCI), a device that allows a person to communicate using their brain signals.

Continue reading “People with speech paralysis can now talk using this intelligent spelling device” »

Nov 8, 2022

UK startup’s nuclear fusion gun will fire a 1-billion-G projectile at a fusion fuel pellet

Posted by in category: energy

The new method for harnessing the power of the Sun is “cheaper than traditional fusion approaches.”

U.K.-based startup First Light Fusion is developing its prototype Big Friendly Gun (BFG) in a bid to achieve nuclear fusion without relying on lasers and powerful magnets.

Continue reading “UK startup’s nuclear fusion gun will fire a 1-billion-G projectile at a fusion fuel pellet” »

Nov 8, 2022

This deep brain stimulator needs no batteries, only your breath

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

“This is the first system that combines all the pieces; efficient energy harvesting, energy storage, and the controlled brain stimulator.”

Researchers have devised an ingenious way to power deep brain simulators — Using the person’s breathing movements.

About 150,000 deep brain stimulators are implanted every year. Normally placed under the skin in the chest area with electrodes implanted in the brain, these stimulators are known to help with neurological and psychiatric diseases when traditional treatments fail.

Nov 8, 2022

Solar cells one-thousandth the size of human hair can resist space radiation

Posted by in categories: physics, solar power, space, sustainability

Earth’s low orbit is filling up, meaning radiation-tolerant cell designs are required as satellites head to higher orbits. Will these new ones do?

Scientists have developed a radiation-tolerant photovoltaic cell design that features an ultrathin layer of light-absorbing material. According to a new study published today (Nov .08) in the Journal of Applied Physics by AIP Publishing.

Significantly, the ultra-thin solar cells not only surpass earlier suggested thicker solar cells in resilience to irradiation; they also produce the same amount of power from converted sunlight after 20 years of use. Additionally, the novel photovoltaic cells could reduce load and considerably lower launch expenses. Barthel.

Nov 8, 2022

In a world first, astronomers observed a star with a solid outer surface

Posted by in category: space

“This was completely unexpected.”

Stars are essentially large fiery balls of plasma, which is often referred to as the “fourth state of matter” as it forms when gas is heated into a soup of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons.

The star’s magnetic field is so strong it appears to have “frozen” its surface into a solid outer crust, a press statement reveals.

Continue reading “In a world first, astronomers observed a star with a solid outer surface” »