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Sep 22, 2022

Scientists find evidence for food insecurity driving international conflict 2,000 years ago

Posted by in category: food

Ancient Palmyra has gripped public imagination since its picturesque ruins were “rediscovered” in the seventeenth century by western travelers. The most legendary story of ancient Palmyra is that of Queen Zenobia, who was ruling over a thriving city in the Syrian Desert and dared to challenge the Roman Empire, but ultimately was defeated.

Her kingdom was subjugated, and the city was reduced to a small settlement without any wide-ranging importance. This has only recently been overshadowed by the catastrophic events of the Syrian Civil War that saw the and the museum plundered and many monuments destroyed.

Sep 22, 2022

3D-printed drones work like bees to build and repair structures while flying

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, drones, robotics/AI

The technology, which has been tested in the lab, could ultimately be used for manufacturing and building in difficult-to-access or dangerous locations such as tall buildings or help with post-disaster relief construction, say the researchers.

3D printing is gaining momentum in the . Both on-site and in the factory, static and print materials for use in , such as steel and .

Continue reading “3D-printed drones work like bees to build and repair structures while flying” »

Sep 22, 2022

First direct evidence that babies react to taste and smell in the womb

Posted by in category: food

A study led by Durham University’s Fetal and Neonatal Research Lab, UK, took 4D ultrasound scans of 100 pregnant women to see how their unborn babies responded after being exposed to flavors from foods eaten by their mothers.

Researchers looked at how the fetuses reacted to either carrot or kale just a short time after the flavors had been ingested by the mothers.

Fetuses exposed to carrot showed more “laughter-face” responses while those exposed to kale showed more “cry-face” responses.

Sep 22, 2022

Researcher discovers a muscle that can promote glucose and fat burning to fuel metabolism for hours while sitting

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

From the same mind whose research propelled the notion that “sitting too much is not the same as exercising too little,” comes a groundbreaking discovery set to turn a sedentary lifestyle on its ear: The soleus muscle in the calf, though only 1% of your body weight, can do big things to improve the metabolic health in the rest of your body if activated correctly.

And Marc Hamilton, professor of Health and Human Performance at the University of Houston, has discovered such an approach for optimal activation—he’s pioneering the “soleus pushup” (SPU) which effectively elevates muscle metabolism for hours, even while one is sitting. The soleus, one of 600 muscles in the , is a posterior leg muscle that runs from just below the knee to the heel.

Continue reading “Researcher discovers a muscle that can promote glucose and fat burning to fuel metabolism for hours while sitting” »

Sep 22, 2022

Differentiating right- and left-handed particles using the force exerted

Posted by in categories: nanotechnology, particle physics

Researchers investigated the polarization-dependence of the force exerted by circularly polarized light (CPL) by performing optical trapping of chiral nanoparticles. They found that left-and right-handed CPL exerted different strengths of the optical gradient force on the nanoparticles, and the D-and L-form particles are subject to different gradient force by CPL. The present results suggest that separation of materials according to their handedness of chirality can be realized by the optical force.

Chirality is the property that the structure is not superimposable on its mirrored image. Chiral materials exhibit the characteristic feature that they respond differently to left-and right-circularly polarized light. When is irradiated with strong laser light, optical is exerted on it. It has been expected theoretically that the optical force exerted on chiral materials by left-and right-circularly polarized light would also be different.

Continue reading “Differentiating right- and left-handed particles using the force exerted” »

Sep 22, 2022

Undefined claims 4.5-min flight for its “silent” ion-propulsion drone

Posted by in categories: drones, space travel

Florida’s “silent” flying dish-rack, powered by ionic propulsion, is on track for commercial rollout in 2024, according to Undefined Technologies, which has released new outdoor flight test video. We remain curious, but unconvinced it’ll be viable.

The “Silent Ventus” drone doesn’t use propellers to fly. Instead, its entire broad structure creates two stacked grids of electrodes, designed to create high-voltage electric fields that can ionize the oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the air, freeing electrons to give them a positive charge, and then propelling these downward to create an “ionic wind” that can produce thrust.

Continue reading “Undefined claims 4.5-min flight for its ‘silent’ ion-propulsion drone” »

Sep 22, 2022

New method allows scientists to determine all the molecules present in the lysosomes of mice

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, chemistry, genetics, neuroscience

Small but mighty, lysosomes play a surprisingly important role in cells despite their diminutive size. Making up only 1–3% of the cell by volume, these small sacs are the cell’s recycling centers, home to enzymes that break down unneeded molecules into small pieces that can then be reassembled to form new ones. Lysosomal dysfunction can lead to a variety of neurodegenerative or other diseases, but without ways to better study the inner contents of lysosomes, the exact molecules involved in diseases—and therefore new drugs to target them—remain elusive.

A new method, reported in Nature on Sept. 21, allows scientists to determine all the molecules present in the lysosomes of any cell in mice. Studying the contents of these molecular recycling centers could help researchers learn how the improper degradation of cellular materials leads to certain diseases. Led by Stanford University’s Monther Abu-Remaileh, institute scholar at Sarafan ChEM-H, the study’s team also learned more about the cause for a currently untreatable neurodegenerative known as Batten disease, information that could lead to new therapies.

“Lysosomes are fascinating both fundamentally and clinically: they supply the rest of the cell with nutrients, but we don’t always know how and when they supply them, and they are the places where many diseases, especially those that affect the brain, start,” said Abu-Remaileh, who is an assistant professor of chemical engineering and of genetics.

Sep 21, 2022

HDF Energy wants to build utility scale solar hydrogen project in Namibia

Posted by in category: energy

From pv magazine France

French hydrogen specialist Hydrogène de France (HDF) is moving forward with its green hydrogen project in Swakopmund, a city located on the Namibian coast, in the administrative region of Erongo.

The company said it obtained new permits for the project from the Namibian authorities. “This important step in the authorization process confirms a favorable environment for the project. As a result, HDF Energy is moving closer to building the first green hydrogen power plant in Africa, among the first deployed by HDF Energy globally, ” said Nicolas Lecomte, HDF Energy’s director for southern Africa.

Sep 21, 2022

Floating Contra-Rotating Wind Turbines That Can Produce Double the Energy

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

These wind turbines have the potential to produce more energy at lower cost.

Sep 21, 2022

Can Artificial Intelligence Read Your Mind?

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is trying to use Artificial Intelligence to read Brainwaves. Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new