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Oct 16, 2021
Stunning images show how muscles heal themselves after a workout
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, health
Exercise leaves muscles riddled with microscopic tears, so after a rigorous workout, the control centers of muscle cells — called nuclei — scoot toward these tiny injuries to help patch them up, scientists recently discovered.
In the new study, published Oct. 14 in the journal Science, researchers uncovered a previously unknown repair mechanism that kicks in after a run on the treadmill. Striking images show how, shortly after the exercise concludes, nuclei scuttle toward tears in the muscle fibers and issue commands for new proteins to be built, in order to seal the wounds. That same process likely unfolds in your own cells in the hours after you return home from the gym.
Oct 16, 2021
Disabled ‘astronauts-in-training’ to fly weightlessly with Zero-G this weekend
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: engineering, mathematics, space
The AstroAccess initiative is working to advance disability inclusion in space.
Twelve disability ambassadors will fly weightlessly on Sunday (Oct. 17) as part of an initiative to advance disability inclusion in space.
AstroAccess, the latest mission from the SciAccess Initiative, which aims to make STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) more accessible, will fly a crew of 12 disability ambassadors on a weightless parabolic flight. The flight will take off on Sunday from Long Beach, California, aboard Zero Gravity Corporation’s (Zero-G) “G-Force One” plane, which flies in a parabolic arc pattern that creates short periods of weightlessness in its cabin.
Oct 16, 2021
Not Science Fiction: German Scientists Harness the Power of Photosynthesis for New Way To “Breathe”
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
Photosynthesizing algae injected into the blood vessels of tadpoles supply oxygen to their brains.
Leading a double life in water and on land, frogs have many breathing techniques – through the gills, lungs, and skin – over the course of their lifetime. Now German scientists have developed another method that allows tadpoles to “breathe” by introducing algae into their bloodstream to supply oxygen. The method developed, presented October 13 in the journal iScience, provided enough oxygen to effectively rescue neurons in the brains of oxygen-deprived tadpoles.
“The algae actually produced so much oxygen that they could bring the nerve cells back to life, if you will,” says senior author Hans Straka of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. “For many people, it sounds like science fiction, but after all, it’s just the right combination of biological schemes and biological principles.”
Oct 16, 2021
Scientists just broke the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in a lab
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: particle physics, quantum physics
Scientists just broke the record for the coldest temperature ever measured in a lab: They achieved the bone-chilling temperature of 38 trillionths of a degree above-273.15 Celsius by dropping magnetized gas 393 feet (120 meters) down a tower.
The team of German researchers was investigating the quantum properties of a so-called fifth state of matter: Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), a derivative of gas that exists only under ultra-cold conditions. While in the BEC phase, matter itself begins to behave like one large atom, making it an especially appealing subject for quantum physicists who are interested in the mechanics of subatomic particles.
Oct 16, 2021
Starliner: Why a SpaceX rival could finally free NASA from Russian dependence
Posted by Atanas Atanasov in category: space travel
While SpaceX has soared, Boeing has had to wait it out.
After a software malfunction prevented the Boeing Starliner from docking with the ISS in 2,020 NASA and Boeing look to 2022 for launch.
Oct 16, 2021
Creating Generative Art NFTs from Genomic Data
Posted by Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes in categories: biological, biotech/medical, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, habitats, information science
In this post I outline my journey creating a dynamic NFT on the Ethereum blockchain with IPFS and discuss the possible use cases for scientific data. I do not cover algorithmic generation of static images (you should read Albert Sanchez Lafuente’s neat step-by-step for that) but instead demonstrate how I used Cytoscape.js, Anime.js and genomic feature data to dynamically generate visualizations/art at run time when NFTs are viewed from a browser. I will also not be providing an overview of Blockchain but I highly recommend reading Yifei Huang’s recent post: Why every data scientist should pay attention to crypto.
W h ile stuck home during the pandemic, I’m one of the 10 million that tried my hand at gardening on our little apartment balcony in Brooklyn. The Japanese cucumbers were a hit with our neighbors and the tomatoes were a hit with the squirrels but it was the peppers I enjoyed watching grow the most. This is what set the objective for my first NFT: create a depiction of a pepper that ripens over time.
How much of the depiction is visualization and how much is art? Well that’s in the eye of the beholder. When you spend your days scrutinizing data points, worshiping best practices and optimizing everything from memory usage to lunch orders it’s nice to take some artistic license and make something just because you like it, which is exactly what I’ve done here. The depiction is authentically generated from genomic data features but obviously this should not be viewed as any kind of serious biological analysis.
Oct 16, 2021
Tesla shareholders vote overwhelmingly to retain Kimbal Musk, James Murdoch on Board
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in categories: Elon Musk, governance, sustainability, transportation
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shareholders voted overwhelmingly to retain Kimbal Musk, brother of CEO Elon Musk, and James Murdoch on Tesla’s Board of Directors, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC that revealed the number of votes to re-elect the two to the company’s Board for three more years.
On October 13th, Tesla filed an 8-K form with the SEC that revealed the number of votes that supported or were against the re-election of both Kimbal Musk and James Murdoch to the Tesla Board. The number of votes for other proposals was also revealed. However, prior to the company’s 2021 Shareholder Meeting on October 7th, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS, urged Tesla investors to oust both Musk and Murdoch from the Board. Their reasoning was based on the belief that the two non-executive board members did not present any advantages to the automaker’s governance.
“Votes AGAINST directors James Murdoch and Kimbal Musk are warranted due to concerns regarding excessive compensation to named executive officers and to non-executive directors,” ISS wrote in a note to investors. The firm was adamant that Kimbal’s payout package was not necessarily logical for the company as he did not serve on any board committees. Additionally, ISS felt that Murdoch’s presence on the Tesla Board of Directors also was not justified due to his service on Audit and Governance Committees. The Audit Committee pledged a large sum of company stock to directors, which raised questions regarding its risk oversight. The Governance Committee failed to react appropriately to last year’s Shareholder proposal, which was supported by the majority of voters.
Oct 16, 2021
Lucy begins 12-year mission to Trojan asteroids
Posted by Future Timeline in category: space
NASA has launched the first ever spacecraft to visit Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids.
The Lucy mission successfully blasted off at 5:34 a.m. EDT (9:34 a.m. UCT) this morning on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. An hour later, it returned its first signal to Earth, sent from its own antenna to NASA’s Deep Space Network. Lucy is now travelling at 108,000 kph (67,000 mph) on a trajectory that will orbit the Sun and bring it back toward Earth in October 2022 for a gravity assist.
Over the next 12 years, it will fly past a total of seven different asteroids – a main belt asteroid, along with six Jupiter Trojans. The latter type are asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun, orbiting either ahead of or behind the gas giant.
Oct 16, 2021
How to Talk to a Science Denier — with Lee McIntyre
Posted by Chris J. Kent in categories: biotech/medical, climatology, education, ethics, finance, policy, science, sustainability
Many people reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. Lee McIntyre argues that anyone can and should fight back against science deniers.
Watch the Q&A: https://youtu.be/2jTiXCLzMv4
Lee’s book “How to Talk to a Science Denier” is out now: https://geni.us/leemcintyre.
“Climate change is a hoax—and so is coronavirus.” “Vaccines are bad for you.” Many people may believe such statements, but how can scientists and informed citizens convince these ‘science deniers’ that their beliefs are mistaken?
Continue reading “How to Talk to a Science Denier — with Lee McIntyre” »