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Sep 29, 2020
Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor Is ‘Very Likely to Work,’ Studies Suggest
Posted by Derick Lee in category: nuclear energy
A series of research papers renews hope that the long-elusive goal of mimicking the way the sun produces energy might be achievable.
Sep 29, 2020
NASA finally tracks down persistent ISS air leak that ‘appeared to grow in size’
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
Sep 29, 2020
Genetic risk of developing obesity is driven by variants that affect the brain
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience
Some people are at higher risk of developing obesity because they possess genetic variants that affect how the brain processes sensory information and regulates feeding and behavior. The findings from scientists at the University of Copenhagen support a growing body of evidence that obesity is a disease whose roots are in the brain.
Over the past decade, scientists have identified hundreds of different genetic variants that increase a person’s risk of developing obesity. But a lot of work remains to understand how these variants translate into obesity. Now scientists at the University of Copenhagen have identified populations of cells in the body that play a role in the development of the disease—and they are all in the brain.
“Our results provide evidence that biological processes outside the traditional organs investigated in obesity research, such as fat cells, play a key role in human obesity,” says Associate Professor Tune H Pers from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR), at the University of Copenhagen, who published his team’s findings in the internationally-recognized journal eLife.
Sep 29, 2020
Washington emergency responders first to use SpaceX’s Starlink internet in the field: ‘It’s amazing’
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: internet, satellites
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet network has been used in the field by Washington state emergency responders in recent weeks.
Sep 29, 2020
Boston Dynamics’ robot dog takes an ‘evening stroll’ in Canada
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: robotics/AI
Now that people can buy their own Boston Dynamics robots, we’ll have to get used to seeing them out and about.
Sep 29, 2020
Reevo Hubless Bike Is What Futuristic e-Bike Dreams Are Made Of
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: futurism, transportation
Electric bicycles have had the best year since ever, so for the average Joe and Jane, it might be somewhat difficult to come across an e-bike that is truly, instantly memorable. Reevo is one of those e-bikes.
Sep 29, 2020
Ask Ethan: Have We Finally Found Evidence For A Parallel Universe?
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: cosmology
There’s some amazing science happening at the South Pole, but some very grandiose claims being made. What’s actually going on?
Sep 29, 2020
Why disordered light-harvesting systems produce ordered outcomes
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: chemistry, energy, nanotechnology, physics
Scientists typically prefer to work with ordered systems. However, a diverse team of physicists and biophysicists from the University of Groningen found that individual light-harvesting nanotubes with disordered molecular structures still transport light energy in the same way. By combining spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical physics, they discovered how disorder at the molecular level is effectively averaged out at the microscopic scale. The results were published on 28 September in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
The double-walled light-harvesting nanotubes self-assemble from molecular building blocks. They are inspired by the multi-walled tubular antenna network of photosynthetic bacteria found in nature. The nanotubes absorb and transport light energy, although it was not entirely clear how. “The nanotubes have similar sizes but they are all different at the molecular level with the molecules arranged in a disordered way,” explains Maxim Pshenichnikov, Professor of Ultrafast Spectroscopy at the University of Groningen.
Sep 29, 2020
Blue Origin to fill wetlands for rocket test site
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space travel
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ space venture plans to fill in more than 10 acres of wetlands for a rocket manufacturing testing facility south of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and west of Space Commerce Way.
Blue Origin Florida LLC has applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place fill in 10.32 acres of wetlands, with “secondary impacts” to 7.45 acres of wetlands to build the facility, according to the permit public notice.
The public has until Oct. 13 to comment on the permit application.