Toggle light / dark theme

In a major scientific leap, University of Queensland researchers have created a quantum microscope that can reveal biological structures that would otherwise be impossible to see.

This paves the way for applications in biotechnology, and could extend far beyond this into areas ranging from navigation to medical imaging.

The microscope is powered by the science of quantum entanglement, an effect Einstein described as “spooky interactions at a distance.”

Summary: Higher sugar diets during childhood increase the risk for obesity, cognitive impairments, and attention deficits as adults, a new study reports.

Source: Queensland University of Technology.

Children who consume too much sugar could be at greater risk of becoming obese, hyperactive, and cognitively impaired, as adults, according to the results of a new study of mice led by QUT and published by Frontiers in Neuroscience.

The three astronauts who will take the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft to China’s Tianhe space station core cabin in June are now under Level-2 quarantine, with all related work having entered a final sprint stage, Yang Liwei, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and the country’s first astronaut revealed.

Yang, who went into space in the Shenzhou-5 craft on October 15, 2003, made the remarks during an interview with state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday, following the successful launch of the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft earlier in the day.

According to Yang, the three astronauts of the Shenzhou-12 mission, who were selected from China’s first and second batch of astronauts, will stay in space for three months, during which they will conduct tasks including repair and maintenance, appliance switch and scientific operation of payloads.

A ball of gas around the Milky Way’s black hole has sparked a new debate. Could it be a massive puff of dark matter?


The orbit of S2 and its stellar companions indicated that they were circling around a massive object, about 4 million times the mass of the Sun. Although astronomers could not directly see the object, they knew it could only be one thing.

By 1974, the object, eventually dubbed Sagittarius A*, was more or less solidified as your own local supermassive black hole. Since then, scientists have made several follow-up observations to reestablish the existence of this dark, lurking beast in the Milky Way — even turning one of the largest virtual telescopes in the world on it.

Manipulative individuals who endorse the belief that “the ends justify the means” are more likely to endorse technology that allows a person to upload their human consciousness into a machine, according to new research published in Personality and Individual Differences. The study indicates that there is a strong link between the personality trait known as Machiavellianism and acceptance of mind uploading.

The new findings shed light on how psychological dispositions are related to approval of futuristic technology.

“Through-out my adult life I have been hanging out with individuals who self-identify as transhumanists. These people are interesting, since their values and orientation towards the daily life are so different from others,” explained study author Michael Laakasuo, an adjunct professor of cognitive science at the University of Helsinki and principal investigator of the Moralities of Intelligent Machines research group.

Summary: NfL, a single biomarker in the blood, can accurately predict the presence of underlying neurodegenerative disorders, such as FTD and ALS, in people with cognitive problems.

Source: King’s College London.

Levels of a protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the blood can identify those who might have neurodegenerative diseases such as Down’s syndrome dementia, motor neuron disease (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia, when clinical symptoms are not definitive.