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May 24, 2020

Huge bacteria-eating viruses narrow gap between life and non-life

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

From February 2020…


Scientists have discovered hundreds of unusually large, bacteria-killing viruses with capabilities normally associated with living organisms, blurring the line between living microbes and viral machines.

These phages — short for bacteriophages, so-called because they “eat” bacteria — are of a size and complexity considered typical of life, carry numerous genes normally found in bacteria and use these genes against their bacterial hosts.

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May 24, 2020

“I never expected this:” Doctors and patients describe Covid-19 recovery

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

I agree, Michael is 100 % spot-on-as usual. Dr Ian Hale.


Shana tells Inverse she’s been battling consistent fevers and muscle aches ever since the first, and most severe, symptoms subsided.

“I go through periods of hope mixed with periods of despair. I want to be able to run again and have the energy to do physical activity, but my body isn’t letting me,” she says. “I never expected this.”

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May 24, 2020

3 Major Materials Science Breakthroughs—and Why They Matter for the Future

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, mobile phones, nanotechnology, science

Few recognize the vast implications of materials science.

To build today’s smartphone in the 1980s, it would cost about $110 million, require nearly 200 kilowatts of energy (compared to 2kW per year today), and the device would be 14 meters tall, according to Applied Materials CTO Omkaram Nalamasu.

That’s the power of materials advances. Materials science has democratized smartphones, bringing the technology to the pockets of over 3.5 billion people. But far beyond devices and circuitry, materials science stands at the center of innumerable breakthroughs across energy, future cities, transit, and medicine. And at the forefront of Covid-19, materials scientists are forging ahead with biomaterials, nanotechnology, and other materials research to accelerate a solution.

May 24, 2020

Why the Hippocampus May Be the Most Important Region in Your Brain

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Memory is the natural extension of attention and learning. The act of memory facilitates the formation, activation, and retention of circuits that contribute to the brain’s optimal functioning. Dr. Restak explains how we are the sum total of the memory we retain. Without memory, we wouldn’t know who we are.


The hippocampus, a portion of the brain located in the temporal lobe of each cerebral cortex, is the entry portal for information to be remembered. If the hippocampus is damaged, we have difficulty forming new memories.

This was demonstrated by Patient H. M., whose real name was Henry Molaison. He started having seizures when he was 10 years old. By age 20, he was completely incapacitated.

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May 24, 2020

The Promise of Antibody Treatments for Covid-19

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

An article about Jacob Gunn Glanville and team’s work.


As scientists race to create a vaccine, a parallel quest to engineer effective antibody treatments for the coronavirus is vital, too—and may provide relief sooner.

May 24, 2020

The U.S. Navy’s New Drone Could Team Up With Stealth Fighters

Posted by in category: drones

The MQ-25 could be more than just a tanker.

May 24, 2020

Meet the E-Nose That Actually Sniffs

Posted by in categories: chemistry, food

Circa 2018


E-noses come in a variety of architectures, but most rely exclusively on chemical sensors, such as metal oxides or conducting polymers. The TruffleBot goes a step further: A 3.5-inch-by-2-inch circuit board that sits atop a Raspberry Pi contains eight pairs of sensors in four rows of two. Each sensor pair includes a chemical sensor to detect vapors and a mechanical sensor (a digital barometer) to measure air pressure and temperature.

Then comes the sniffing bit: Odor samples are pushed across these sensors by small air pumps that can be programmed to take up puffs of air in a pattern. “When animals want to smell something, they don’t just passively expose themselves to the chemical. They’re actively sniffing for it—sampling the air and moving around—so the signals that are being received are not static,” says Rosenstein.

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May 24, 2020

First Floating Ocean Hybrid Platform Can Generate Power From Waves, Wind And Solar

Posted by in category: energy

A German startup has developed a modular marine platform able to simultaneously generate energy from three different renewable sources.

May 24, 2020

Physicists exploring use of Blu-ray disc lasers to kill COVID-19, other viruses

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing

A new weapon in the arsenal against the coronavirus may be sitting in your home entertainment console. A team led by physicist Chris Barty of the University of California, Irvine is researching the use of diodes from Blu-ray digital video disc devices as deep-ultraviolet laser photon sources to rapidly disinfect surfaces and the indoor air that swirls around us.

Barty, UC Irvine distinguished professor of physics & astronomy, said that such UV light sterilizers would be cheap compared to current medical- and scientific-grade systems and that it’d be possible to deploy them almost anywhere.

“If these sources are successful, I think you could build them into a mask and clean the air that’s coming in and out of you,” he said. “Or you could set these things up in the air circulation ducts of major buildings, and the airflow that goes through could be sterilized.”

May 24, 2020

Harvard scientists are developing a coronavirus vaccine specifically for those most vulnerable: the elderly

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

More than 100 teams around the world are racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Dr. Ofer Levy and a group of Harvard Medical School researchers are among them, but the vaccine they’re working on is a little different. It’s specifically designed for those most vulnerable to the disease: the elderly.

“Most vaccines are developed with a one-size-fits-all concept,” Levy told Business Insider. “Academic centers and companies typically develop a vaccine assuming that you will respond to the vaccine the same way, whether you’re a man or a woman, whether you’re young or elderly, whether you live in the US or Africa, whether you give the vaccine in the summer or winter, whether you give it in the morning or the evening.”


Vaccines generally aren’t as effective for the elderly. A Harvard lab is working on a COVID-19 vaccine that would be most effective for them.

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