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Sep 15, 2019

Hubble’s Brand New Image of Saturn

Posted by in category: space travel

Saturn is so beautiful that astronomers cannot resist using Hubble to take yearly snapshots of the ringed world when it is at its closest distance to Earth.

These images, however, are more than just beauty shots. They reveal a planet with a turbulent, dynamic atmosphere. This year’s Hubble offering, for example, shows that a large storm visible in the 2018 Hubble image in the north polar region has vanished. Smaller storms pop into view like popcorn kernels popping in a microwave oven before disappearing just as quickly. Even the planet’s banded structure reveals subtle changes in color.

But the latest image shows plenty that hasn’t changed. The mysterious six-sided pattern, called the “hexagon,” still exists on the north pole. Caused by a high-speed jet stream, the hexagon was first discovered in 1981 by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Sep 15, 2019

Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality | Anil Seth

Posted by in categories: business, neuroscience

Right now, billions of neurons in your brain are working together to generate a conscious experience — and not just any conscious experience, your experience of the world around you and of yourself within it. How does this happen? According to neuroscientist Anil Seth, we’re all hallucinating all the time; when we agree about our hallucinations, we call it “reality.” Join Seth for a delightfully disorienting talk that may leave you questioning the very nature of your existence.

Check out more TED talks: http://www.ted.com

Continue reading “Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality | Anil Seth” »

Sep 14, 2019

Google says its AI detects 26 skin conditions as accurately as dermatologists

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Researchers at Google claim they’ve developed a skin condition-diagnosing AI that’s on par with dermatologists in terms of accuracy.

Sep 14, 2019

From Salon Marketplace: This LED drone is perfect for night flying

Posted by in category: drones

Save 20% off a stunt drone that’s easy to fly for all levels of pilots.

Sep 14, 2019

Mathematician reveals the brain exercises that help prevent memory loss

Posted by in categories: habitats, neuroscience

A mathematician has shared some of the brain exercises he uses to help people with dementia.

Gareth Rowlands, from St Albans, runs memory workshops at dementia cafes and care homes in Hertfordshire.

He became passionate about helping those with memory loss after he visited a care home which he wife ran in Barnet.

Sep 14, 2019

Gravitational waves detected for first time from newly born black hole: Study

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

Researchers have, for the first time, detected the gravitational waves from a newly born black hole, and found that the ringing pattern of the waves predicts the cosmic body’s mass and spin, providing more evidence for Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.

The study, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, increases the possibility that black holes exhibit only three observable properties – mass, spin, and electric charge.

All other properties, the study noted, could be swallowed up by the black hole itself, and are unobservable.

Sep 14, 2019

Meet the 8 Tech Titans Investing in Synthetic Biology

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, computing, food, sustainability

“DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” Bill Gates wrote this in 1995, long before synthetic biology – a scientific discipline focused on reading, writing, and editing DNA – was being harnessed to program living cells. Today, the cost to order a custom DNA sequence has fallen faster than Moore’s law; perhaps that’s why the Microsoft founder is turning a significant part of his attention, and wallet, towards this exciting field.

Bill Gates is not the only tech founder billionaire that sees a parallel between bits and biology, either. Many other tech founders – the same people that made their money programming 1s and 0s – are now investing in biotech founders poised to make their own fortunes by programming A’s, T’s, G’s and C’s.

The industry has raised more than $12.3B in the last 10 years and last year, 98 synthetic biology companies collectively raised $3.8 billion, compared to just under $400 million total invested less than a decade ago. Synthetic biology companies are disrupting nearly every industry, from agriculture to medicine to cell-based meats. Engineered microorganisms are even being used to produce more sustainable fabrics and manufacture biofuels from recycled carbon emissions.

Sep 14, 2019

This psychologist is making the world’s compassion surplus a powerful tool

Posted by in category: futurism

Life.


Making the world kinder.

🔎 Learn more about this year’s Technology Pioneers: https://wef.ch/2xlRxOX

Sep 14, 2019

MIT Breakthrough: New Aerogel Creates Passive Heat From Sunlight

Posted by in categories: energy, innovation

Life.


MIT has created this new aerogel which can produce large amounts of heat just from sunlight and could heat buildings free of electricity and fossil fuels.

Sep 14, 2019

Scientists Develop Gel That Can Regrow Tooth Enamel

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, materials

Lifeb.


Once tooth enamel breaks or wears away it’s over – it doesn’t grow back. That’s why dentists have to plug in the gaps with artificial fillings. But now, a team of scientists from China’s Zhejiang University and Jiujiang Research Institute says it has finally figured out how to regrow tooth enamel, a development that could totally upend dental care. The team developed a gel that has been found to help mouse teeth regrow enamel within 48 hours. The research has been published in the journal Science Advances.

parts of the tooth
What exactly is enamel and why can’t it regrow? It is a mineralized substance with a highly complicated structure that covers the surface of teeth. The structure is made up of enamel rods interwoven with inter-rods in a fish scale pattern which makes it the hardest tissue in the human body. It is initially formed biologically but once mature it becomes acellular, meaning it becomes devoid of the ability to self-repair. This is why cavities (tooth decay) are one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in humans.

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