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Dec 2, 2018

Launch to the International Space Station

Posted by in categories: habitats, space

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LIVE ROCKET LAUNCH: Watch as NASA Astronaut Anne McClain, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko of Роскосмос launch to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew will orbit Earth in a Soyuz spacecraft for six hours before docking to their new home and beginning their six-and-a-half month mission aboard our orbiting laboratory. Launch is scheduled for 6:31 a.m. EST, with live coverage starting at 5:30 a.m. ESTune in!

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Dec 2, 2018

Over 6,000 antibiotic resistance genes found in bacteria that inhabit the gut

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Researchers have identified over 6,000 antibiotic resistance genes found in bacteria that inhabit the human gut, which is home to trillions of micro-organisms, mainly bacteria.

“Most gut bacteria live in a harmless relationship with the human host. However, the gut is also home to bacteria that can cause infections in hospitalised patients,” said one of the researchers Willem van Schaik, Professor at the University of Birmingham.

“Unfortunately, these bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and we need to understand the processes that contribute to this development,” he added.

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Dec 2, 2018

Newest Atomic Clocks Can Detect The Gravitational Distortions Of Time Itself

Posted by in category: cosmology

Scientists have now constructed atomic clocks so precise and sensitive that they can measure the gravitational distortion of spacetime and may even help solve the mystery of dark matter.

The latest experimental atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are doing their bit to improve timekeeping and navigation, but they’ve also gone much further. They can detect faint signals from gravity and the early Universe and perhaps even dark matter.

The two clocks have smashed records for systematic uncertainty, stability and reproducibility, making them top-performing timepieces.

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Dec 2, 2018

This 22-Year-Old Texan Is the Science Communicator We’ve Been Waiting for

Posted by in category: science

Meet the Indian-American star of Brainchild.

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Dec 2, 2018

World-Renowned Physicist Explains How Our Universe Will End

Posted by in category: cosmology

It started with a Big Bang, but will it end as suddenly?

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Dec 2, 2018

India Will Be the Second Country in the World To Use a Novel Nuclear Technology

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

A new type of nuclear reactor will bring clean energy to India.

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Dec 2, 2018

Alaska hit by more than 230 small earthquakes since Friday

Posted by in category: energy

(CNN) — More than 1,000 aftershocks of magnitude 1.5 or greater have shaken Alaska since Friday’s big quake knocked out power, ripped open roads and splintered buildings in Anchorage, US Geological Survey geophysicist Randy Baldwin said Sunday.

The majority were of a magnitude of 2.5 or weaker, meaning they weren’t likely felt. But more than 350 of the aftershocks were higher than 2.5, according to USGS data.

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Dec 2, 2018

Precision genome engineering

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

Biotechnology
Genome editing through CRISPR-Cas systems has the potential to correct genetic mutations that occur in diseased cells, such as cancer cells. However, the ability to selectively activate CRISPR-Cas systems in diseased cells is important to ensure that gene editing only occurs where it is wanted. Zhu et al. developed a system whereby gene editing could be activated by a magnetic field, thus allowing spatial control. The use of nanomagnets in their system also improved transduction into target cells in tumor-bearing mouse models. This approach could potentially allow the translation of CRISPR-Cas systems into therapeutic agents.

Nat. Biomed. Eng. 10.1038/s41551-018‑0318-7 (2018).

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Dec 2, 2018

Curiosity spots mysterious ‘super shiny’ rock on the red planet

Posted by in category: space

The golden rock on Mars: NASA revealed this image of taken of ‘Little Colonsay,’ a potential meteorite, on the surface of the red planet. It was taken by the rover’s ChemCam. Curiosity is now heading back for a closer look.

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Dec 2, 2018

Universal flu vaccine remains ‘an alchemist’s dream’

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

In theory, a universal flu vaccine would work if it contained parts of the virus that remained the same from year to year, the so-called conserved epitopes that make the pathogen less viable if they change. But no one has yet found the viral pieces capable of stimulating an immune response that stops most flu viruses afflicting humans.


A rapidly changing virus and a complex immune response stymie developers.

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