The chemicals in our pharmaceuticals and personal care products quickly transform into different compounds when they enter the environment. Their toxic effects are relatively unknown.
For the first time, researchers have been able to record, frame-by-frame, how an electron interacts with certain atomic vibrations in a solid. The technique captures a process that commonly causes electrical resistance in materials while, in others, can cause the exact opposite—the absence of resistance, or superconductivity.
“The way electrons interact with each other and their microscopic environment determines the properties of all solids,” said MengXing Na, a University of British Columbia (UBC) Ph.D. student and co-lead author of the study, published last week in Science. “Once we identify the dominant microscopic interactions that define a material’s properties, we can find ways to ‘turn up’ or ‘down’ the interaction to elicit useful electronic properties.”
Controlling these interactions is important for the technological exploitation of quantum materials, including superconductors, which are used in MRI machines, high-speed magnetic levitation trains, and could one day revolutionize how energy is transported.
Chris Long is an IT worker in the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department in Reno, Nevada. But all the DNA in his semen belongs to a German man he’s never met.
That’s because Long received a bone marrow transplant from the European stranger four years ago — and the unexpected impact it has had on his biology could affect the future of forensic science.
According to a newly published New York Times story, the purpose of the transplant was to treat Long’s acute myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer that prevents the body from producing blood normally.
The tail of a feathered dinosaur has been found perfectly preserved in amber from Myanmar.
The one-of-a-kind discovery helps put flesh on the bones of these extinct creatures, opening a new window on the biology of a group that dominated Earth for more than 160 million years.
Examination of the specimen suggests the tail was chestnut brown on top and white on its underside.
MESA, AZ — Mysterious lights hovering above the east Valley have many wondering if we’ve had a close encounter.
“It was pretty bright, it was about straight up over here, and it went straight that way, stopped, and it didn’t seem like it was too far,” said DJ Maier and Kerri Burnett, describing what they saw.
The couple says they spotted the phenomenon outside their Mesa home on Sunday around nine that night.
Red Angel
Posted in space, time travel
O.,o.
The Red Angel was an entity sought by both Starfleet and Section 31 in relation to a series of mysterious red bursts that occurred in the late 2250s. The crew of the USS Discovery adopted the term “Red Angel” from Spock, who had encountered her during his youth. ( DIS : “ Point of Light ”, ” An Obol for Charon ”)
While Starfleet could not link its appearance to any known winged or avian lifeforms in the Federation, it became gradually clear that the Red Angel was a time traveler operating a suit developed under the Daedalus Project by Section 31. It was ultimately discovered that the Angel was in fact two separate entities wearing different time-travel suits, and their identities were later determined to be Gabrielle Burnham and a future version of her daughter Michael. The former had attempted to prevent Control from taking over the galaxy, while the latter set the red bursts in order to guide Discovery’s mission in a way conducive to defeating Control. ( DIS : ” An Obol for Charon ”, ” The Red Angel ”, ” Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ”)
Exactly why magic mushrooms go blue when cut was something of a chemical puzzle.
Why do magic mushrooms turn blue when they are cut? Chemists have now unravelled this decade-old mystery, in the process revealing that the dark blue pigments at the centre of the mystery are similar to indigo, the dye used to produce blue jeans.
Chris Long’s sheriff’s office colleagues have been using him as a human guinea pig, writes Heather Murphy.
In terms of biological ageing, the body seems to shift gears three times during our lifespans, new research suggests – with 34 years, 60 years and 78 years the key thresholds.
In other words, we now have evidence that ageing isn’t one long, continuous process that moves at the same speed throughout our lives.
The findings might help us understand more about how our bodies start to break down as we get older, and how specific age-related diseases – including Alzheimer’s or cardiovascular disease – could be better tackled.