Feldman creates mathematical models that reveal how cultural traditions can affect the evolution of a species.
- By Elizabeth Svoboda, Quanta Magazine on January 12, 2017
You know that spherical ship from 2001: A Space Odyssey that generated its own gravity by spinning around in the cosmic void? We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.
Microgravity can be detrimental for the human body, because our species just wasn’t made to survive in space without high-tech help. Now aerospace engineer Torin Clark and his team from CU Boulder are turning the artificial gravity tech from movies like 2001 and The Martian into a reality. While an entire ship that makes its own gravity is still light-years away, the team has managed to design a revolving contraption that could save astronauts from too much zero-G exposure.
On future space stations, these revolving machines designed by Clark and his team could occupy their own rooms, which would be ideal for astronaut time-outs. It’s kind of like a space spa — astronauts could spend several hours in these rooms recharging from the effects of microgravity. If these machines can eventually prove that they hold up somewhere like the ISS, they could be the answer to deep space missions that take us to Mars and beyond.
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have used the Swiss Light Source SLS to record a molecular energy machine in action and thus to reveal how energy production at cell membranes works. For this purpose they developed a new investigative method that could make the analysis of cellular processes significantly more effective than before. They have now published their results in the journal Science.
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) The Vermont Department of Health is reminding residents to avoid contact with toxic blue-green algae in Vermont waters.
It says warm weather creates ideal conditions for cyanobacteria to grow. Blooms can form on the surface and wash up on shorelines.
They’ve already been spotted in Mallets and Missisquoi bays in Lake Champlain. Officials say swimming or wading in water with cyanobacteria may cause skin rashes, diarrhea, a sore throat, stomach problems, or more serious health concerns. It says dogs are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects.
As published in a recent study, researchers have discovered that neural stem cells are impeded by the invasion of T cells, immune cells that are not normally present in the neural stem cell niche.
The neural stem cell niches
Our brains contain neural stem cells (NSCs); like their name suggests, these cells are responsible for the formation of new neurons within the brain. This process, which continues throughout life, is known as neurogenesis. These stem cells live in particular niches, which contain a panoply of different cell types, including stem cells in different phases of development and multiple types of immune cells. However, the researchers discovered a startling fact: the brains of older mice contain many specific immune cells known as T cells, while the brains of younger mice contain very few – and, as the study explains, this is true for humans as well.
Electric generators have a plethora of uses—ranging from automotive to aircraft to microgrids. There is currently a strong desire to reduce the size and increase the efficiency of the devices.
Researchers at Purdue University have come up with an effective way to reduce the size and increase the efficiency of the moderate- to low-power electric generators used in those applications.
A wound rotor synchronous machine contains a field winding—a group of insulated current-carrying coils—on the rotor used to create a rotating magnetic field and regulate the output voltage. Associated with this winding are losses, which generate heat that must be removed from the spinning rotor. Permanent magnets can also be used to generate the magnetic field with much less loss and heat generation, but this approach does not facilitate output voltage regulation.
A machine that speeds up evolution is revolutionizing genome design and selection of designer microbes.
The quantum interference of electrons that have been scattered by light has been used to produce holograms of the underlying electromagnetic fields — and might open up methods for studying materials at high temporal and spatial resolution. A fresh approach to imaging light fields.
Does a mysterious mirror world lurk in the shadows of perceived reality? It could explain a lot.
When Jeff Bezos and his first Amazon staff began selling books from his garage, they started an enterprise that is now the largest online retailer in much of the world. As Amazon celebrates its 25th birthday, it’s the world’s most valuable public company and Bezos is the richest person on the planet.