Hidden underneath the Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent, Russia, is a mysterious subterranean vault — a buried structure whose original purpose has been unknown for decades. Now, thanks to clever use of scanning technology, we might finally know what the building is.
By Amanda Froelich The furniture retailer is looking at using biodegradable mycelium “fungi packaging” as part of its efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling. …
Posted in cryptocurrencies
All species of Datura are poisonous, especially their seeds and flowers which can cause respiratory depression, arrhythmias, hallucinations, psychosis, as well as death if taken internally.
All Datura plants contain tropane alkaloids such as scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and atropine, primarily in their seeds and flowers as well as the roots of certain species such as D. wrightii.
Safa and Marwa Ullah, who were born in Pakistan, were separated in a 50-hour series of operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Gut microbes produce compounds that prime immune cells to destroy harmful viruses in the brain and nervous system, according to a mouse study published today in eLife.
The findings suggest that having healthy and diverse microbiota is essential for quickly clearing viruses in the nervous system to prevent paralysis and other risks associated with diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
A condition that causes progressive damage to nerve cells, multiple sclerosis has become more common over the past several decades. Viral infections in the brain or spinal cord are thought to trigger this disease. Some scientists believe that changes in the way we eat, increased sanitation or growing antibiotic use may be causing detrimental changes in the helpful bacteria that live within the human body, potentially increasing the risk of multiple sclerosis and other related diseases.
Posted in particle physics, space travel
The idea of propelling rockets and spaceships using the power of the atom is nothing new: the Manhattan Project in the mid-1940s as well as countless endeavours by NASA in the following decades all explored the possibility of using fission-based reactions to provide lift-off thrust. Today, progress made in controlled nuclear fusion has opened a new world of possibilities.
Using some of the world’s most advanced microscope technology, scientists have captured images of molecules changing their charge state in real time. To do this, they added and removed electrons, directly observing changes to the structure of four molecules.
Although we’ve known for a long time that such changes occur, this marks the first time anyone has actually seen it happening. It could help us gain a new understanding of several molecular processes, including chemical reactions, catalysis and charge transport, and potentially even processes in living organisms.
“We have been able to resolve with unprecedented resolution the structural changes of individual molecules upon charging,” explained chemist Leo Gross of IBM Research-Zurich.
