Latest Articles
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Mar- 2023 -19 MarchClimate Change
The Amazon in Crisis: New Study Reveals Alarming Extent of Human Impact
Lead Image: Photo taken in 2015 of a burning forest in Belterra, in the Brazilian Amazon. In this photo, the flames are about 30cm high. The continuous fire line can be seen at the back of the photo, together with a lot of smoke. Credit: Adam Ronan/Rede Amazônia Sustentável A new study recently published in Science reveals that the Amazon rainforest has been damaged to a much greater extent than previously thought, with over a third of the remaining forest impacted by human activity. A study led by a team of 35 international scientists from institutions such as Brazil’s University…
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15 MarchBiomedical Engineering
Revolutionizing Biotechnology: Scientists Create Supercharged Bacteria with Immunity to Viral Infections
Lead Image: An illustration of viruses called phages infecting a bacterial cell. Researchers have developed a modified strain of Escherichia coli bacteria that is resistant to natural viral infections and has a low risk of escaping into the environment. This breakthrough in genetic engineering and synthetic biology is expected to decrease the risk of viral contamination in the production of medicines and other substances, such as biofuels. Currently, viral infections in bacteria can cause a halt in production, endanger drug safety, and result in high financial costs. Credit: Behnoush Hajian Researchers create virus-resistant, safely restrained E. coli for medical, industrial…
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12 MarchBrain
First Complete Map of an Insect Brain – “Everything Has Been Working Up to This”
Lead Image: The complete set of neurons in an insect brain, which were reconstructed using synapse-resolution electron microscopy. Credit: Johns Hopkins University/University of Cambridge In the quest to understand how we think, “everything has been working up to this.” Researchers have completed the most advanced brain map to date, that of an insect, a landmark achievement in neuroscience that brings scientists closer to true understanding of the mechanism of thought. “It’s been 50 years and this is the first brain connectome. It’s a flag in the sand that we can do this.” — Joshua T. Vogelstein, Associate professor, Whiting School…
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7 MarchNASA
NASA’s PEACOQ Detector Could Transform How Quantum Computers Exchange Huge Quantities of Data
This close-up photograph shows an exquisitely sensitive single Performance-Enhanced Array for Counting Optical Quanta (PEACOQ) detector, which is being developed at JPL to detect single photons – quantum particles of light – at an extremely high rate. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s PEACOQ Quantum Detector Achieves World-Leading Milestone A new JPL– and Caltech-developed detector could transform how quantum computers, located thousands of miles apart, exchange huge quantities of quantum data. Quantum computers hold the promise of operating millions of times faster than conventional computers. But to communicate over long distances, quantum computers will need a dedicated quantum communications network. To help form…
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3 MarchAstrobiology
A World in a Test Tube: Removing Traces of Life in Lab Helps NASA Scientists Study Its Origins
Lead Image: This illustration of early Earth includes liquid water as well as magma seeping from the planet’s core due to a large impact. Scientists at NASA are investigating the chemistry that might have existed at this time in the planet’s history. Credit: Simone Marchi A specialized laboratory at JPL, designed to eliminate the chemical influence of modern organisms, allows scientists to investigate the chemistry that may have given rise to life. At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Origins and Habitability Lab, you can find a world in a test tube. This is a simplified representation of the early Earth, reconstructed…
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