A new method to synchronize devices on Earth makes use of cosmic rays
Various technologies, networks and institutions benefit from or require accurate time keeping to synchronize devices. Current ways of synchronizing time have some drawbacks that a new proposed method seeks to address. The cosmic time synchronizer works by synchronizing devices around cosmic ray events detected by those devices. This could bring accurate timing abilities to remote […]
Webb telescope’s first full color, scientific images coming in July
The James Webb Telescope will produce “spectacular color images” of the cosmos in mid-July—its first observations dedicated to its mission of scientific discovery, an astronomer overseeing the project said Monday. The successor to Hubble has spent the last five months aligning its instruments in preparation for the big reveal, with scientists deliberately remaining coy about […]
Superconducting X-ray laser reaches operating temperature colder than outer space
Nestled 30 feet underground in Menlo Park, California, a half-mile-long stretch of tunnel is now colder than most of the universe. It houses a new superconducting particle accelerator, part of an upgrade project to the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Crews have successfully […]
A nontoxic glue for plywood—from glucose, citric acid
The go-to materials for building home furniture, décor and floors are composite wood products that come in large sheets. But the glues and resins holding together particleboard, fiberboard and plywood usually contain formaldehyde and could release this probable carcinogen into the air. To develop a nontoxic adhesive, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces […]
NASA’s InSight records monster quake on Mars
NASA’s InSight Mars lander has detected the largest monster quake ever observed on another planet: an estimated magnitude 5 temblor that occurred on May 4, 2022, the 1,222nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This adds to the catalog of more than 1,313 quakes InSight has detected since landing on Mars in November 2018. […]
How a gene mutation leads to higher intelligence
When gene mutation occur, this can lead to severe diseases of the human nervous system. Researchers at Leipzig University and the University of Würzburg have now used fruit flies to demonstrate how, apart from the negative effect, the mutation of a neuronal gene can have a positive effect—namely higher IQ in humans. They have published […]
Aged smoke from wildfires in the atmosphere
Emissions, like aged smoke from wildfires and exhaust from vehicles, go through chemical changes when they enter the atmosphere. New research from the University of Georgia shows, for the first time, that these changes may affect what kind of treatment patients need to combat exposure to such pollutants. “We found that after emissions entered the […]
How do genomes evolve between species? Team explores the key role of 3D structure in male germ cells
A study at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and University of Kent uncovers how the genome 3D structure of male germ cells determines how genomes evolve over time. Published in Nature Communications and carried out in rodent species, the study shows that the distinctive events occurring during egg and sperm cell production have […]
DNA provides unique look at moa and climate change
Ancient moa DNA has provided insights into how species react to climate change, a University of Otago study has found. By analyzing ancient extinct eastern moa DNA , researchers from the Department of Zoology found the giant birds altered their distribution as the climate warmed and cooled. Lead author Dr. Alex Verry says the species […]
Artificial cell membrane channels composed of DNA can be opened and locked with a key
Just as countries import a vast array of consumer goods across national borders, so living cells are engaged in a lively import-export business. Their ports of entry are sophisticated transport channels embedded in a cell’s protective membrane. Regulating what kinds of cargo can pass through the borderlands formed by the cell’s two-layer membrane is essential […]