MI weekly selection #510
Colour-changing dressing to aid in wound monitoring
A wound dressing composed of a nanocellulose mesh with bromthymol blue dye that changes from yellow to blue when the wound has become infected has been developed. Being able to see instantly whether a wound has become infected, without having to lift the dressing, opens up for a new type of wound care that can lead to more efficient care and improve life for patients with hard-to-heal wounds.
Asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs didn’t cause long winter
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs didn’t trigger a long impact winter as previously thought. Researchers examined fossilized bacteria in coal from the period of the Chicxulub Impact to see how their cell walls reacted to changes in temperature, and rather than thickening to “bulk up” for winter, the cells reflected a multi-millennia warming period.
Rising seas, flooding forced Vikings to leave Greenland
Scientists have discovered that rising sea levels and extensive coastal flooding of Norse farms, as well as economic factors, ultimately caused the Vikings to leave Greenland in the 15th century. According to a new study, ice sheet growth in southwestern Greenland from 1000 A.D. to 1400 A.D. produced rising seas that would have flooded about 204 square kilometres of Viking settlements, putting grazing areas for cattle underwater.
Full Story: Live Science
Researchers identify polypropylene-digesting fungi
Researchers say they have identified two common strains of fungi that can digest polypropylene. After pre-treating the material with UV light or heat, the scientists say exposure to the fungi reduced the plastic by 21% over 30 days of incubation, and 25%-27% over 90 days.
Full Story: Plastics Technology
Melanocyte stem cells get stuck, cause gray hair
A study published in the journal Nature shows that some stem cells can navigate between growth compartments in hair follicles, but when people age, the stem cells get stuck and can no longer mature and sustain hair colour, causing hair to turn gray.
Full Story: ScienceDaily