MI weekly selection #63
Beluga whales infected with cat parasites
Parasites known to infect cats have been discovered in Arctic beluga whales. Toxoplasma gondii can cause people to go blind. Scientists have issued a health advisory for those in the Western Arctic region who eat beluga meat.
Higgs boson bubbles sent shock waves throughout nascent universe
Bubbles of the Higgs boson in the early universe generated shock waves that may have sounded like thunder, the echoes of which may be possible to detect. Physicists from the University of Helsinki created a 3D simulation that shows how Higgs bubbles formed just after the Big Bang, setting off shock waves that extremely sensitive detectors may one day suss out.
Altered stem cells to grow replacement tissue in the body
A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlighted a faster process of initiating tissue repair using stem cells. Researchers combined viruses used in gene therapy with a synthetic scaffolding that serves as template for tissue growth, and the virus influences stem cells to produce growth factors needed to form the tissue directly on the scaffold.
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News
A more precise measurement of electron’s atomic mass
A more precise measurement of the atomic mass of an electron has been found, according to researchers. The measurement, developed by physicists at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany, could one day be used to test the Standard Model, the main theory of particle physics.
Ants build rafts with young at bottom to protect queen from floods
Flood ants that live in Switzerland protect their queen during deluges by strategically building a raft made up of larvae, pupae and worker ants at the bottom and placing the queen at the center, away from the most danger, according to a study in PLoS ONE.