Author archives: César Tomé

MI weekly selection #461

MI weekly selection #461

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Why don’t boa constrictors suffocate while eating? Constrictor snakes use their ribs and muscles to draw in air similar to a bellows, so they don’t suffocate while squeezing and swallowing large prey. Researchers put blood pressure cuffs on different sections of constrictors’ bodies and fitted the snakes’ heads with small helmets that measure air flow […]

MI weekly selection #460

MI weekly selection #460

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Mice brains wired with “competitive” neurons Researchers studying social behaviors of mice have identified that competition among the rodents was tied not only to social status but to the activation of neurons in the brain associated with feelings of ambition, decision making and rank. Results of the study, published in Nature, could be used to […]

MI weekly selection #459

MI weekly selection #459

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Ancient asteroid may have carried life to Earth The chemical analysis of granular samples collected from the surface of Ruygu — an asteroid several billions of years old — revealed the presence of amino acids within the rocky terrain, which researchers believe may be responsible for the foundation of the development of life on Earth […]

MI weekly selection #458

MI weekly selection #458

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

DNA can store more than just genetic code A team of researchers added seven synthetic nucleobases to DNA’s current four-letter code, thereby expanding the innate ability of the double helix to store a variety of information, findings in the journal Nano Letters reveal. The study suggests this method may be a solution to sustainable data […]

MI weekly selection #457

MI weekly selection #457

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Brainwave data offers clues on moment of death Data captured at the time of death of an 87-year-old epilepsy patient indicated that the human brain may be designed to coordinate the transition to death, activating brainwaves most commonly associated with memory flashbacks. “[A]lthough our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave […]

MI weekly selection #456

MI weekly selection #456

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Atomic clock may help with more precise measurements Physicists have created an atomic clock that is so accurate it won’t lose a second for 300 billion years. Researchers say the clock’s precision will help them better understand difficult to measure things as gravitational waves and dark matter. Space.com Map charts Milky Way’s leftovers from galaxy […]

MI weekly selection #455

MI weekly selection #455

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Ryugu sample reveals asteroid’s inner secrets Samples returned from the Ryugu asteroid by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft are yielding information about materials found just beneath the object’s surface. “The variations in physical properties among the pebbles and sand, which were not expected before spacecraft arrival at the asteroid, reflect the geological history of Ryugu,” scientists wrote […]

MI weekly selection #454

MI weekly selection #454

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Chromosome study hints at early evolution of animals Chromosome changes that took place about 800 million years ago have been examined and used to find genes that may have been present in the earliest moments of animal life. Researchers viewed genomes at the chromosome level to study what they call genome tectonics to find nearly […]

MI weekly selection #453

MI weekly selection #453

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Andromeda may be home to intermediate-mass black hole The nearby Andromeda Galaxy may be harboring an intermediate-mass black hole, a kind of black hole that is yet to be observed. Scientists say evidence points to an intermediate-mass black hole in the globular cluster B023-G078, which is believed to have a stripped nucleus, a condition researchers […]

MI weekly selection #452

MI weekly selection #452

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Stars born from black hole seen in dwarf galaxy A supermassive black hole has been observed helping to create newborn stars in a dwarf galaxy about 34 million light-years from Earth. The stars in Henize 2-10 were seen linked to a huge gas jet coming from the black hole by the Hubble Space Telescope. Live […]