Author archives: César Tomé

MI weekly selection #162

MI weekly selection #162

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Mystery of disappearing electrons may be solved A band of invisible meteor dust drifting to Earth may be behind the disappearance of electrons in the high atmosphere that’s had scientists baffled since the 1960s Electrons are produced high above Earth when the sun’s ultraviolet rays interact with atmospheric nitric oxide, but a big drop has […]

Mi weekly selection #160

Mi weekly selection #160

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Plesiosaurs swam ancient oceans like penguins Plesiosaurs swam much like penguins do, using their front flippers to propel themselves and their back ones to control their direction. How the ancient marine reptiles moved through water was unclear since its fossils were discovered about 200 years ago. Researchers developed a computer model based on a nearly […]

MI weekly selection #159

MI weekly selection #159

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Unfossilized dinosaur blood vessels discovered Blood vessels from an 80 million-year-old duck-billed dinosaur never fossilized and still hold tissue. The vessels are from the leg bone of a Brachylophosaurus canadensis found in Montana. To determine that the vessels were truly organic matter from the dinosaur and not bacteria, scientists used high-resolution mass spectroscopy and detected […]

MI weekly selection #158

MI weekly selection #158

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Universe isn’t a hologram, experiment determines A controversial experiment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory has found no evidence supporting the theory that the universe is a giant hologram. The Holometer searched for a kind of holographic noise using interferometers, but nothing has been detected. Science Sonic tractor beam developed A tractor beam that lifts […]

MI weekly selection #155

MI weekly selection #155

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Stability improved by allowing plasma closer to fusion reactor walls Researchers studying magnetic confinement fusion have found that allowing plasma to get closer to reactor walls may make the system more stable. It was a scary proposition because if their experiment didn’t work, it would have melted the reactor. Teams from China and the US […]

MI weekly selection #154

MI weekly selection #154

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Mars atmosphere stripped away by solar storms Solar storms have been stripping away the air on Mars, according to data collected by NASA’s Maven spacecraft. Researchers say this could help explain why Mars’ atmosphere became so thin so rapidly, turning a once warm planet with liquid water into the dry, desolate landscape it is today […]

MI weekly selection #153

MI weekly selection #153

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Nerve cells that block itches in mice Scientists have found nerve cells in mice that can block itches caused by a light touch, which could one day lead to treatments for people suffering from chronic itch problems. Researchers genetically engineered mice without those spinal cord nerve cells, producing rodents that had the urge to scratch […]