It is common to think that sci-fi writers are extremely creative and smart when they depict alien creatures with weird (and usually disgusting) ways of reproducing, generally using for this purpose the bodies of incautious and often naïve human characters. And they truly are that creative and imaginative, I’m not going to take that credit […]
Imagine you are invited to a demonstration at the local shopping center. You are shown a new product, a little ring made of a very special material that has been developed in a highly regarded research center. The scientists who are describing the ring provide all types of information and answer your questions convincingly and […]
With the delicate economical situation that many developed countries are experiencing in the last years, a significant number of questions and concerns have been risen about how to properly assign and distribute funding to scientific institutions and research group leaders. In particular, a relevant question for science funding could be how to optimize the scientific […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Ocean health imperiled thrice over Climate change and increases in oxygen-free “dead zones” and acidification each pose health concerns for the world’s oceans, with immediate action required, says a report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean. BBC Bulk of Earth’s xenon concealed in planet’s core Earth’s atmosphere appears to have only […]
We needed a Big Bang to create lithium, now it seems that it is much easier to destroy. This light element is the center piece of one of the most intriguing astronomical controversies. Can we use the lithium to look for planet-hosting stars? Why is it depleted in older stars? Anyway, Lithium seems to be […]
A previous post presented the fascinating history of the brick factory problem, which wonders about the smallest possible number of rail crossings when connecting kilns and storage yards, which is mathematically modeled by the crossing number of the complete bipartite graph . Proposed by Paul Turán after the Second World War, the first advances on […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
19 elements to have atomic weights adjusted Aluminum, cadmium, gold and arsenic are among 19 elements that are having their atomic weights adjusted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. More precise measurements are now available leading to the new weight calculations, which happens rarely. The atomic weight of nonmetal selenium hasn’t been […]
Magnetoception, the fantastic ability to perceive magnetic fields. A skill though impossible for long. It was difficult to assume that a 0.5 Gauss Earth’s magnetic field (your fridge has one with 100 Gauss) could have some effect on living things. However, the magnetic field perception was supported since the very beginning by experimental observation and […]
Symmetry is a major trait in the architecture of the vast majority of animals: if we exclude sponges, a typical animal body plan will show one or more planes of symmetry. Radial symmetry is considered the ancestral state for the Eumetazoa, with body plans such as the polyps and jellyfishes within the Cnidarians, usually with […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
PET helps ID tau protein in the brain PET shows promise in detecting tau protein accumulation in the brain, according to a study in the journal Neuron. Researchers developed a chemical that binds with the substance and used PET to identify areas of the brain at risk of neuronal death. The approach was evaluated in […]