Bringing together concepts from electrical engineering and bioengineering tools, scientists have produced genetic “devices” designed to perform neuromorphic computations like artificial neural circuits in bacterial cells. The genetic material was inserted into bacterial cells in the form of a plasmid: a relatively short DNA molecule that remains separate from the bacteria’s “natural” genome. Plasmids also […]
Fermentation is a form of anaerobic respiration occurring in certain microorganisms, like yeasts. Many processes arising in diverse contexts can be classified as fermentation processes, such as manufacturing of some food products (baking, wine and beer industries are based on them) and of some industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals. Alcoholic fermentation comprises a series of biochemical […]
Discarded electronic devices, such as cell phones, are a fast-growing source of waste. One way to mitigate the problem could be to use components that are made with renewable resources and that are easy to dispose of responsibly. Now, researchers have created disposable papertronics, a prototype circuit board that is made of a sheet of […]
In 1906, Alois Alzheimer, a psychiatrist and neuroanatomist, reported “a peculiar severe disease process of the cerebral cortex” to a gathering of psychiatrists in Tübingen, Germany. The case was a 50-year-old woman who suffered from memory loss, delusions, hallucinations, aggression and confusion – all of which worsened until her untimely death five years later. In […]
A few years ago, the chess website Chess.com temporarily banned US grandmaster Hans Niemann for playing chess moves online that the site suspected had been suggested to him by a computer program. It had reportedly previously banned his mentor Maxim Dlugy. And at the Sinquefield Cup earlier this month, world champion Magnus Carlsen resigned without […]
Occasionally I receive groups of messages from families with autistic members and I know the reason: they have read in the press exciting news about autism, a spectacular treatment, even a miracle cure. Unfortunately, if all that news were true we would have solved autism hundreds of times by now. So let’s start with the […]
Long disregarded as a party drug, loved by hippies and alternative thinkers, LSD has been recently demonstrated to be much more than that, being useful as an anti-depressive and in therapy against PTSD and other traumas. Now, another “power” of LSD has been uncovered: it potentiates brain plasticity, thereby improving memory and other cognitive processes […]
A key feature that makes natural materials highly sustainable and recyclable is their modularity. Biodegradable materials are such because biological organisms can digest and break their constituting chemicals into simpler building blocks. Often such simpler building blocks are then reused for energy or structural purposes. In other words, nature needs materials that can be broken […]
Antidepressants are the mainstay for treating depression, but their use is clouded by doubts about their short-, medium- and long-term efficacy. This is not to say that we should not use them, as these drugs save lives in many cases, but a recent review reinforces these questions as it sees little difference in the quality […]
Most internet users are by now aware of the vulnerability of their personal data. When the news broke that tech companies misuse and manipulate our personal data, there was a widespread “techlash” against the corporate giants Facebook, Amazon and Google. The explicit motive for data harvesting is the prediction of consumer wants and needs. And […]