Category archives: Technology

With most of the conferences scheduled between June and October, beginning of the year brings with few novelties in robotics. During this time, roboticists must wait and wonder what the advances and “hot research topics” will be in their respective fields. Most likely, this year too one of those “hot” areas will be robotic insertion […]

Mesozoic-era ichthyosaur had live births on land The fossil remains of a 248 million-year-old ichthyosaur have revealed that the Mesozoic-era reptile died while giving birth with two offspring still inside it. Scientists were surprised to note that the birth was occurring on land, which goes against a long-held belief that the sea creatures delivered their […]

Highly conductive graphene nanoribbons Graphene nanoribbons can conduct electricity much better than was expected. The new graphene nanoribbons differ from other forms by having no rough edges allowing electrons to move ten times more swiftly than theory says they should. The results could have implications in the development of high-end electronics. Nature News Advanced bionic […]

Paleontologists find evidence sauropods lived into Cretaceous period A sauropod belonging to the dinosaur group Titanosauria appears to have lived during the Early Cretaceous period providing evidence that sauropods lived beyond the Jurassic period. The remains of a juvenile Yongjinglong datangi were uncovered in northwestern China. International Science News Luhman 16B, where it rains liquid […]

In this third and last part of the series (1, 2) about ITER we continue giving insights into the most outstanding aspects of the ITER machine design. Divertor The ITER divertor is a part of the vessel, placed at the very bottom, whose twofold purpose is (i) helping in shaping the plasma and (ii) getting […]

Light on X chromosomes To better see how females turn on and off their X chromosomes, scientists at Johns Hopkins University have developed a way to get X chromosomes from different parents to light up in different colors. Dr. Jeremy Nathans and his team engineered mice to breed female babies with X chromosomes from one […]

Tiniest particles can now be put on the scale Tiny technology that uses a fluid-filled microchannel in a silicon cantilever can measure the mass of particles down to the attogram, or one-millionth of a trillionth of a gram. The technology, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sends particles through the microchannel. Their passing changes […]

Ancient strips of bamboo hold multiplication table A multiplication table in base 10 has been revealed in ancient strips of bamboo found in China that date back to around 305 B.C. About 2,500 bamboo strips were donated to Tsinghua University in Beijing five years ago, and researchers discovered ancient Chinese calligraphy written on the strips […]

Quake lights likely caused by grinding rocks in rift zones The mysterious lights sometimes reported before or during earthquakes occur most frequently in geological rift zones. Researchers say the glow emanates from electricity generated as rocks grind together along vertical faults during temblors. Nature News Sea anemones living underneath Antarctica ice shelf A large number […]

Vaccine to protect against staph infections in rabbits Researchers have created a vaccine that has the potential to prevent pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an animal model. The vaccine targets toxins secreted by the staph bacteria, preventing it from causing serious infections. Results may explain why human trials have […]