Category archives: Weekly Selection

Scientists use 3D printer to create networks of artificial cells Researchers have developed networks of water droplets that can act like biological tissue cells. The researchers created the networks using a three-dimensional printer. The networks can support up to 35,000 droplets and have the potential to be a scaffold for growing synthetic tissues or a […]

Our metastable universe Under the simplest assumptions, the measured mass of the Higgs could mean the universe is eventually unstable and destined to fall apart. Scientific American Could flow batteries back up electric grids? To power flow batteries, two aqueous electrolytes held in different tanks are pumped through a membrane into a separate chamber, causing […]

Bat-eating spiders are more common than you think Bat-eating spiders are more common in the world than once believed. These spiders are found on all continents except Antarctica. Almost 90% of the web-building spider and tarantula species live in warmer climates, and can capture bats both with and without a web. LiveScience Nyffeler M, Knörnschild […]

3-body problem gets 13 more possible solutions Scientists have come up with 13 new solutions to the “three-body problem,” a situation in which three objects orbit each other in a pattern. The discoveries, which will help astrophysicists further understand planetary systems, brings the total number of solutions to 16. Science now Milovan Šuvakov, V. Dmitrašinović […]

Bunnies implicated in the demise of Neanderthals in Iberia Excavations are shedding light on what might have been a significant factor in the demise of the Neanderthal: the inability to hunt small game. The remains of large animals are prevalent in Neanderthal cave excavations, but the bones of smaller animals such as rabbits were prevalent […]

Zircon grains came from ancient continent Grains of zircon found on the island of Mauritius may have come from the crust of an ancient continent beneath the Indian Ocean. The grains formed almost 2 billion years ago, but the island is only 65 million years old. New Scientist Trond H. Torsvik, Hans Amundsen, Ebbe H […]

“Native” water once existed on the Moon A new analysis of lunar soil samples from NASA’s Apollo missions has found evidence that the moon in its early days may have contained “native” water. The findings, which were published in the journal Nature Geoscience, go against prevailing theories that the moon formed from the debris of […]

New fabric may increase access to water in deserts A team of scientists say they’ve created a piece of fabric that can collect water from fog and release the liquid when conditions are warmer. Researchers coated a piece of cotton fabric with the polymer PNIPAAm, creating sponge-like material. The fabric could be used to increase […]

Electronics on paper At the moment the costs are still too high for them to be used in things like business cards or package labels, but remarkable advances in materials science and simpler fabrication methods are setting the stage for a whole new breed of cheap, bendable, disposable, and perhaps even recyclable electronics. And some […]

Your molar roots are leftovers from Homo erectus Adult human molar roots form for at least a year before erupting from the gum line, according to research published in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers say the majority of the formation of teeth has evolved to keep up with longer human lifespans, except for the adult […]