81638439
submission
hypnosec writes:
Our cells are powered by Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and according to a new study, they could be a power source for next generation of biological supercomputers that are capable of processing information very quickly and accurately using parallel networks in the same way that massive electronic super computers do. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the paper describes a model of a biological computer that is effectively a very complex network in a very small area and is based on a combination of geometrical modelling and engineering knowhow (on the nano scale). Researchers involved with the study claim that it is the first step, in showing that this kind of biological supercomputer can actually work.
81428973
submission
hypnosec writes:
Researchers have revealed through a new study that fungi from the gut of herbivores like goats, horses and sheep could be used to make biofuel. According to researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara, the fungi retrieved from these animals are capable of converting plant material into sugars that can be easily used to make biofuel and other products and that too at the same efficiency as the best fungi engineering in industry. Michelle O’Malley, lead author of the paper [abstract] and professor of chemical engineering at the University explains that these fungi naturally have the best possible set of enzymes for the job of breaking down biomass and as per their findings, these enzymes work together to break down stubborn plant material.
81155215
submission
hypnosec writes:
A new study has put forward claims that by working on and improving the energy management system (EMS) that decides when the switch from ‘all-electric’ mode to ‘hybrid’ mode in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, efficiency of these vehicles can be improved by as much as 12 per cent. Researchers have shown in their lab tests that blended discharge strategies wherein power from the battery is used throughout the trip, have proven to be more efficient at minimizing fuel consumption and emissions.
80675541
submission
hypnosec writes:
In what has been claimed to be the first use of gene editing technique CRIPSR for replacement of a defective gene associated with a sensory disease, researchers have repaired a genetic defect that causes blindness. The research that led to successful editing of defective genes responsible for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) – an inherited condition that causes the retina to degrade and leads to blindness in at least 1.5 million cases worldwide – was carried out using stem cells derived from a patient’s tissue. Published in Scientific Reports, the study paves the way for using CRIPSR therapeutically to treat eye diseases.
80608111
submission
hypnosec writes:
Researchers have developed a graphene-based coating that they have proved is effective at melting ice from a helicopter blade paving way for a real-time de-icer. The thin coating of graphene nanoribbons in epoxy has been developed by researchers at Rice University and in their tests, researchers show that the coating is capable of melting centimeter-thick ice from a static helicopter rotor blade in a minus-4-degree Fahrenheit environment. A small voltage was applied to the coating that delivered electrothermal heat — called Joule heating — to the surface, which melted the ice.
80147379
submission
hypnosec writes:
In a first kind of discovery in decades, researchers have created a new class of hybrid sound waves that are gentle enough to be used in biomedical devices. Known as "surface reflected bulk waves", the new class of sound waves are a hybrid of bulk waves and surface waves and have been created by a team at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. According to the team the new class of sound waves have already proved their worth in delivering vaccines and other drugs directly to the lung and are hopeful that their creation could lead to a revolution in stem cell therapy. As Dr Amgad Rezk, from RMIT's Micro/Nano Research Laboratory, explains, they have already dramatically improved the efficiency of an innovative new "nebuliser" that could deliver vaccines and other drugs directly to the lung in as little as 30 seconds [study abstract]. Researchers are hopeful that their work opens up the possibility of using stem cells more efficiently for treating lung disease enabling them to nebulise stem cells straight into a specific site within the lung to repair damaged tissue and this could be a real game changer for stem cell treatment in lungs as well as other organs.
79649017
submission
hypnosec writes:
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has achieved the capability to produce plutonium-238 with the production of 50 grams of the material already completed. The production of the plutonium-238 sample effectively revives the capability that has been dormant for around 30 years since production of the material was stopped by Savannah River Plant in South Carolina in the late 1980s. The ORNL is optimistic that the important milestone of sample production of plutonium-238 paves way for regular production of the material that will ensure constant supply of the material for NASA's missions.
79566289
submission
hypnosec writes:
High-Speed Operando Tomography and Digital Volume Correlation have been used by a University College London-led team to show in real-time how lithium batteries degrade as they are used. Real-time 3D images of active commercial Li/MnO2 disposable batteries were captured using X-ray computed tomography (CT) and advanced digital volume correlation software. The images formed cross-section time-lapse videos showing the damage occurring on the electrodes inside the battery in real-time.
79503391
submission
hypnosec writes:
Researchers at Oxford University have demonstrated a ‘hybrid’ logic gate using two isotopes of calcium, the abundant isotope calcium-40 and the rare isotope calcium-43. One of the leading technologies for building a quantum computer is trapped atomic ions, and researchers at Oxford's Networked Quantum Information Technologies (NQIT – pronounced ‘N-kit’) Hub are working to develop the constituent elements of a quantum computer based on these ions. As explained by researchers in the study published in journal Nature each of the trapped ion is used to represent one ‘quantum bit’ of information. The quantum states of the ions are controlled with laser pulses of precise frequency and duration. Two different species of ion are needed in the computer: one to store information, a ‘memory qubit’, and one to link different parts of the computer together via photons, an ‘interface qubit’."
77206607
submission
hypnosec writes:
Kepler Space Telescope has allowed astronomers to detect and catalog thousands of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates and with more powerful telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope scheduled for launch, scientists will be able to check if any of these exoplanets is habitable. However, when it comes to using space telescopes, there is a lot of time, and money that are required and so pointing the telescope at random to any of the exoplanets isn’t a practical proposition. That’s why researchers have created what they call a ‘habitability index for transiting planets’ using which astronomers will be able to prioritize the use of space telescope for finding habitable planets.
76711557
submission
hypnosec writes:
A YouTuber named Tom Scott has built a 1,000-key keyboard with each key representing an emoji! Scott made the emoji keyboard using 14 keyboards and over 1,000 individually placed stickers. While he himself admits that it is one of the craziest things he has built, the work he has put in does warrant appreciation. On the keyboard are individually placed emojis for food items, animals, plants, transport, national flags, and time among others.
76642031
submission
hypnosec writes:
Using redshifts, fast radio bursts and state of the art technology, researchers at University of British Columbia propose a new method of calculating distance between celestial objects in the universe and mapping the cosmos in 3D. Published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the research describes the proposal of how the scientists intend to use fast radio bursts to calculate cosmological distances as well as map out the positions of distant galaxies in 3D. Though only 10 or so of these FRBs have been detected so far, UBC scientists are of the opinion that thousands of these FRBs must be happening each day.
75698245
submission
hypnosec writes:
The reconnaissance mission of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch dubbed the Mega Expedition by Ocean Clean has been concluded and the large-scale cleanup of the area is set to begin in 2020. The primary goal of the Mega Expedition was to accurately determine how much plastic is floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This was the first time large pieces of plastic, such as ghost nets and Japanese tsunami debris, have been quantified.
74480539
submission
hypnosec writes:
Japanese car manufacturer Toyota on Wednesday recalled 625,000 hybrid vehicles globally to fix a software defect. The automaker said that the defect in question might lead to shut down of the hybrid system while the car is being driven. The recall was due to software settings that could result in “higher thermal stress” in parts of a power converter, potentially causing it to become damaged. Toyota dealers will update the software for both the motor/generator control ECU and hybrid control ECU in the involved vehicles.
73988349
submission
hypnosec writes:
Researchers have found that some coral populations already posses genetic variants that could help them tolerate the increasing ocean temperatures and if such corals are mixed and matched with corals from different latitudes they can be made to survive global warming through 'genetic rescue'. Researchers exposed the corals' larvae to increasingly warm temperatures for long periods of time, and then analyzed the genes of the surviving individuals. Their results reveal that the more heat-tolerant corals produced larvae that were 10 times more likely to survive heat exposure than the larvae of the less heat-tolerant corals.
