WEIRD NATURE

Pathogenic microbes blown vast distances by winds, scientists discover

Living microbes that cause disease in humans and host antibiotic-resistance genes carried 1,200 miles. Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea, was among pathogens found in airborne dust particles. Photograph: BSIP/Universal Images Group/Getty Images – Microbiology – Damian Carrington Environment editor Last modified …

NASA discovers a new global energy field around Earth

An artist’s impression of the polar wind, which is produced by the newly discovered ambipolar electric field. NASA/Conceptual Image Lab/Wes Buchanan/Krystofer Kim – By Michael Irving 2024 Sep 01 – NASA scientists have discovered a third global energy field around Earth. Known as the …

 

Fungus learns to drive in “biohybrid” robots

A spider-shaped biohybrid robot is driven by natural impulses from a fungus. Cornell University – By Michael Irving 2024 Aug 31 – Autonomous vehicles are said to be safer than human drivers – but would you trust a mushroom behind the wheel? A new …

Heaviest-ever clumps of antimatter created in atom smasher

An illustration of the newly discovered antimatter nucleus, antihyperhydrogen-4.  Institute of Modern Physics, China – By Michael Irving 2024 Aug 22 – Physicists have created the heaviest clumps of antimatter particles ever seen. Known as antihyperhydrogen-4, this strange stuff could help us solve some …