WEIRD SCIENCE
By Rich Haridy – Three new studies add weight to a long-held hypothesis connecting neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment to chronic inflammation. LisaAlisa_ill/Depositphotos. – Several newly published studies are reporting evidence affirming a growing hypothesis that links inflammation with cognitive deficits. As well as …
The process requires stopping a trauma patient’s heart and cooling their body with ice-cold saline. By Claire Bugos – Smithsonian.Com For the first time, scientists have used therapeutic suspended animation to purposefully induce hypothermia and slow organ functions in patients with …
By Michael Irving – An artist’s impression of GRB190114C, the most energetic gamma ray burst ever detected with the energy of 1 TeV. ICRR UTokyo/Naho Wakabayashi. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are already the most energetic events we know of in the universe, and …
Switching over to a vegan-based diet can drastically cut CO2 emissions. But will Americans actually change their diet? By Molly Hanson – Photo Credit: Hero Image / Getty Images. According to researchers at Oxford University, meat is around 35 times more damaging …
“Most women don’t have any idea the degree to which we have been discriminated against when it comes to research.” By Alexandra Pattillo – In the 1970s, women of childbearing age were banned from taking part in first-stage clinical trials. The idea, it …
The RNA World Hypothesis is controversial — but a new study suggests it is not impossible. By Sarah Sloat – In 1969, a 4.6-billion-year-old meteorite fell to Earth. It showered a rural Australian town with chunks of smelly, black rocks and — more consequentially, overjoyed …
Property rights get messy when DNA is involved. By Sarah Kearns – Scattered around your house or apartment, lightly coating the surface of your coffee table and lurking in the nooks and crannies of each room, are millions of your skin and hair …
Report claims 400,000 insect species face extinction amid heavy use of pesticides. Damian Carrington Environment editor @dpcarrington – The study also indicates that insects, including bees, are vanishing due to damage to nature. Photograph: Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters. The “unnoticed insect apocalypse” should set alarm …
A safe, stretchy semiconductor could help save lives. By Thor Benson – Scientists have been struggling to create a semiconductor that is stretchy, conductive and fully degradable—all at the same time. Researchers have now created a semiconductor that meets all of these requirements, …
‘Hot electron’ harvesting could unlock big solar energy gains. By Mike Brown – “Hot electrons” could add a new dimension to harvesting energy from solar panels. Scientists from the University of Groningen and Nanyang Technological University have developed a means of harnessing otherwise-wasted …
