Uncategorized
- Tech
Ancients made nanotech hair dye
A hair-darkening paste invented thousands of years ago forms lead-and-sulfur nanocrystals remarkably similar to those made in today's nanotechnology labs.
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19761
Since when are “nanoscale” and “nanotech” interchangeable? Just because somebody uses something that is small doesn’t make it “nanotech.” Talcum powder is ultra fine too. Should we call it nanotech? I don’t think so. Adam HuntHuntington, W. Va.
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Low body heat lengthens mouse lives
Mice genetically engineered to have slightly lower-than-normal body temperatures lived significantly longer than mice with normal body temperatures.
- Physics
Heavy finding
Physicists have discovered never-before-seen subatomic particles related to protons and neutrons but laden with exotic, heavy subparticles called bottom quarks.
- Health & Medicine
Bug be gone
An experimental device that combines a special comb with a forceful air blower kills head lice and their nits.
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19760
This article explained how research was being done to find a way to get rid of head lice without the use of harsh chemicals. While the method mentioned might work, I found a much lower-tech approach. I tried a multitude of things to get rid of these vermin when my daughter was infested, and the […]
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Jet lag might hasten death in elderly
Mimicking jet lag in old mice brought on an early death in the animals.
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19759
A better simulation of jet lag than that described in this article would have been to shift daytime forward 1 week, then back the next, and continue alternating for the 8 weeks of the experiment. This would mimic actual travel, rather than simulating endless trips around Earth in one direction. Dian Duchin ReedSoquel, Calif.
- Animals
Tough policing deters cheating in insects
In insect societies that have tough police, it's coercion, rather than kinship, that's preventing crime.
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19758
It is not only the scientific literature that documents the unexpected “doughnut” pattern in swarms. Italo Calvino’s fictional Mr. Palomar observed (rather more lyrically) about the flocking of Roman starlings, “Finally a form emerges from the confused flutter of wings, advances, condenses: it is a circular shape, like a sphere, a bubble, the balloon-speech of […]
- Math
The Mind of the Swarm
Mathematics is helping explain how animals form flocks, swarms, and schools.
- Chemistry
Chemical Pop-Up Books
Chemists and engineers have designed two-dimensional structures that self-fold into functional, three-dimensional objects, such as miniature chemistry laboratories and drug-delivery devices.
