Uncategorized
- Humans
Bat Moves and More
Take a look at the winners of this year’s Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Science magazine. Particularly noteworthy is a dramatic video that shows a bat tracking and capturing a praying mantis. This video was made by researchers at the University of Maryland, who combined slow-motion video, animation, […]
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Wayfaring Sleepers: Brain area linked to slumber-aided recall
Enhanced activity in an inner-brain structure called the hippocampus during sleep solidifies memories of recently visited places and the routes taken to get to them.
- Tech
Smashing the Microscope: Tiny crashes harnessed for nanoconstruction
A new technique supplies loose atoms for nanoscale experiments by using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope to gouge out craters from a surface.
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I’m no fan of cell phones, but this seems to be an article about a solution looking for a problem. Presumably, cell phones would be disposed of in landfills and, therefore, not exactly “released” into the environment, as the article states. In any case, the 312,000 pounds of lead in all cell phones owned in […]
- Materials Science
Electronics Detox: Leadfree material for ecofriendly gadgetry
Responding to growing concern over the disposal of electronic devices, scientists in Japan have created a lead-free piezoceramic that could replace the toxic components in many of these gadgets.
- Health & Medicine
Persistent Cough: Pertussis rises in young adults and infants
Pertussis, or whooping cough, appears to be rebounding in many age groups, causing long-lasting symptoms in adolescents and adults and threatening the lives of unvaccinated infants.
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19479
There is another answer to how the toxin gets on the bird’s feathers besides the birds eating the beetles. Many birds use insects to preen their feathers. Ralph GundersenSt. Cloud, Minn. “Because we do find significant toxin levels in internal organs . . . we believe that [the birds] are ingesting at least some of […]
- Animals
Poison Source: Toxic birds may get chemical from beetle
When some poisonous New Guinea birds eat certain tiny beetles, they may be stocking up on the toxic substance they use to defend themselves.
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19478
I’m a veterinarian, and, here in west Texas, we see a high occurrence of parvovirus infection in young dogs. It destroys the intestinal villi, allowing gastrointestinal bacteria and their toxins to enter the bloodstream. I would be very interested in learning whether or not small doses of nicotine would have a beneficial effect. Tom McCabeEl […]
- Health & Medicine
Nicotine’s Good Side: Substance curbs sepsis in mice
Nicotine halted the progression of severe sepsis in mice, suggesting a new avenue for treating this acute blood infection.
- Planetary Science
Titanic Close-up: Cassini eyes Saturn’s big moon
Using radar to penetrate the thick haze surrounding Saturn's moon Titan, the Cassini spacecraft has found evidence that the moon's surface is coated with hydrocarbons and dark patches that might be lakes of ethane or methane.
- Health & Medicine
High-fat diets slim down learning
High-fat diets decrease the ability of male rats to learn and remember.
