Science Vista

Richard Seymour: How beauty feels

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:46:58 +0000

Anthony Atala at TEDMED 2009

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:45:43 +0000

New Light-Sensing Mechanism Found in Neurons

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:40:31 +0000

A UC Irvine research team led by Todd C. Holmes has discovered a second form of phototransduction light sensing in cells that is derived from vitamin B2. This discovery may reveal new information about cellular processes controlled by light.

New Microscope Produces Dazzling 3D Movies of Live Cells

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:32:32 +0000

A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light — similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners — to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail. The microscopy technique images at high speed, so researchers can create dazzling movies that make biological processes, such as cell division, come alive.

Mighty Mice Regrow Organs

admin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:02:59 +0000

Mice discovered accidentally at the Wistar Institute in Pennsylvania have the seemingly miraculous ability to regenerate like a salamander, and even regrow vital organs.

Researchers systematically amputated digits and damaged various organs of the mice, including the heart, liver and brain, most of which grew back.

The results stunned scientists because if such regeneration is possible in this mammal, it might also be possible in humans.

The researchers also made a remarkable second discovery: When cells from the regenerative mice were injected into normal mice, the normal mice adopted the ability to regenerate. And when the special mice bred with normal mice, their offspring inherited souped-up regeneration capabilities.
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Skype hit by outage, says investigating

admin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:47:22 +0000

Internet phone and video service Skype went down in a global service outage on Wednesday, underscoring a weakness of the free online communication tool. Skype, partly owned by Web retailer eBay Inc, said some users were having problems signing on. Users in Asia and Europe complained of the outage on social network site Twitter. In its Twitter feed, the seven-year-old company apologized for the disruption and said it was investigating the cause.

Apache declares war on Oracle over Java

admin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:25:35 +0000

Charging that Oracle has willfully disregarded the licensing terms for its own Java technology, the Apache Software Foundation has called upon other members of the Java Community Process (JCP) to vote against the next proposed version of the language, should Oracle continue to impose restrictions on open-source Java use.

The nonprofit organization has also indicated that it could end its involvement in the JCP if the licensing restrictions stay in place.

“Why would we want to be in an organization where the rules of law don’t matter? Our being on the [JCP Executive Committee] would be a sham. It would show that the community doesn’t matter, that we’d basically cave into Oracle pushing stuff through, whether or not it would be in the best interest of the community,” said Jim Jagielski, president and cofounder of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), in an interview with the IDG News Service.
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Three-Dimensional Maps of Brain Wiring

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:01:30 +0000

A team of researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology has developed a software tool that physicians can use to easily study the wiring of the brains of their patients. The tool converts MRI scans using special techniques to three-dimensional images. This now makes it possible to view a total picture of the winding roads and their contacts without having to operate. Researcher Vesna Prčkovska defended her PhD thesis on this subject last week.
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Scientists May Have Discovered a Cure for the Common Cold (and Lots of Other Viruses)

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 08:57:17 +0000

Any immunology textbook will tell you that once a virus enters a cell, the only way to knock that virus out is to kill the entire cell. But a new study from the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge has shown a way to kill a virus from within the cell, leaving the virus defeated and the cell victorious and intact. This could be huge–not just a cure for the common cold, but for all kinds of other viruses as well.

The study, which will be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, tackles a fundamental of immunology. It has long been assumed that the body’s last chance to eliminate a virus is before it enters a cell–once it’s inside, it’s game over. You can kill the cell, but doing that too often is harmful to the body’s health. But this new study shows that the body actually has its own in-cell defense mechanism that can attack viruses once they’ve entered a cell–and they’re hopeful that this defense mechanism can be enhanced through external means, making the cells even stronger.
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After a Short Delay, Shuttle Discovery’s Final Mission is Go for Launch

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 08:54:45 +0000

After a two-day delay and a good deal of much-deserved sentiment, the Space Shuttle Discovery – NASA’s oldest active shuttle – is at the launch pad and go for launch for its final mission, with liftoff slated for 3:52 p.m. EST tomorrow. Technicians are spending the day making the final inspections of the external liquid oxygen feedlines, and onboard ground communications will be activated this afternoon. It will be Discovery’s 39th flight in 26 years.

For its final performance, Discovery will ferry a crew of six to the International Space Station, though you could call it a crew of seven if you count Robonaut 2, a humanoid ‘bot that will spend the next decade aboard the ISS helping astronauts aboard the station conduct experiments, keep the station up to spec, and possibly even help perform repairs to the outside of the station during spacewalks.
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