A rocket carrying the Chang’e-4 lunar lander blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southern China over the weekend. The lander is aiming for a site no human or machine has gone before: the far side of the moon. Chinese …Continue reading
MIT engineers repurpose wasp venom into antibiotic medication
A systematic study of antimicrobial properties of a toxin found in the South American wasp has allowed researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to create variants of a peptide that can kill bacteria but doesn’t harm humans. Insect venoms are …Continue reading
Climate change has already started killing us, warns Lancet report
A new report in The Lancet medical journal titled The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change warns that climate change is already exposing humanity to a number of serious health risks. Furthermore, according to the report ambient air pollution …Continue reading
Hidden region of the human brain discovered
Brain cartographer George Paxinos of Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) has announced the discovery of a region of the brain that had remained hidden until now. Named the Endorestiform Nucleus by Paxinos, the region is found near the brain-spinal cord junction. Paxinos suspected …Continue reading
Scientists grow brains in petri dishes
Historically, scientists have had a hard time studying early brain development because of how difficult it is to obtain fetal-tissue samples or examine the fetus in utero. However, this may soon change as scientists have grown ‘mini brains’ in dishes that have …Continue reading
Israeli researchers transform human waste into household fuel
Researchers at the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) in Israel have come up with a process of using hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) to convert human waste into hydrochar: a safe, reusable biomass fuel resembling charcoal. Their research was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production …Continue reading