A lung-inspired design turns water into fuel
Reading Time: 2 minutesSCIENTISTS at Stanford University have designed an electrocatalytic mechanism that works like a mammalian lung to convert water into fuel. Their research, published December 20 in the journal Joule, could help existing clean energy technologies run more efficiently. The act of inhaling and exhaling is so automatic for most organisms that it could be mistaken […]
Which mammal can fly
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMany people think that flying squirrels, flying possums and colugos can fly. Unfortunately, they cannot fly but rather they can only glide for limited distances. However, bats are the only mammal that is capable to fly. These creatures belong to the order Chiroptera and the word Chiroptera comes from the Greek words cheir which means […]
Why cows are getting a bad rap in lab-grown meat debate
Reading Time: 5 minutesBY ALISON VAN EENENNAAM A BATTLE ROYAL is brewing over what to call animal cells grown in cell culture for food. Should it be in-vitro meat, cellular meat, cultured meat or fermented meat? What about animal-free meat, slaughter-free meat, artificial meat, synthetic meat, zombie meat, lab-grown meat, non-meat or artificial muscle proteins? Then there is […]
Biodiesel from wet biological waste
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIN a step toward producing renewable engine fuels that are compatible with existing diesel fuel infrastructure, researchers report they can convert wet biowaste, such as swine manure and food scraps, into a fuel that can be blended with diesel and that shares diesel’s combustion efficiency and emissions profile. The researchers report the findings in the […]
HIV vaccine protects non-human primates from infection
Reading Time: 2 minutesFOR more than 20 years, scientists at Scripps Research have chipped away at the challenges of designing an HIV vaccine. Now new research, published in Immunity, shows that their experimental vaccine strategy works in non-human primates. The new study shows that rhesus macaque monkeys can be prompted to produce neutralising antibodies against one strain of […]
What is poison dart frog?
Reading Time: < 1 minutePoison dart frogs are the members of the Dendrobatidae family. They wear some of the most brilliant and beautiful colours on Earth. Depending on individual habitats, their colouring can be yellow, gold, copper, red, green, blue, or black, which extends from the tropical forests of Costa Rica to Brazil. Most poison dart frogs are the […]
New mathematical model can help save endangered species
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWHAT does the blue whale have in common with the Bengal tiger and the green turtle? They share the risk of extinction and are classified as endangered species. There are multiple reasons for species to die out, and climate changes is among the main reasons. The risk of extinction varies from species to species depending […]
When do ants sleep?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAs we all know, sleep is essential as it restores and rejuvenates. Without it, our minds are not as sharp, and our reflexes become dull. The same is also true for ants and they definitely rest. Even ants need to sleep, perchance to dream, and interestingly, the amount of ZZZ’s that an ant needs to […]
New material to promote natural wound healing
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMATERIALS are widely used to help heal wounds: Collagen sponges help treat burns and pressure sores, and scaffold-like implants are used to repair bones. However, the process of tissue repair changes over time, so scientists are developing biomaterials that interact with tissues as healing takes place. Now, Dr Ben Almquist and his team at Imperial […]
Scientists discover how locusts switch colours in different settings
Reading Time: 2 minutesSCIENTISTS have discovered how locusts change their body colour to adapt to different environments, according to new research published in eLife. The findings, first reported on bioRxiv, reveal a novel ‘palette effect’ mechanism in locusts, whereby a red pigment complex acts as a switch to coordinate between the insects’ green and black colouring. Changes in […]