SLOWEST ATOM DECAY..
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAround 1500 meters deep in the Italian Gran Sasso mountains is the underground laboratory LNGS (Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso), in which scientists search for dark matter particles in a lab sealed off from any radioactivity interference. Their tool is the XENON1T detector, the central part of which consists of a cylindrical tank of about one […]
Uncovering secrets of ancient rock art
Reading Time: < 1 minutePREHISTORIC rock paintings are a source of fascination across the world. Aside from their beauty, there’s deep meaning in these strokes, which depict ancient rituals and important symbols. To learn more about these murals, researchers have historically resorted to sampling methods that are damaging to the artwork, contradicting the archaeological tenets of conservation. Today, scientists […]
TESS finds its first Earth-sized planet
Reading Time: 2 minutesA NEARBY system hosts the first Earth-sized planet discovered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite, as well as a warm sub-Neptune-sized world, according to a new paper from a team of astronomers that includes Carnegie’s Johanna Teske, Paul Butler, Steve Shectman, Jeff Crane, and Sharon Wang. Their work is published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. “It’s […]
Mystery of the universe’s expansion rate widens with new Hubble data
Reading Time: 2 minutesASTRONOMERS using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope say they have crossed an important threshold in revealing a discrepancy between the two key techniques for measuring the universe’s expansion rate. The recent study strengthens the case that new theories may be needed to explain the forces that have shaped the cosmos. A brief recap: The universe is […]
Genes linked with liver cancer
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRESEARCHERS at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, provide the first summary of the experimental evidence supporting the AKR1B10 enzyme as a promising therapeutic target for HCC, based on a review of more than 50 studies published since this gene was first identified and characterised in 1998.
How do plants communicate with each other?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe have never seen plants communicate among each other. Plants seem to be more sensitive than they might seem. Plants communicate with each other in wildly complex and remarkable ways. Even though plants stay in one spot, plants are observing and responding to the world around them. A research has shown that when a plant’s […]
Mathematician’s breakthrough on non-toxic pest control
Reading Time: 2 minutesUNIVERSITY of Sussex mathematician, Dr Konstantin Blyuss, working with biologists at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, has developed a chemical-free way to precisely target a parasitic worm that destroys wheat crops. This breakthrough method of pest control works with the plant’s own genes to kill specific microscopic worms, called nematodes, without harming any […]
How does brain perceive colour?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHave you wondered why the red apple looks red but not blue or green? All these have to do with the properties of the photoreceptors which are either rod or cone cells on the retina layer of our eyes. Newton had previously observed that colour is not inherent in objects. Rather, the surface of an […]
Researchers crack the peanut genome
Reading Time: 2 minutesWORKING to understand the genetics of peanut disease resistance and yield, researchers led by scientists at the University of Georgia have uncovered the peanut’s unlikely and complicated evolution. Researchers working as part of the International Peanut Genome Initiative have previously pinpointed one of the peanut’s two wild ancestors and shown that the peanut is a […]
Why cockroaches die on their backs?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCockroaches have bulky bodies that are composed of three heavy segments supported by only six long, thin legs. Their long legs give them a high center of gravity, meaning they carry most of their weight around their backs. At the time of death cockroaches lose muscle control, causing their leg muscles to contract and tuck […]