"Axis of aging" mechanism uncovered in worms

C. elegans is a pretty unassuming worm, but its simplicity makes it a great model to study biological processes. It's been used to study longevity and so far remains the only creature whose brain has been completely mapped out. Combining those two fields, researchers at the University of Michigan have now uncovered how the worm's brain and gut communicate with each other to coordinate aging throughout the body.

.. Continue Reading "Axis of aging" mechanism uncovered in worms

Category: Biology

Tags:

• Aging
• Brain
• Lifespan
• Longevity
• Protein
• University of Michigan

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Waymo's 360-degree self-driving video puts you in the passenger's seat

Waymo has covered some serious miles in testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads, five million (8 million km) of them, in fact. To go with the milestone, the self-driving Google spin-off has shared a 360-degree video that demonstrates how its vehicles see the world, while taking you along for the ride.

.. Continue Reading Waymo's 360-degree self-driving video puts you in the passenger's seat

Category: Automotive

Tags:

• Alphabet
• Autonomous Vehicles
• Self-Driving
• Waymo

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Stratolaunch, the world's largest plane, speeds down the runway for the first time

Stratolaunch, the world's largest plane, is one step closer to reaching the skies after it recently completed a second taxi test that saw it hit a speed of 46 mph (74 km/h) as it stormed down a runway in Mojave, California.

.. Continue Reading Stratolaunch, the world's largest plane, speeds down the runway for the first time

Category: Aircraft

Tags:

• Aircraft
• Launch
• Launch Vehicles
• Orbit

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Galactic evictions may have supplied the Milky Way's stellar halo

According to a newly published paper, the distant halo of stars that orbits the Milky Way could include parts of our own galaxy that were forcefully ejected following a dramatic collision or close pass with a smaller dwarf galaxy.

.. Continue Reading Galactic evictions may have supplied the Milky Way's stellar halo

Category: Space

Tags:

• Galaxy
• Halo
• Stars

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To know what critters are around, just ask a leech

If you're wondering what types of mammals are present in a given area of wilderness, why not check for their DNA in animals that feed on their blood – leeches? That's what researchers from the American Museum of Natural History have done, with good results.

.. Continue Reading To know what critters are around, just ask a leech

Category: Biology

Tags:

• American Museum of Natural History
• Animals
• DNA

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13.6 billion-year-old radio signals date back to Cosmic Dawn

To look through space is to look through time, so getting a glimpse of the early days of the universe is a matter of peering deeper and deeper into space. Now, astronomers from MIT and Arizona State University have peered right back to the "Cosmic Dawn" – the time when the first stars were beginning to fire up – by picking up an extremely faint radio signal that marks the earliest evidence of hydrogen, just 180 million years after the Big Bang.

.. Continue Reading 13.6 billion-year-old radio signals date back to Cosmic Dawn

Category: Space

Tags:

• Antenna
• Arizona State University
• Big Bang Theory
• Hydrogen
• MIT
• Stars
• Universe

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Common skin bacteria found to produce skin-cancer killing molecule

A large population of microorganisms live on our skin. Known as the skin microbiome, many of these organisms serve a vital protective function preventing psoriasis, acne and other diseases. A team at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has now uncovered a strain of bacteria found on human skin that can protect against cancer.

.. Continue Reading Common skin bacteria found to produce skin-cancer killing molecule

Category: Science

Tags:

• Bacteria
• Microbiome
• Skin
• Skin Cancer
• UCSD

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GIRI reveals delicate fossils – by grinding them away

Cloudina was a thin-shelled sea creature that existed about 545 million years ago, and many scientists believe that it played a major role in building the first reefs. Princeton University geoscientists Adam Maloof and Akshay Mehra, however, think otherwise – and they do so because of a unique rock-grinding machine.

.. Continue Reading GIRI reveals delicate fossils – by grinding them away

Category: Science

Tags:

• Fossils
• Imaging
• Princeton University

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MWC recap: what we learned about smartphones for 2018

We've seen another announcement-packed Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona this week, with new phones launched by Samsung, Sony, LG, Nokia, Asus, and others. So what can this glut of new devices tell us about where smartphones are heading in 2018, and what we'll see for the rest of the year?

.. Continue Reading MWC recap: what we learned about smartphones for 2018

Category: Mobile Technology

Tags:

• Mobile
• Mobile World Congress 2018
• Smartphones

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AutoSaw uses robots to make furniture-building safer

For many people, power saws are scary things, bringing forth mental images of horrible hand injuries. Such saws are an integral part of creating custom wooden furniture, however. Now, scientists at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed an experimental system called AutoSaw, that uses robots to handle the sawing.

.. Continue Reading AutoSaw uses robots to make furniture-building safer

Category: Robotics

Tags:

• Furniture
• MIT
• Safety
• Wood

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Chimps and bonobos share common sign language (and maybe we do too)

Our attempts to communicate with our ape cousins with sign language have long captured our imagination, but surprising new research shows that chimpanzees and bonobos share common gestures and meanings. That's fascinating in itself, but it raises intriguing questions as to how sign language is inherited, and whether humans share any gestures and meanings with other apes.

.. Continue Reading Chimps and bonobos share common sign language (and maybe we do too)

Category: Biology

Tags:

• Apes
• Chimpanzees
• Communications
• University of York

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Review: 2018 Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback diesel hits a sweet spot

Nobody brags about entry-level compact cars, but there sure are a lot of people who own them. The 2018 Chevrolet Cruze is one of those cars, and with the hatchback option now available with a fuel-efficient diesel engine, Chevy may have come up with a near-perfect formula.

.. Continue Reading Review: 2018 Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback diesel hits a sweet spot

Category: Automotive

Tags:

• Chevrolet
• Compact
• Diesel
• Hot hatch
• Reviews

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Gallery: Unboxing the best shipping container architecture

On the face of it, shipping container-based architecture can seem like a pretty bad idea. The metal boxes are cramped, offer no insulation, and often require heavy modification to be of any use. That said, limitation occasionally proves fertile ground for innovation, as evidenced by the imaginative shipping container projects that we're highlighting here.

.. Continue Reading Gallery: Unboxing the best shipping container architecture

Category: Architecture

Tags:

• Building and Construction
• Home
• House
• Housing
• Micro-House
• Recycled
• Shipping Container
• Solar Powered
• Tiny Footprint

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Hand-crafted beauty pays tribute to the dawn of home computing

Sweden's Love Hultén is probably best known for his wonderfully retro gaming creations, but has also fashioned a beautiful synth and a hi-fi system, too. For his one-off PET De Lux project, the designer and craftsman has paid tribute to a grand-daddy of home computing, the Commodore PET 2001 all-in-one personal computer released in 1977.

.. Continue Reading Hand-crafted beauty pays tribute to the dawn of home computing

Category: Computers

Tags:

• Commodore
• Computers
• Handbuilt
• Retro
• Wood

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MIT imaging technique sheds light on the brain's electrical activity

Researchers at MIT have developed an imaging technique that will help study exactly how electrical signals propagate through the brain, in an advance that could help us better understand Alzheimer's, epilepsy, and other brain disorders, as well as how thoughts and feelings are formed.

.. Continue Reading MIT imaging technique sheds light on the brain's electrical activity

Category: Science

Tags:

• Brain
• Imaging
• Mapping
• Medical Imaging
• MIT
• Neurological

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Artificial eye flexes muscle to do what the human eye can't

Harvard has reported a breakthrough flat artificial eye just 30 microns in depth which can exceed the capabilities of the human eye. The technology, which builds on so-called metalens technology by adding electrically-controlled flexible muscles, could make a real impact in all manner of optical fields, including those in cameras, telescopes, microscopes, glasses and even virtual reality.

.. Continue Reading Artificial eye flexes muscle to do what the human eye can't

Category: Science

Tags:

• Artificial organs
• Harvard
• Nanostructures
• Optics

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New type of stem cell produces two tissues for the price of one

If you wind back the clock on the different cells in our bodies, they'd all start life as one of just a few types of stem cells. Now, researchers from the University of Queensland have wound back the clock even further, and discovered a new type of dual stem cell that can produce certain tissues with built-in blood vessels.

.. Continue Reading New type of stem cell produces two tissues for the price of one

Category: Medical

Tags:

• blood vessel
• bone marrow
• Stem Cells
• University of Queensland

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Ford's self-driving cars roll into Miami

Ford hasn't been making the bold strides of some competitors when it comes to autonomous vehicles, with plenty of testing already underway from various companies, including public trials from Nissan, Uber, Google's Waymo and Tesla's progress with its Autopilot software. The automotive giant is now looking to make some serious headway in Miami, where it is kicking off a pilot exploring how self-driving vehicles can ease the city's notorious traffic problems.

.. Continue Reading Ford's self-driving cars roll into Miami

Category: Automotive

Tags:

• Autonomous Vehicles
• Ford
• Self-Driving

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Gallery: Clever concepts for low-cost housing

They say constraint breeds creativity, and anybody looking to get into home ownership will be extremely familiar with the constraints that go with it. Architectural, construction and design innovations therefore have a huge role to play in getting roofs over heads, particularly when it comes to the world's poorest and most vulnerable. Here we take a look at some clever solutions to low-cost housing, including a few whose appearance far outstrips their price tag.

.. Continue Reading Gallery: Clever concepts for low-cost housing

Category: Architecture

Tags:

• Affordable
• Emergency Housing
• Housing

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Discovery of brain region that can ease pain paves way for non-opioid painkillers

Pain is an important biological mechanism. It tells us when something in our body is damaged, and forces us into inactivity so energy can be diverted to healing. But sometimes pain can be counter-effective, hindering a person's ability to actively help themselves, so the brain effectively "turns down" those pain signals so relief can be effectively found. New research has identified where in the brain this natural painkilling system is controlled from, suggesting new pathways toward non-opioid painkillers.

.. Continue Reading Discovery of brain region that can ease pain paves way for non-opioid painkillers

Category: Science

Tags:

• Brain
• Cambridge University
• Pain
• Pain Relief

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Vodafone and Nokia to set up the first 4G network on the Moon

Cell coverage on Earth may not be as comprehensive as it could be, but that isn't stopping Vodafone and Nokia from setting up the first 4G network on the Moon. That may seem as pointless as opening a burger bar on Pluto, but there is a serious purpose behind it. The data-streaming network will provide communications support for an unmanned lander/rover mission by PTScientists scheduled to launch in 2019.

.. Continue Reading Vodafone and Nokia to set up the first 4G network on the Moon

Category: Space

Tags:

• Commercial
• Moon
• Nokia
• Vodafone

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To know your biological age ... check your urine?

It's easy to know your chronological age, as it's just the amount of time that has elapsed since you were born. However, what about your biological age – the amount that your body has physically aged, which varies from person to person? Well, according to a new study out of China, a simple urine test could tell you.

.. Continue Reading To know your biological age ... check your urine?

Category: Health & Wellbeing

Tags:

• Aging

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The Asus ZenFone 5 phones want to win on value if not originality

The phone launches continue to come thick and fast at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and Asus is the latest company to show off its wares. It's unveiled three new ZenFone models for 2018, one of which bears more than a slight resemblance to a flagship smartphone recently launched by Apple.

.. Continue Reading The Asus ZenFone 5 phones want to win on value if not originality

Category: Mobile Technology

Tags:

• Asus
• Mobile World Congress 2018
• Smartphones

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Depression may change the brain over time

Currently, clinical depression is treated in pretty much the same way, whether the patient has experienced it for a short time or over many years. According to Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), however, that may not be the right way to go, as a new study indicates that long-term depression physically alters the brain.

.. Continue Reading Depression may change the brain over time

Category: Health & Wellbeing

Tags:

• Brain
• Depression

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Ultra-thin coating makes "dumb" glass smart

There are already energy-saving "smart glass" windows that can be electronically tinted to block the sun's hot rays, thus reducing the need to run air-conditioning systems. Such systems still require electricity to operate, however. Now, scientists from Australia's RMIT University have developed a coating that allows existing glass to become smart … no power required.

.. Continue Reading Ultra-thin coating makes "dumb" glass smart

Category: Materials

Tags:

• Energy-efficient
• RMIT University
• smart glass

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