NASA's mission to visit the asteroid 16 Psyched has been fast-tracked and should happen in 2026. The agency will look at but not extract metals from the $10,000 quadrillion asteroid, which is worth more than the global economy. NASA is fast-tracking a planned trip to 16 Psyche — an asteroid that almost completely consists of [...]
A major new European research prize, the first annual Frontiers Spotlight Award 2017, has been awarded to the editors of an exceptional research collection, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, on the augmentation of brain function. This research collection of almost 150 scientific articles covers all aspects of brain augmentation with notable implications [...]
From an article by Niamh Marriott: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announced financial support for the Human Cell Atlas, which uses sequencing technology to redefine every cell in the body… The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) has announced financial support for the Human Cell Atlas, which is using sequencing technology to redefine every cell in the body. [...]
From an article by Niamh Marriott: The test, developed by Alberta scientists, incorporates a unique nanotechnology platform to make the diagnostic using only a single drop of blood, and is significantly more accurate than current screening methods. The Extracellular Vesicle Fingerprint Predictive Score (EV-FPS) test uses machine learning to combine information from millions of cancer [...]
I’d like to think we’re smarter than the Sun. Let’s compare and contrast. Humans, on the one hand, have made enormous advances in science and technology, built cities, cars, computers, and phones. We have split the atom for war and for energy. What has the Sun done? It’s a massive ball of plasma, made up [...]
New research from the University of Liverpool, published in the journal Nanoscale, has probed the structure and material properties of protein machines in bacteria, which have the capacity to convert carbon dioxide into sugar through photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria are a phylum of bacteria that produce oxygen and energy during photosynthesis, similar to green plants. They are [...]
David Eagleman is the host of The Brain on PBS, as well as the author of the book of the same name. In this video, he tackles several fascinating subjects concerning your brain. If the brain is merely the hardware, could we emulate its software somewhere else? Could we simulate your version of consciousness on [...]
From an article by Philip Perry: A new 3D printed “Bionic Skin” developed at the University of Minnesota, is a stretchable, electronic fabric, which would allow robots to gain tactile sensation. The results of this study were published in the journal, Advanced Materials. Scientists have been dreaming of artificial skin since the 1970's. Thanks to [...]
From an article by Jessica Glenza in The Guardian: Researchers are developing tests that could make cancer detection so painless that it becomes part of routine check-ups, experts said, as new developments in such “liquid biopsy” technology were presented at the world’s largest cancer conference in Chicago this weekend. Collecting tumor tissue through biopsies is considered [...]
From nanowerknews.com: In the quantum world, our intuition for moving objects is strongly challenged and may sometimes even completely fail. Experimental physicists of the University of Innsbruck in collaboration with theorists from Munich, Paris and Cambridge have found a quantum particle which shows an intriguing oscillatory back-and-forth motion in a one-dimensional atomic gas. A ripe [...]
