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Site of Biggest ever Meteorite Collision in the UK discovered

Illustration of meteors streaking through Earth’s atmosphere (stock image).
Credit: © JohanSwanepoel / Adobe Stock

Scientists believe they have discovered the site of the biggest meteorite impact ever to hit the British Isles. Evidence for the ancient, 1.2 billion years old, meteorite strike, was first discovered in 2008 near Ullapool, NW Scotland by scientists from Oxford and Aberdeen Universities. The thickness and extent of the debris deposit they found suggested the impact crater – made by a meteorite estimated at 1km wide – was close to the coast, but its precise location remained a mystery.

In a paper published today in Journal of the Geological Society, a team led by Dr Ken Amor from the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford University, show how they have identified the cr...

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How Old are your Organs? To scientists’ surprise, organs are a mix of Young and Old Cells

Anatomy model with internal organs (stock image).
Credit: © Alexander Borisenko / Adobe Stock

Scientists discover cellular structures with extreme longevity, leading to insights for age-associated diseases. Scientists once thought that neurons, or possibly heart cells, were the oldest cells in the body. Now, Salk Institute researchers have discovered that the mouse brain, liver and pancreas contain populations of cells and proteins with extremely long lifespans – some as old as neurons. The team’s methods could be applied to nearly any tissue in the body to provide valuable information about lifelong function of non-dividing cells and how cells lose control over the quality and integrity of proteins and important cell structures during aging.

“We were quite surprised to find cellu...

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Mass Anomaly Detected under the Moon’s Largest Crater

Illustration of far side of the moon (stock image).
Credit: © dottedyeti / Adobe Stock

Discovery may contain metal from asteroid crash, Baylor University researcher says. A mysterious large mass of material has been discovered beneath the largest crater in our solar system – the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken basin – and may contain metal from the asteroid that crashed into the Moon and formed the crater, according to a Baylor University study.

“Imagine taking a pile of metal five times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii and burying it underground. That’s roughly how much unexpected mass we detected,” said lead author Peter B. James,

Ph.D., assistant professor of planetary geophysics in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences...

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Antennas of Flexible Nanotube Films an Alternative for Electronics

Metal-free antennas made of thin, strong, flexible carbon nanotube films are as efficient as common copper antennas, according to a new study by Rice University researchers. Photo by Jeff Fitlow

Viable competitor for copper in 5G wireless and other applications. Antennas made of carbon nanotube films are just as efficient as copper for wireless applications, according to researchers at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering. They’re also tougher, more flexible and can essentially be painted onto devices.

The Rice lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali tested antennas made of “shear-aligned” nanotube films...

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