Science Tech Updates

Magma is the key to the Moon’s Makeup

May 3, 2019, Astronomy/Space

Snapshots of numerical modeling of the moon’s formation by a giant impact. The central part of the image is a proto-Earth; red points indicate materials from the ocean of magma in a proto-Earth; blue points indicate the impactor materials.
*Credit: Hosono, Karato, Makino, and Saitoh*

For more than a century, scientists have squabbled over how Earth’s moon formed. But researchers at Yale and in Japan say they may have the answer.

Many theorists believe a Mars-sized object slammed into the early Earth, and material dislodged from that collision formed the basis of the moon. When this idea was tested in computer simulations, it turned out that the moon would be made primarily from the impacting object...

Put down the Protein Shake: Variety of protein better for health

May 2, 2019, Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

Popular protein great for increasing muscle mass, but could reduce your life-span – researchers say to vary protein intake. Researchers have examined whether there are any ongoing ramifications or potential side-effects from long-term high protein intake or from consuming certain types of amino acids.

Led by academics from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, Professor Stephen Simpson and Dr Samantha Solon-Biet, suggests that while delivering muscle-building benefits, excessive consumption of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) may reduce lifespan, negatively impact mood and...

New Polymer Films conducting Heat instead of Trapping it

May 2, 2019, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

By mixing polymer powder in solution to generate a film that they then stretched, MIT researchers have changed polyethylene’s microstructure, from spaghetti-like clumps of molecular chains (left), to straighter strands (right), allowing heat to conduct through the polymer, better than most metals.
*Credit: Image courtesy of Gang Chen et al.*

Material may replace many metals as lightweight, flexible heat dissipators in cars, refrigerators, and electronics. Polymers are usually the go-to material for thermal insulation. Think of a silicone oven mitt, or a Styrofoam coffee cup, both manufactured from polymer materials that are excellent at trapping heat.

Now MIT engineers have flipped the picture of the standard polymer insulator, by fabricating thin polymer films that conduct heat – an...