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    New Hubble Measurements Confirm Universe is Expanding Faster than Expected

    April 26, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    This is a ground-based telescope’s view of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The inset image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals one of many star clusters scattered throughout the dwarf galaxy.
    Credit: NASA, ESA, Adam Riess, and Palomar Digitized Sky Survey

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    The new measurements, published April 25 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, reduce the chances that the disparity is an accident from 1 in 3,000 to only 1 in 100,000 and suggest that new physics may be needed to better understand the cosmos.

    “This mismatch has been growing and has now reached a point that is really impossible to dismiss as a fluke...

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    Scientists reproduce Complete Copy of ‘Anti-Tumor Antibiotic’

    April 26, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Chromoprotein on Kedarcidin, a complex ‘anti-tumour’ antibiotic which scientists have reproduced it synthetically in the lab for the first time.
    Credit: Professor Martin Lear, University of Lincoln

    Breakthrough reveals new ways to combat drug-resistant bacteria and fight cancer. After 20 years of dedicated research, scientists have cracked the chemical code of an incredibly complex ‘anti-tumour antibiotic’ known to be highly effective against cancer cells as well as drug-resistant bacteria, and have reproduced it synthetically in the lab for the first time.

    This major breakthrough and world-first could hail a new era in the design and production of new antibiotics and anticancer agents.

    The ‘super substance’ – kedarcidin – was discovered in its natural form by a pharmaceutical c...

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    Artificial Mother-of-Pearl created using Bacteria

    April 26, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Biology/Biotechnology, Environment/Geology

    This abalone shell is a natural form of nacre — also known as mother-of-pearl — an exceptionally tough material found in shells and pearls. Rochester biologists have developed an innovative method for creating nacre in the lab — and maybe on the moon.
    Credit: University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

    A biologist invented an inexpensive and environmentally friendly method for making artificial nacre using an innovative component: bacteria. The artificial nacre is made of biologically produced materials and has the toughness of natural nacre, while also being stiff and, surprisingly, bendable. The method used to create the novel material could lead to new applications in medicine, engineering – and even constructing buildings on the moon.

    The impressive mechanical properties of...

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    Largest Collection of Coral Reef Maps ever made

    April 25, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space, Environment/Geology

    Viewing coral reefs from above reveals much about their health and structure. Repeated observations through time can be used to track change. Regional-scale reef mapping is a key precursor for conservation of this imperiled ecosystem.
    Credit: Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation

    New global atlas offers new way to map coral reefs from space. Scientists offer a new way to accurately map coral reefs using a combination of Earth-orbiting satellites and field observations. This first-ever global coral reef atlas contains maps of over 65,000 square kilometers (25,097 square miles) of coral reefs and surrounding habitats.

    The maps, published today in the journal Coral Reefs, are the result of a 10-year Global Reef Expedition by scientists for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foun...

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