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    Danger of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

    March 14, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Rice University researchers found vitamin B12 promotes survival during infection by improving mitochondrial health. The expression of a fluorescent protein (top left) reflects buildup of a toxic metabolic product, propionate, in mitochondria on diets low in B12, as compared (bottom left) to those receiving sufficient B12. Mitochondrially targeted fluorescent protein (center) reveals fragmentation of mitochondria when B12 is low, and dead worms stained with fluorescent dye (bottom right) demonstrate the decreased survival rate of worms infected by the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
    Credit: Natasha Kirienko/Rice University

    Direct link between low-B12 diet, increased risk of infection...

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    Bat Flight Model can Inspire Smarter, Nimbler Drones

    March 14, 2019, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    When a bat wing flaps, it forms swirling masses of air known as vortex rings
    Credit: University of British Columbia

    Engineers have captured the full complexity of bat flight in a 3D computer model for the first time, potentially inspiring the future design of better drones and other aerial vehicles. Bats are among nature’s best flyers – able to fly for long periods of time, maneouvre in mid-air with pinpoint precision and get into some very tight spaces. However, scientists have not fully understood exactly how bats manage to fly so well, until now.

    Engineers at the University of British Columbia have captured the full complexity of bat flight in a 3D computer model for the first time, potentially inspiring the future design of better drones and other aerial vehicles.

    Researcher...

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    What Scientists found after Sifting through Dust in the Solar System

    March 13, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    In this illustration, several dust rings circle the sun. These rings form when planets’ gravities tug dust grains into orbit around the sun. Recently, scientists have detected a dust ring at Mercury’s orbit. Others hypothesize the source of Venus’ dust ring is a group of never-before-detected co-orbital asteroids.
    Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith

    Two recent studies report discoveries of dust rings in the inner solar system: a dust ring at Mercury’s orbit, and a group of never-before-detected asteroids co-orbiting with Venus, supplying the dust in Venus’ orbit. Just as dust gathers in corners and along bookshelves in our homes, dust piles up in space too. But when the dust settles in the solar system, it’s often in rings...

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    Kepler Space Telescope’s first exoplanet candidate confirmed

    March 12, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Artist’s concept of a Kepler-1658-like system. Sound waves propagating through the stellar interior were used to characterize the star and the planet. Kepler-1658b, orbiting with a period of just 3.8 days, was the first exoplanet candidate discovered by Kepler nearly 10 years ago.

    Credit: Gabriel Perez Diaz/Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

    An international team of astronomers, led by University of Hawaii graduate student Ashley Chontos, announced the confirmation of the first exoplanet candidate identified by NASA’s Kepler Mission. The result was presented at the fifth Kepler/K2 Science Conference held in Glendale, CA.

    Launched almost exactly 10 years ago, the Kepler Space Telescope has discovered thousands of exoplanets using the transit method – small dips in a star’s brightness...

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