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    Mars Rover Curiosity makes 1st Gravity-Measuring Traverse on the Red Planet

    February 2, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    In a selfie taken in mid-January 2019, Mars rover Curiosity prepares to enter a new, clay-mineral-rich unit on its traverse up Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. Mission scientists are anxious to see what a new gravity-measuring technique will reveal about the mountain and Gale Crater’s history.
    Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

    A clever use of non-science engineering data from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has let a team of researchers, including an Arizona State University graduate student, measure the density of rock layers in 96-mile-wide Gale Crater. The findings, to be published February 1, 2019, in the journal Science, show that the layers are more porous than scientists had suspected...

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    Self-Growing Materials that Strengthen in Response to Force

    February 2, 2019, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    A double-network hydrogel (i). After stretching (ii), brittle sections break, allowing a generation of mechanoradicals, indicated by color change (iii).
    Credit: Gong J. P. et al., Mechanoresponsive self-growing hydrogels inspired by muscle training, Science, February 1, 2019

    A strategy inspired by the process responsible for muscle growth could lead to the development of stronger, longer-lasting materials. Hokkaido University researchers have developed a strategy to fabricate materials that become stronger in response to mechanical stress – mimicking skeletal muscle growth. Their findings, published in the journal Science, could pave the way for long-lasting materials that can adapt and strengthen based on surrounding conditions.

    The strategy was inspired by the process that makes ...

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    To Sleep, perchance to Heal: Newly discovered Gene governs need for slumber when Sick

    February 1, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    This is an image of a fruit that fly has been infected with bacteria, showing nemuri expression (green) in the brain — a single neuron and its projections on either side of the brain.
    Credit: Amita Sehgal, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Science

    Direct link between illness and the need for more sleep. Humans spend nearly one-third of their lives in slumber, yet sleep is still one of biology’s most enduring mysteries. Little is known about what genetic or molecular forces drive the need to sleep – until now. In a study of over 12,000 lines of fruit flies, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found a single gene, called nemuri, that increases the need for sleep. These findings are published today in Science.

    The ...

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    Fasting Ramps up Human Metabolism, study shows

    February 1, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    A study by the G0 Cell Unit and Kyoto University researchers suggests that fasting, which puts the body in ‘starvation mode,’ leads to fuel substitution, antioxidation, increased mitochondrial activation and altered signal transduction.
    Credit: OIST

    Fasting may help people lose weight, but new research suggests going without food may also boost human metabolic activity, generate antioxidants, and help reverse some effects of aging. Scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and Kyoto University identified 30 previously-unreported substances whose quantity increases during fasting and indicate a variety of health benefits.

    “We have been researching aging and metabolism for many years and decided to search for unknown health effects in human ...

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