NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson performed the Genes in Space-3 investigation aboard the space station using the miniPCR and MinION, developed for previously flown investigations. Credits: NASA

Being able to identify microbes in real time aboard the International Space Station, without having to send them back to Earth for identification first, would be revolutionary for the world of microbiology and space exploration. The Genes in Space-3 team turned that possibility into a reality this year, when it completed the first-ever sample-to-sequence process entirely aboard ISS. Results from their investigation were published in Scientific Reports.

The ability to identify microbes in space could aid in the ability to diagnose and treat astronaut ailments in real time, as well as assisting in the ide...

Team of researchers from the Gandia campus of Valencia’s Polytechnic University and the La Fe Health Investigation Institute have developed the Moosy 23 eNose

In much the same way as dogs can be trained to detect some diseases through their keen sense of smell, technology can help create electronic devices capable of performing this same task. This is precisely what Gandia campus of Valencia’s Polytechnic University and La Fe Health Investigation Institute have achieved, developing a prototype of an electronic nose that can distinguish between patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Moosy 32 eNose -can also tell whether the disease is active, with close to 90% accuracy...

Figure 1. (a) Three-dimensional crystal structure of YbSi2, (b) view along the a-axis, and (c) along the c-axis. (© 2017 Kurosaki et al. Phys. Status Solidi RRL 2017, 1700372. doi: 10.1002/pssr.201700372)

Researchers create a thermoelectric material (ytterbium silicide) with a high power factor at room temperature. TE materials display the thermoelectric effect: apply heat on one side, and an electric current starts to flow. Conversely, run an external current through the device, and a temperature gradient forms; i.e., one side becomes hotter than the other. By interconverting heat and electricity, TE materials can be used as either power generators (given a heat source) or refrigerators (given a power supply).

The ideal TE material combines high electrical conductivity, allowing the curr...

A multiwavelength false-color image of the “Toothbrush” cluster of galaxies, 1RXS J0603.3+4214. The intensity in red shows the radio emission, blue is X -ray, and the background color composite is optical emission. Astronomers studying the cluster with new radio observations combined with other wavelengths have been able to confirm the galaxy merger scenario and estimate the magnetic field strength in the shocks. Credit: van Weeren et al.

Most galaxies lie in clusters containing from a few to thousands of objects. Our Milky Way, for example, belongs to a cluster of about fifty galaxies called the Local Group whose other large member is the Andromeda galaxy about 2.3 million light-years away...