Beetroot has been shown to be nature’s equivalent of a wonder drug, holding biochemicals that reduce blood pressure, ease inflammation, and boost white blood cell counts, among other feats. Now, researchers at the Medical University of Vienna have isolated a short-chain protein in beetroots that can cripple prolyl oligopeptidase, an enzyme that cuts up neuroprotective...
Category: TRENDS IN HI-TECH SCIENCE
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A NEW FUSION REACTOR TRIES AGAIN
Keeping hope alive after decades of false starts and failed attempts, scientists are firing up the latest redesign of a fusion energy reactor. Nuclear fusion smashes together hydrogen isotopes under such high temperatures they meld into one particle. Fusion releases vast energies; the sun is a giant, continuous fusion reaction. If humans could capture the...
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CELLULAR “TRASH BAGS” FOUND TO PROTECT HEARTS UNDER ATTACK
Extracellular vesicles (EVs), once thought to be the trash bags of the cellular world, have been found to play a key role in helping heart cells survive a heart attack – a discovery that will expand research into the biological role of molecules once thought insignificant. Originally, the vesicles were seen as the way cells...
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U.S. GOES LONG ON AI & QUANTUM SCIENCE
The U.S. will invest $765 million through 2024 to establish 12 research centers in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum information science, including quantum computing, according to a Trump administration announcement. Quantum information science exploits quirks of quantum mechanics to create computers and similar devices that can operate exponentially faster than current designs. Google, IBM, Intel,...
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NEW IMMUNE CELL MAY REVERSE NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE
Researchers from the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University have discovered a previously unknown immune cell that may not only halt neurological damage by diseases such as multiple sclerosis and ALS but also repair the damage the illnesses already have done. The cell is a member of the family of neutrophils, immune cells...
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MEDICAL LAB IN A BAND-AID
A translucent strip the size of a Band-Aid and embedded with electrochemical sensors can detect the presence of various substances and chemical signals in the body by analyzing sweat. The “lab on a strip” was developed by researchers at four Brazilian universities and the country’s Center for Research in Energy and Materials. The strip itself...
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REVIVING NUCLEAR POWER
Attempting to bring the nuclear power industry back to life, the U.S. Energy Department’s “Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program” has chosen two novel designs to receive up to $1.6 billion in funding to put them into operation by 2028. Terrapower, a U.S. company, has partnered with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to build its “Natrium” reactor, which...
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RETURN OF THE DUST BOWL
Dust storms across the U.S. central plains states have become more frequent and intense over the last 20 years, according to a study by multi-disciplinary team of meteorologists and atmospheric scientists. Andy Lambert, a meteorologist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, noticed the trend when he reviewed satellite data about atmospheric dust and haze. He...
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A NEW KIND OF ATOMIC POWER
Graphene, a sheet of carbon just one atom thick, is used for everything from cooling cell phone batteries to contactless key cards to making ink. Now researchers at the University of Alabama have proposed to use it as a power generator. Sheets of graphene ripple at room temperature as heat affects the microscopically thin material...
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SWEDEN: THE FUTURE OF ENERGY?
In a world moving away from fossil fuels, Sweden is demonstrating a workable path in that direction. A majority of the country’s homes are connected to one of more than 500 “district heating” systems, which generates heat in a central plant and pipes it to a network of buildings. Homes can still regulate their own...