by Bennett Daviss Increasingly, scientists are viewing aging as a condition that can be slowed or perhaps even reversed. The newest evidence comes from the University of California at Berkeley, where scientists have identified a family of proteins that control much of the process. Medical research has found inflammation to be the root cause of...
Category: TRENDS IN HI-TECH SCIENCE
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UK REDEFINES AGRICULTURE
by Ben Daviss One of the first things the United Kingdom did after leaving the European Union was to scrap the EU’s farm subsidy policy and create what one Oxford economist calls an “agricultural revolution.” Under EU rules, farmers were paid for the amount of land they worked and the volume of crops they delivered....
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INSTANT HYDROGEN FOR ON-DEMAND POWER
by Ben Daviss Fuel cells are tantalizing as a vehicle engine. They run on hydrogen taken out of the air and their only exhaust is water. But the lingering problem has been getting the hydrogen: typically, an intricate chemical reaction is needed, making the process slower and more complicated, using more parts and power. Now...
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LIVING ROBOTS MADE FROM FROGS
by Ben Daviss Scientists continue to blur the line between living creatures and machines. Researchers at the University of Vermont and Tufts University took cells from frog embryos and configured them into living robots that can carry out assignments, such as traveling through arteries to scrape away plaque or picking up toxic molecules and ferrying...
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STUDY PREDICTS OCEAN-DRIVEN U.S. MIGRATIONS
A University of California study using artificial intelligence has predicted mass migration patterns away from U.S. coasts as ocean levels rise in the years ahead. If forecasts of sea-level rise, based on current rates, are accurate, 13 million people will need to evacuate U.S. coastal areas by 2100. The study combined those forecasts with population-change...
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2020 RETAIL TREND: FACIAL RECOGNITION
Retailers and shoppers believe that facial recognition will dominate retail innovations this year, according to a survey by CB Insights. Asia is the testbed. In Japan, the FamilyMart convenience store chain has opened a Yokohama store that uses cameras to log a customer’s purchases and then uses facial recognition software to identify the customer and...
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TURNING GARBAGE INTO GRAPHENE
Graphene – a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern – is a miracle material. It’s the best known conductor of heat and electricity; its strength for its size and thickness is unrivaled; and it has the potential to revolutionize everything from tennis racquets to medical devices. Adding a dash of graphene...
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BIG CHAIN “HEALTH HUBS” ON THE RISE
The retail giant Walmart is planning to open its second Health “super center” in Georgia this year. Walmart’s first Health center opened its doors last September in Dallas, GA. The 10,000-square-foot storefront offers primary care, lab work, X-rays and EKGs, optical and hearing services, mental health counseling, dental services, nutrition counseling, fitness guidance, and health...
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“SENOLYTIC” DRUG REVERSES KEY CAUSE OF AGING
As the human body ages, it accumulates a growing number of “senescent” cells that lose their ability to work properly or even go dormant. As more of these cells build up, the symptoms of ageing become more pronounced – everything from dementia to crepe-like skin. “Senolytic” drugs that could clear away senescent cells have been...
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IT’S ALIVE! (SORT OF)
Scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder have created a form of concrete that can reproduce and can heal itself if damaged. Beginning with a particularly robust strain of bacteria, researchers mixed the bugs with sand and a hydrogel holding water and nutrients to feed the microbes. As the bugs flourished and multiplied, they...