Science

3-D Print Your Own Invisibility Cloak, And More!

"The invisibility cloak that makes you undetectable to radar was the height of metamaterial capability back in 2006. Now, according to the same researchers, you can print that cloak using an off-the-shelf 3-D printer in your living room… That gives you a good idea of how long an optical invisibility cloak could follow suit. And you will be able to make it from home. Not a bad Christmas present for the kids, eh? What once was the sole domain of science labs and military bases will have the letters DIY slapped on it. This is but one example of how the Click, Print, Anything Revolution will change the world." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3-D Print Your Own Invisibility Cloak, And More!

Beam me over, Scotty? A quantum leap in quantum teleportation.

"Recently, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) used entanglement to teleport information across a quarter inch. That sounds easy. After all, the internet sends information thousands of miles in fractions of a second. But this time, the information wasn't carried through the intervening space. Quantum computers are still only theoretical, but if engineering catches up with theory, then they could process enormously large datasets with blinding speed. This could make extraordinary things possible – even time travel, at least according to one hypothesis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBeam me over, Scotty? A quantum leap in quantum teleportation.

Fukushima scientists brace for riskiest nuclear fuel clean-up yet

"The operation, to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel beneath the plant’s damaged Reactor No. 4, could set off a catastrophe greater than any we have ever seen, independent experts warn. An operation of this scale, says plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company, has never been attempted before. An uncontrolled leak of nuclear fuel could cause more radiation than the March 2011 disaster or the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe. Here’s what needs to be done: more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies, packing radiation 14,000 times the equivalent of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb, need to carefully be removed from their cooling pool." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFukushima scientists brace for riskiest nuclear fuel clean-up yet

Scientists emerge after 4 months of space-cooking for simulated Mars mission

"The team lived in a mock-up of a Mars vehicle that was positioned on the side of a Hawaiian volcano, where they experimented with different instant foods and other provisions. For 118 days, Vermeulen and his five team members experimented with a variety of non-perishable ingredients and kept detailed journals of their health, well-being, weight and body mass to determine what foods would be best for a manned Mars mission. NASA recently awarded a $125,000 grant to a researcher who is exploring the possibilities of 3-D printing as a means of producing nutritious, non-perishable foods." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists emerge after 4 months of space-cooking for simulated Mars mission

Window coating electrically regulates heat and light passing through

"Scientists have created a window coating that can be switched electrically to regulate the amount of heat and light that enters a building. A team of molecular and material scientists from the United States and Spain created a transparent film using nanocrystals — microscopic clusters of atoms that can change the wavelength of light. The window is an electrochemical cell with two glass panes separated by an electrically conductive electrolyte liquid. But several issues must be fixed before the material can be used in windows — including replacing the highly flammable lithium metal used as a counter-electrode, and finding a solid electrolyte." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWindow coating electrically regulates heat and light passing through

10 Geniuses Who Used Drugs — And Their Drugs of Choice

"Is intelligence related to an increased likelihood of recreational drug use? It's an interesting hypothesis, and one that's been gaining momentum in recent years. If a definitive link between intellectual capacity and drug use does exist, it will likely be some time before anyone establishes one. Having said that, this much is for certain: history has more than its fair share of experimenting experimentalists. Let's meet 10 of history's most influential scientific and technological visionaries, along with their drugs of choice." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 Geniuses Who Used Drugs — And Their Drugs of Choice

Study Rejects Cell Phone Driving Danger Claims

"A study published in the August edition American Economic Journal rejects the commonly held view that the proliferation of cell phone use among the driving public has made travel more dangerous. Politicians have seized on the perception and outlawed driving while talking on a handheld cell phone in eleven states. The researchers began by posing a difficult question for politicians: Why has cell phone use skyrocketed at the same time that traffic accidents and fatalities are at an all-time low? The study found that fatal accident rates did not see either a short-term or a long-term drop in the states that adopted cell phone driving bans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy Rejects Cell Phone Driving Danger Claims

Scientists use new ‘computational cell biology’ to kill cancer cells by making them sick

"One doesn’t often think of cancer cells themselves being vulnerable to infections, but a team of scientists in Ottawa, Ontario is using advanced mathematical modeling to engineer viruses that will infect and destroy cancer cells. The team uses predictive modeling to investigate how treatment techniques and genetic modification might allow cancer-killing (oncolytic) viruses to overcome cancer cells’ anti-infection defenses and kill them. Kaern and Bell constructed a mathematical model of the process of infection of a cancer cell with an oncolytic virus, including how the virus would replicate, spread itself and override the cancer’s biological defenses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists use new ‘computational cell biology’ to kill cancer cells by making them sick

Questions and Answers About Cannabis – National Cancer Institute

"The use of Cannabis for medicinal purposes dates back at least 3,000 years. It came into use in Western medicine in the 19th century and was said to relieve pain, inflammation, spasms, and convulsions. Studies in mice and rats have shown that cannabinoids may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow. Laboratory and animal studies have shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQuestions and Answers About Cannabis – National Cancer Institute

New Study Finds THC Kills Stomach Cancer Cells

"A new study conducted by the the Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, and published in the journal Anticancer Research, has found promising evidence that THC may be the best medicine available to treat stomach cancer, especially when traditional medicine has been ineffective. During the study researchers used cancer cells that were resistant to chemotherapy, and dosed the cells with a synthetic form of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Researchers noted a drastic reduction in the survival rate of the cells that were exposed to the synthetic THC. Larger doses of THC led to higher rates of cancer cell death." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Study Finds THC Kills Stomach Cancer Cells