Scientists Remove HIV From A Human Immune Cell Using A New Gene-Editing Technique
Using the much-touted CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing method, scientists have demonstrated how they can edit HIV out of human immune cell DNA, and in doing so, can prevent the reinfection of unedited cells too. If you haven’t heard of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique before, get ready to hear a whole lot more about it in 2016, because it’s set to revolutionise … Continue reading
The Code that Took Astronauts to the Moon is Now Freely Available Online – Complete with ’60s Easter Eggs.
The programming code that controlled the flight software for Apollo 11 has been uploaded to the popular code sharing website GitHub for the first time. Not only does the uploaded code give current programmers a look into the past, it is also filled with pop culture references from the mid-1960s, making it somewhat of a time capsule. The code was … Continue reading
Astronomers Just Discovered a Morse Code Message in the Dunes of Mars
NASA has spotted a series of strange, dark dunes on Mars that look uncannily like the dots and dashes that make up Morse code. This isn’t the first time researchers have spotted this pattern in the sands of Mars, but thanks to its unique topography, this dune field – just south of the planet’s north pole – shows them in … Continue reading
Functioning Artificial ‘Brain’ Created From Circuitry
A team of German scientists has created a circuit that mimics the functions of the human brain without the use of computer processors. The team’s highly technical research has been published in Applied Physics Letters. The team created a circuit that features two oscillators which create periodic electrical impulses. Between the two oscillators is a network of special circuitry made … Continue reading
New Bill Will Let FBI Profile Your DNA
A DNA evidence bill that would let police in the field, not just technicians in an accredited lab, quickly test the genetic material of suspects has advanced to the House floor. The measure centers around a relatively new screening instrument the size of a printer, called Rapid DNA. The idea behind the technology is to swiftly clear innocents, detain criminals … Continue reading
‘Leap Second’ to Be Added on New Year’s Eve This Year To Compensate For Slowing Earth
A “leap second” will be added to the world’s official clocks on Dec. 31, 2016, to accommodate Earth’s gradually slowing rotation. Revelers will get to celebrate New Year’s Eve for a tiny bit longer than usual this year. A “leap second” will be added to the world’s official clocks on Dec. 31 at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds … Continue reading
Goats Would Make Good Pets, Say Scientists
Would you keep a goat as a pet? Goats are as loving and clever as dogs, say smitten scientists They may seem an unusual candidate for the title of man’s best friend, but scientists have suggested that goats could rival dogs in forming an emotional bond with their owners. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London aim to prove that … Continue reading
Dark Streaks on Mars May Indicate Flowing Water: Study
Recurring slope linae, dark streaks that change seasonally, on Martian slopes indicate presence of flowing water, according to a new study of thousands of such features in the red planet’s largest canyon system. The study investigated these warm-season features in the Valles Marineris region near Mars’ equator. Some of the sites displaying the seasonal flows are canyon ridges and isolated … Continue reading
Scientists Discover That Humans Have A “Magnetic 6th Sense” to Detect Something We Can’t See
It’s called magnetoreception, and it refers to the ability to perceive magnetic fields. Several animals use it to find their way over long distances by aligning themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field. Sea turtles. honeybees, spiny lobsters, dolphins, migratory birds, and more all have a magnetic compass which allows them to use the information that’s coded into magnetic fields. We … Continue reading
Consciousness: The Mind Messing With the Mind
A paper in The British Medical Journal in December reported that cognitive behavioral therapy — a means of coaxing people into changing the way they think — is as effective as Prozac or Zoloft in treating major depression. In ways no one understands, talk therapy reaches down into the biological plumbing and affects the flow of neurotransmitters in the brain. … Continue reading
