An InFusion of hope : Towards a cleaner planet Earth
In November 2015, Germany switched on the WX7 stellarator, their billion dollar nuclear fusion machine and produced stable helium plasma for the very first time. Just 3 months after their initial success, the German physicists were able to produce and sustain hydrogen plasma for the first time. The generation of hydrogen plasma is an important step towards carrying out nuclear fusion, a process where two … Continue reading An InFusion of hope : Towards a cleaner planet Earth
Water Beneath Our Feet
Scientists recently estimated the volume and ages of groundwater using a combination of chemical measurements and mathematical models. The authors of the study compiled measurements of levels of tritium, the radioactive form of the element hydrogen, to estimate groundwater age. High tritium levels correspond to water that was exposed to nuclear testing in the past 50 years, or “young” water. The team found that about … Continue reading Water Beneath Our Feet
Tubular
These images show cross sections of the different compartments of the developing gut in a chick embryo: esophagus (top), small intestine (middle), and large intestine (bottom), at days 6, 8, 10, and 14 (left to right). As the chick develops, the shape of the gut changes from a simple tube to a more complex form with specific surface folding patterns. The way the surface is … Continue reading Tubular
Can scientists prove that Zika virus causes microcephaly?
by Nathan Schauer figures by Daniel Utter Zika virus (ZIKV) has recently transformed from a relatively unknown tropical disease to a worldwide public health emergency. This crisis is due to emerging evidence that ZIKV causes microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), two neuronal disorders with severe symptoms. By now, SITN[1] and others[2][3][4] have reported that ZIKV may be linked to these two disorders, but the process … Continue reading Can scientists prove that Zika virus causes microcephaly?
Discovery of New Bacterium Further Muddles Lyme Disease Diagnosis
The already thorny process of diagnosing Lyme disease may have just gotten even hazier. Lyme is a tick-borne illness that afflicts hundreds of thousands of people every year with a rash of debilitating symptoms. Three species of bacteria are known to cause the disease in Europe, but only one (Borrelia burgdorferi) lives in North America. However, after studying over 100,000 samples from American patients … Continue reading Discovery of New Bacterium Further Muddles Lyme Disease Diagnosis
Research into our sense of touch leads to new treatments for autism
by Emily Kuehn figures by Kaitlyn Choi When you think about your five senses what is the one you most fear to lose? Informal polling of my friends and family shows that most people don’t want to lose their vision. To be fair, we rely heavily on our sight, but most people don’t even consider what it might be like to lose their sense of … Continue reading Research into our sense of touch leads to new treatments for autism
LIGO and Gravitational Waves: Discovery of the Century
The Twitter rumors are true! In what some scientists are calling the discovery of the century, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) finally announced the first direct observation of gravitational waves. Until a few days ago, gravitational waves were the only untested prediction of General Relativity. In General Relativity, space and time are not fixed. Spacetime curves around the matter and energy in the universe, … Continue reading LIGO and Gravitational Waves: Discovery of the Century
Were the First Animals Sponge-Like?: Complexity in the animal tree of life
by Tauana Junqueira Cunha If we could travel back in time 540 million years, what would the first animals look like? This is one of the longstanding questions scientists aim to answer in the study of how animals evolved and became distinct from their unicellular relatives. To answer it, we need to know how modern animals are related to each other, what order they appeared … Continue reading Were the First Animals Sponge-Like?: Complexity in the animal tree of life
Melioidosis: Über-neglected and potentially über-dangerous
Melioidosis is so unknown and underfunded that to call it a “neglected tropical disease” would be an euphemism. In most of the world melioidosis is seen as an “imported disease” and correct diagnosis often depends on analyzing the patient’s last vacation destination. However, a recently published Nature Microbiology study suggests that the global distribution of melioidosis’ causative agent Burkholderia pseudomallei is significantly vaster and the … Continue reading Melioidosis: Über-neglected and potentially über-dangerous
Why is Antarctica’s Ice Sheet Growing in a Warming World?
by Jordan Wilkerson figures by Michael Gerhardt When someone asks you to consider the impacts of climate change, what do you think of? There’s a good chance that melting ice sheets comes to mind pretty quickly. For that reason, a recent finding regarding the trend in Antarctic ice is quite perplexing; the ice sheet is reportedly increasing in size! This is according to a research … Continue reading Why is Antarctica’s Ice Sheet Growing in a Warming World?