Electrical cables made of living bacteria
Cable bacteria are made of of thousands of cells that form centimeter-long conductive fibers, and can potentially replace implantable electronics and enable new bio-electronic applications. Read Anqi Zhang’s article to learn more about cable bacteria! Continue reading Electrical cables made of living bacteria
October 9 – America’s Next Top Neuron: How microscopic competition shapes our brains
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 9th Location: Armenise Amphitheater at Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston (link to directions) Speakers: Vicky Chou and Kevin Dervishi Graphics: Vicky Chou What do The Bachelor, America’s Got Talent, Hell’s Kitchen, and your brain have in common? They all need competition to work properly! Competition drives our development in ways that confused scientists for years. In this talk, we’ll learn about … Continue reading October 9 – America’s Next Top Neuron: How microscopic competition shapes our brains
Back in Black: The New Blackest Material
Engineers at MIT have developed the blackest material to date by growing carbon nanotubes on an aluminum surface. The treated aluminum structure additionally has improved electrical properties and the synthesis process can be easily scaled for a number of applications. Continue reading Back in Black: The New Blackest Material
Using Chimeric Proteins to Fight Type II Diabetes
Type II diabetes is a rising global epidemic without any current treatments. But scientists have designed an interesting chimeric protein that aims to increase insulin sensitivity in patients and thereby provide a potential cure. Continue reading Using Chimeric Proteins to Fight Type II Diabetes
Super Heavy Star Found
Scientists find the heaviest neutron star known to man – and it’s helping us understand when black holes form. Continue reading Super Heavy Star Found
The Neuroscience of Thirst: How your brain tells you to look for water
by Michelle Frank figures by Jovana Andrejevic You’ve undoubtedly experienced the feeling of thirst: it’s a slight itch in the back of your throat, a distracting urge to turn away from whatever you’re doing and find something to drink. It drives you to guzzle water on hot days and to drink something along with your meals. Our need for water is as omnipresent and critical … Continue reading The Neuroscience of Thirst: How your brain tells you to look for water
The Microplastics Crisis–You are the first responder
by Kevin Dervishi Imagine you’re outside running errands, and you see a jogger trip over a sneaky curb. A bad situation becomes worse when that jogger hits their head on the way down (that mailbox just had to be there) and they’re lying unconscious at your feet. Although there are other people out and about, you’re the only one in the immediate vicinity. Your heart … Continue reading The Microplastics Crisis–You are the first responder
The Next Gold Rush: Mining in the deep sea
by Isabella Grabski figures by Abagail Burrus Your next smartphone might be made of materials from an unlikely source: the deep sea. Our current manufacturing practices are depleting terrestrial deposits of important metals like copper, aluminum, and manganese, but the demand for these materials shows no sign of slowing down. They’re not only useful for emails and Instagram – these metals also play a key role … Continue reading The Next Gold Rush: Mining in the deep sea
Living in a World of Extreme Droughts, Floods, and Storms
by Tianjia Liu cover image by Elayne Fivenson A new normal in an intensifying global water cycle While humans have long adapted to regimes of water scarcity or excess, we are underprepared for extreme events — the “mega” droughts, storms, and floods that used to occur once in a hundred or thousand years. But in this decade alone, we witnessed hot, cracked earth in California … Continue reading Living in a World of Extreme Droughts, Floods, and Storms
Nature-Inspired Technology Can Help Combat Looming Water Shortages
by Aparna Nathan In January 2018, Cape Town, South Africa started counting down toward “Day Zero.” It wasn’t the end of the world, but it was similarly apocalyptic: the day that the city would run out of water completely. Through discipline and technological advances, the city was able to avoid catastrophe. But that’s not the last we’ll see of water crises, and like Cape Town, … Continue reading Nature-Inspired Technology Can Help Combat Looming Water Shortages