Science news

Biocomputer and Memory Built Inside Living Bacteria – IEEE Spectrum

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/biocomputer-and-memory-built-inside-living-bacteria Scientists have come up with two clever new ways to harness the programming power of DNA in living bacterial cells. In separate experiments published in Nature in July, researchers reported that they had successfully archived a movie and built a complex biological computer inside living E. coli cells.

How to build your own DIY makeshift levitation machine at home • The Register

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/16/engineers_show_how_to_construct_makeshift_acoustic_levitator/ Engineers at the University of Bristol in the UK have published a rough guide to building a simple levitation chamber that uses sound waves to suspend objects. A paper published in the Review of Scientific Instruments this month shows how it can be done within the confines of your own home lab. Using a 3D printer,

Researchers Embed Malware into DNA to Hack DNA Sequencing Software – IEEE Spectrum

http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/computing/software/researchers-embed-malicious-code-into-dna-to-hack-dna-sequencing-software This sounds like plot from scifi movie: University of Washington researchers successfully stored malware in synthetic DNA strands, and used it to gain control of the computer analyzing it. Researchers at the University of Washington have shown that by changing a little bit of computer code they can insert malware into a strand of

The scientific reason you don’t like LED bulbs

http://theconversation.com/the-scientific-reason-you-dont-like-led-bulbs-and-the-simple-way-to-fix-them-81639 Scientists used to think we could see no more than about 90 flashes of light a second but now we know it’s more like 2,000. During the eye movement, the flicker of light creates a pattern that we can see. It could discourage people from using more energy-saving LED lightbulbs. One obvious way of avoiding

Smart Contact Lenses and Eye Implants Will Give Doctors Medical Insights – IEEE Spectrum

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/smart-contact-lenses-and-eye-implants-will-give-doctors-medical-insights Poets say the eyes are a window to the soul. But biomedical engineers are using the eyes to gain insight into the body. They’re hard at work on futuristic-sounding technology that uses smart contact lenses and implantable lenses to diagnose, monitor, and treat a wide range of diseases.

Evidence for the Majorana fermion, a particle that’s its own antiparticle — ScienceDaily

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170720142321.htm In a discovery that concludes an 80-year quest, researchers found evidence of particles that are their own antiparticles. These ‘Majorana fermions’ could one day help make quantum computers more robust. Far in the future, Zhang said, Majorana fermions could be used to construct robust quantum computers that aren’t thrown off by environmental noise, which

Finnish diabetes vaccine trials to start in 2018 | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finnish_diabetes_vaccine_trials_to_start_in_2018/9730247 A vaccine for type 1 diabetes developed by Finnish researchers will be tested on mainly Finnish human subjects in late 2018. A virus may be behind a significant proportion of type 1 diabetes cases, which are especially common among children. Researchers are confident that an enterovirus that attacks the pancreas to destroy insulin-producing cells is

Turning electricity into food? – News – LUT

https://www.lut.fi/web/en/news/-/asset_publisher/lGh4SAywhcPu/content/turning-electricity-into-food- Did you know that it is possible to transform carbon dioxide and electricity into cattle feed and food for humans? Because it is. Using renewable electricity and carbon dioxide extracted from air, microbes can be used to produce a single cell protein that is over 50% protein and 25% carbohydrates, with the remaining part

These Four Lifestyle Changes Will Do More To Combat Climate Change Than Anything Else | IFLScience

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/these-four-lifestyle-changes-will-do-more-to-combat-climate-change-than-anything-else/all/ We’ve argued in the past that the most valuable thing you can do for climate advocacy is to vote for politicians that are pro-science and pro-environment. There are plenty of other things you can do too, but as highlighted in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the best courses of action are often rarely reported about. This may