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Ancient enzymes the catalysts for new discoveries![]() Brisbane, Australia (SPX) Oct 23, 2018 University of Queensland-led research recreating 450 million-year-old enzymes has resulted in a biochemical engineering 'hack' which could lead to new drugs, flavours, fragrances and biofuels. Professor Elizabeth Gillam from UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said the study showed ancient enzymes could survive high temperatures and that this could help create chemicals cheaply and at scale. "We looked at how we could use a biological agent, like enzymes, to accelerate chemica ... read more |
Nerve-on-a-chip platform makes neuroprosthetics more effectiveLausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 24, 2018 Neuroprosthetics - implants containing multi-contact electrodes that can substitute certain nerve functionalities - have the potential to work wonders. They may be able to restore amputees' sense of ... more
Scientists grow functioning human neural networks in 3D from stem cellsBoston MA (SPX) Oct 19, 2018 A team of Tufts University-led researchers has developed three-dimensional (3D) human tissue culture models for the central nervous system that mimic structural and functional features of the brain ... more
New model helps define optimal temperature and pressure to forge nanoscale diamondsWashington DC (SPX) Oct 16, 2018 Nanodiamonds, bits of crystalline carbon hundreds of thousands of times smaller than a grain of sand, have intriguing surface and chemical properties with potential applications in medicine, optoele ... more
Russian Scientists Start Research on Impact of Zero-Gravity on HumansMoscow (Sputnik) Oct 11, 2018 The Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Biomedical Problems has initiated research on the influence of zero-G on the human body during flights to the Moon and back; around 20 people will engag ... more |
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Vaccinating humans to protect mosquitoes from malariaBuffalo NY (SPX) Oct 10, 2018 For decades, scientists have been trying to develop a vaccine that prevents mosquitoes from spreading malaria among humans. This unique approach - in which immunized humans transfer anti-malar ... more
100 years on, Spanish Flu holds lessons for next pandemicParis (AFP) Oct 8, 2018 It was the disease to end all others, infecting a third of humanity, killing tens of millions in their beds and prompting panicked talk of the end of days across continents still reeling from war. ... more
US calls ruling a defeat for Iran, ends treatyWashington (AFP) Oct 3, 2018 The United States on Wednesday called an international court ruling against its Iran sanctions a defeat for Tehran as it terminated a 1955 treaty on which the case was based. ... more
Animal study suggests deep space travel may significantly damage GI function in astronautsWashington DC (SPX) Oct 02, 2018 Simulations with animal models meant to mirror galactic cosmic radiation exposure to astronauts are raising red flags for investigators at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) about the healt ... more
Foreign drugs rare commodity in sanctions-hit IranTehran (AFP) Oct 4, 2018 "Talk of sanctions on Iran reemerged, and my essential medicine was no longer available," said Masoud Mir who suffers from thalassaemia, a genetic blood disease common in Iran. ... more |
![]() Researchers develop microbubble scrubber to destroy dangerous biofilms
With genetic tweak, mosquito population made extinctParis (AFP) Sept 24, 2018 Scientists said Monday they had succeeded for the first time in wiping out an entire population of malaria-carrying mosquitos in the lab using a gene editing tool to programme their extinction. ... more |
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China's doctor shortage prompts rush for AI health careShanghai (AFP) Sept 20, 2018 Qu Jianguo, 64, had a futuristic medical visit in Shanghai as he put his wrist through an automated pulse-taking machine and received the result within two minutes on a mobile phone - without a doctor present. ... more
Trump unveils revised US biodefense strategyWashington (AFP) Sept 18, 2018 US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy Tuesday aimed at reducing the risks of man-made and naturally occurring biological threats. ... more
UBC breakthrough opens door to $100 ultrasound machineVancouver, Canada (SPX) Sep 17, 2018 Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new ultrasound transducer, or probe, that could dramatically lower the cost of ultrasound scanners to as little as $100. Their patent ... more
Indonesia's quake-hit Lombok battles with malaria, 137 infectedMataram, Indonesia (AFP) Sept 16, 2018 A malaria outbreak has infected at least 137 people in Indonesia's West Lombok after the island was rocked by a series of earthquakes in recent months, an official said Sunday. ... more
Artificial synaptic device simulating the function of human brainSeoul, South Korea (SPX) Sep 13, 2018 A research team led by Director Myoung-Jae Lee from the Intelligent Devices and Systems Research Group at DGIST has succeeded in developing an artificial synaptic device that mimics the function of ... more |
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Gun violence sends 75,000 US youths to emergency rooms in 9 yrs: study Washington (AFP) Oct 29, 2018
Some 75,000 youths under the age of 18 were sent to US emergency rooms due to gun violence from 2006 to 2014, at a cost of some $2.5 billion, researchers said Monday.
That's the equivalent of around 8,300 cases per year, according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics.
The number of youths wounded by gunfire declined in the first years of the s ... more |
China launches twin BeiDou-3 satellites Xichang (XNA) Oct 16, 2018
China sent twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province, at 12:23 p.m. Monday.
The satellites are the 39th and 40th of the BeiDou navigation system, and the 15th and 16th of the BeiDou-3 family.
The launch was the 287th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
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Earliest hominin migrations into the Arabian Peninsula required no novel adaptations Jena, Germany (SPX) Oct 30, 2018
A new study, led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, suggests that early hominin dispersals beyond Africa did not involve adaptations to environmental extremes, such as to arid and harsh deserts.
The discovery of stone tools and cut-marks on fossil animal remains at the site of Ti's al Ghadah provides d ... more |
Tigers dwindling: just six sub-species remain, says study Tampa (AFP) Oct 25, 2018
Six different sub-species of tigers exist today, scientists confirmed Thursday, amid hopes the findings will boost efforts to save the fewer than 4,000 free-range big cats that remain in the world.
The six include the Bengal tiger, Amur tiger, South China tiger, Sumatran tiger, Indochinese tiger and Malayan tiger, said the report in the journal Current Biology.
Three other tiger subspeci ... more |
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15 emerging technologies that could reduce global catastrophic biological risks Baltimore MD (SPX) Oct 10, 2018
Strategic investment in 15 promising technologies could help make the world better prepared and equipped to prevent future infectious disease outbreaks from becoming catastrophic events.
This subset of emerging technologies and their potential application are the focus of a new report, Technologies to Address Global Catastrophic Biological Risks, by a team of researchers at the Johns Hopki ... more |
Who am I? Hunt for heritage drives Chinese to DNA tests Beijing (AFP) Oct 26, 2018
Chinese executive Miao Qing spits into a specially designed container, destined for a lab where her saliva will be analysed and sequenced, offering an insight into her genetic make-up and - more importantly - her ancestry.
A combination of factors - a lack of formal records or destruction during China's wars and the Cultural Revolution - have meant there are few ways for Chinese to trace ... more |
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New president to inherit a Mexico plagued with grisly violence Mexico City (AFP) Aug 7, 2018
In the middle of the street, corpses riddled with bullets. Underground, thousands of bodies heaped in clandestine graves. And in the mountains, drug gangs locked in armed conflict with the military.
These grim scenes have increasingly become the norm in Mexico, a country gripped by violence stemming from its war on drugs which since 2006 has seen more than 200,000 murders and 30,000 people g ... more |
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Japan, India agree new defence and economic projects Tokyo (AFP) Oct 29, 2018
Japan and India agreed Monday to upgrade diplomatic and military ties, with Tokyo also offering low-interest loans as the two countries seek closer ties to balance China's weight in the region.
The plans were announced as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi rounded out a three-day trip to Tokyo for talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, senior ministers, and local business leaders. ... more |
Gravitational waves could shed light on dark matter Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 24, 2018
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will enable astrophysicists to observe gravitational waves emitted by black holes as they collide with or capture other black holes. LISA will consist of three spacecraft orbiting the sun in a constant triangle formation.
Gravitational waves passing through will distort the sides of the triangle slightly, and these minimal distortions can be de ... more |
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Africa needs to beef up cyber security urgently: experts Abidjan (AFP) Oct 26, 2018
Africa is being increasingly targeted by hackers and must invest in cyber security, industry leaders said at the third Africa Cyber Security Conference closing Friday in Ivory Coast.
Although Africa is not a prime target, "cyber threats have no more borders" and data pirates "attack anything that moves", said Michel Bobillier, a leader of IBM's elite security unit, the Tiger Team.
"The c ... more |
Iranians find joy in serving pilgrims on road to Karbala Mehran, Iran (AFP) Oct 29, 2018
A 15-minute walk from the Iraqi border in the west Iranian town of Mehran, three young clerics are hard at work polishing the shoes of pilgrims.
Farther down the road another cleric stands on a chair holding a Koran over the heads of passing crowds, blessing them as they march in the thousands towards the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, central Iraq.
A tailor is also working diligent ... more |
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Pakistan frees Taliban leader after US talks with militants Islamabad (AFP) Oct 25, 2018
A top Taliban commander held in Pakistani detention for more than eight years has been freed, sources said Thursday, in an apparent move to aid tentative talks between the United States and the militant group.
The release of Abdul Ghani Baradar - the former right-hand man of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, who died in 2013 - came less than two weeks after US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with th ... more |
21 dead in east China mining accident Beijing (AFP) Oct 29, 2018
The death toll from a mining accident in east China rose to 21 on Monday after rescuers pulled two more bodies from the mine following a nine-day search, state media said.
The tunnel where 22 miners were working was blocked at both ends by coal after pressure caused rocks to fracture and break on October 20, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Only one miner was rescued alive. The caus ... more |
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Cypriot farmers fear no-deal Brexit may hit livelihoods Avd�mou, Cyprus (AFP) Oct 30, 2018
Olive farmer Andreas Fotiou steered carefully along a dusty lane in southwest Cyprus, en route from his village to nearby groves - locations that could have clashing trade regimes, post-Brexit.
He fears he could lose out on vital EU subsidies, and even be forced to pay crippling tariffs, if London and Brussels fail to finalise a withdrawal agreement or trade deal.
Fotiou is one of thous ... more |
Earth's Dust Cloud Satellites Confirmed London, UK (SPX) Oct 26, 2018
A team of Hungarian astronomers and physicists may have confirmed two elusive clouds of dust, in semi-stable points just 400,000 kilometres from Earth.
The clouds, first reported by and named for Polish astronomer Kazimierz Kordylewski in 1961, are exceptionally faint, so their existence is controversial. The new work appears in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ... more |
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