A novel technology involving use of stem cells, developed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers, has been applied to provide better and rapid healing for patients suffering from complicated bone fractures. The technology, involving isolation of the stem cells from bone marrow, was developed by Dr. Zulma Gazit, Dr. Gadi Pelled, Prof. Dan Gazit and …
Science Fiction author and blogger Charlie Stross has an article about the myth of the starship Yes, I think human interstellar exploration (and yes, maybe even colonization) might be possible, after a fashion. But to get there, we’re going to have to master at least two entire technological fields that don’t yet exist, even before …
This is a follow up to the Idaho National Labs achieving 19% burn of pebble fuel Pebble bed fuel could theoretically achieve 65% burn, but would require highly enriched fuel. Dr. Dave Petti [Laboratory Fellow, Director Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office (TDO)] Currently our plans to do include going to those ultra …
Clive Crook at the Atlantic reviews the continuing Climategate coverage. The closed-mindedness of these supposed men of science, their willingness to go to any lengths to defend a preconceived message, is surprising even to me. The stink of intellectual corruption is overpowering. One theme, in addition to those already mentioned about the suppression of dissent, …
Carnival of Space 131 is up at Starrycritters This site provided the article about dark matter rockets and whether the universe was customized for blackhole spaceship travel Weirdwarp looks at moving the Earth using a disc-shaped sail 19.2 times the Earth’s diameter. It would have to be tilted at an angle of 35° to the …
Time Magazine: Bookended by 9/11 at the start and a financial wipeout at the end, the first 10 years of this century will very likely go down as the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post–World War II era. * 9/11* Y2K, dot.bomb, credit crisis * Enron, Madoff* Asian Tsunami, …
MIT students develop concept for color-changing roof tiles that absorb heat in winter, reflect it in summer. It’s no small matter. In fact, Chu says that turning all the world’s roofs white would eliminate as much greenhouse gas emissions in 20 years as the whole world produces in a year. But some critics point out …
Oil demand this September rose 2.9 percent to 18.362 million bpd, but was revised down 518,000 bpd from a previous estimate, the EIA said in its monthly petroleum supply report. U.S. oil production averaging 5.268 million barrels per day (b/d) through October, the gain in U.S. output will be the most since the country produced …
Ray Villard, at Discover Channel blogs, about NASA’s WISE mission (Wide Infrared Survey Explorer). Ray predicts two potentially news breaking headlines from WISE (and no doubt there will be other stories too). The first would be the discovery of an entirely new class of dark astronomical object that has previously escaped detection. Since I can’t …
Cell mates: This microfluidics chip (top) contains 1,536 minute wells, each designed to force contact between two fluorescently labeled cells. An immune cell and a tumor cell are forced into contact inside a single well of a microfluidics chip (bottom). The setup allows researchers to identify, isolate, and study immune cells with particularly potent anticancer …
Between them, Brazil, China and India account for half the world’s poorest people and an even bigger share of those who have escaped poverty. In 1981, 84% of China’s population was below the poverty line of $1.25 a day (in 2005 prices); in 2005 the share was just 16%. Brazil’s share of those in poverty …