RNA in blood reveals signs of pre-eclampsia before symptoms occur, and the issue of urine in our sewage and what can be done about it.
In this episode:
00:46 Predicting pre-eclampsia
Cell-free RNA circulates in the blood and can give clues as to what is going on in the body. This can be used to detect disease before symptoms occur. Now researchers have analysed cell-free RNA in pregnant people and have found it can give early warning signs of a serious, and sometimes fatal, disorder of pregnancy — pre-eclampsia.
Research Article: Moufarrej et al.
07:19 Research Highlights
Upgrading machine vision by modelling it on human eyes, and stacked skeletons which could show attempts at repair after European tomb raiders.
Research Highlight: Retina-like sensors give machines better vision
Research Highlight: ‘Spines on posts’ hint at ancient devotion to the dead
09:55 The problems of pee
Sewage and the way it is managed can cause serious problems, for example contaminants in waste can lead to harmful algal blooms. One of the major causes of this is urine, and so some researchers have been promoting a deceptively simple solution — separate out the urine.
News Feature: The urine revolution: how recycling pee could help to save the world
Book Review: Toilets – what will it take to fix them?
16:40 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how China has planned to make this year’s Winter Olympics carbon neutral, and how a new radio telescope in Namibia will help us understand black holes.
Nature News: China’s Winter Olympics are carbon-neutral — how?
Nature News:
Migrations are a key to survival in the marine ecosystem. From whales and turtles to sardines, by travelling to different locations, nektonic animals stand better chances of finding food or a suitable place to breed and raise their young. In this video, we’ll take a look at the migrations of nektonic organisms – animals that are able to actively swim and can undertake large-scale journeys around the world, covering larger distances than plankton and their predators.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 01:10 – Chapter 1: Nektonic Adaptations – Why Animals Migrate 02:05 – Chapter 1: Nektonic Adaptations – Marine Mammals 02:35 – Chapter 1: Nektonic Adaptations – Migratory Fish 03:00 – Chapter 2: In Search of Sanctuary – The Sea Turtle Migration 04:04 – Chapter 2: In Search of Sanctuary – The Whale Migration 04:56 – Chapter 2: In Search of Sanctuary – The Whale Nursing Period 05:40 – Chapter 3: The Sardine Run – A Plentiful Feast 06:45 – Chapter 3: The Sardine Run – Nektonic Invertebrates 07:13 – Conclusion
“It’s Cretaceous crime scene work: We have a body — how did it get here?” Kelsie Abrams, Fossil Lab Manager for the UW’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, left her climate-controlled lab to wield jackhammers and shovels on a dusty hillside of the Hell Creek Formation in remote eastern Montana, possibly the best place in the world to find fossils from the Late Cretaceous. In this short film, follow Abrams and the dig team from the field to the lab, as they unravel mysteries from the end of the age of dinosaurs.
Boomers Daily 