Is the future of deep-sea exploration soft? Researchers have developed a new type of soft robot designed to cope with the crushing pressures at the bottom the ocean. Inspired by the skull of the Mariana Snailfish, the deepest living fish, the researchers distributed their robot’s electronics, creating a machine that can withstand extreme pressure.
Tag Archives: Science
Covid-19: ‘Intranasal Vaccines’ Might Be More Effective Than Needles
From Scientific American (March 1, 2021):
Enter the intranasal vaccine, which abandons the needle and syringe for a spray container that looks more like a nasal decongestant. With a quick spritz up the nose, intranasal vaccines are designed to bolster immune defenses in the mucosa, triggering production of an antibody known as immunoglobulin A, which can block infection. This overwhelming response, called sterilizing immunity, reduces the chance that people will pass on the virus.
The development of highly effective COVID vaccines in less than a year is an extraordinary triumph of science. But several coronavirus variants have emerged that could at least partly evade the immune response induced by the vaccines. These variants should serve as a warning against complacency—and encourage us to explore a different type of vaccination, delivered as a spray in the nose. Intranasal vaccines could provide an additional degree of protection, and help reduce the spread of the virus.
Covid-19: ‘The Evolving Science Of Masks’ (Video)
How can you tell if the mask you’re wearing is protective enough against the coronavirus? Correspondent David Pogue volunteers as a test subject to see how N95s work and learns about the science of face coverings.
Covid-19 Infographic: ‘mRNA & Viral Vector Vaccine’ Differences
TOP JOURNALS: RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM SCIENCE MAGAZINE (FEB 26, 2021)
Science Podcast: Inside A Proton, Cold Genes & Growing Small Intestines
The surprising structure of protons, and a method for growing small intestines for transplantation.
In this episode:
00:45 Probing the proton’s interior
Although studied for decades, the internal structure of the proton is still throwing up surprises for physicists. This week, a team of researchers report an unexpected imbalance in the antimatter particles that make up the proton.
Research Article: Dove et al.
News and Views: Antimatter in the proton is more down than up
07:08 Research Highlights
How an inactive gene may help keep off the chill, and Cuba’s isolation may have prevented invasive species taking root on the island.
Research Highlight: Impervious to cold? A gene helps people to ward off the chills
Research Highlight: Marauding plants steer clear of a communist-ruled island
09:48 A new way to grow a small intestine
Short Bowel Syndrome is an often fatal condition that results from the removal of the small intestine. Treatment options are limited to transplantation, but donor intestines are hard to come by and can be rejected by the body. Now researchers may have developed a method to grow a replacement small intestine using stem cells and a small section of colon.
Research Article: Sugimoto et al.
15:50 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the landing of Perseverance on Mars, and the researchers speaking with lucid dreamers.
Nature News: Mars video reveals Perseverance rover’s daring touchdown
Nature News: Touch down! NASA’s Mars landing sparks new era of exploration
Science: ‘Why Viruses Are Necessary For Life’ (Video)
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Medicine: Scientists Grow ‘Mini-Organs’ To Repair Damaged Human Livers
Scientists have used a technique to grow bile duct organoids – often referred to as ‘mini-organs’ – in the lab and shown that these can be used to repair damaged human livers. This is the first time that the technique has been used on human organs. Funding provided by European Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research and the Academy of Medical Sciences
Science Podcast: Covid Questions Answered, Rocky Planet Formation
Science Staff Writer Jon Cohen joins host Sarah Crespi to take on some of big questions about the COVID-19 vaccines, such as: Do they stop transmission? Will we need boosters? When will life get back to “normal.”
Sarah also talks with Anders Johansen, professor of planetary sciences and planet formation at the University of Copenhagen, about his Science Advances paper on a new theory for the formation of rocky planets in our Solar System. Instead of emerging out of ever-larger collisions of protoplanets, the new idea is that terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars formed from the buildup of many small pebbles.
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