Lifeboat Foundation

The edge of a tectonic plate, one of the massive shelves of crust that carry the continents and ocean’s floor, is splitting right down the middle.

Scientists started to study the plate, located off the coast of Portugal, after it caused an unexpected earthquake and tsunami in 1969. They now suspect that they’re witnessing the birth of a new subduction zone, according to National Geographic, which is the point at which two plates collide and grind against each other, causing powerful earthquakes.

About 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis (TB) in 2017, making it the most lethal infectious disease worldwide. A growing rise in drug-resistant TB is a major obstacle to successfully treating the illness.

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Umea University in Sweden have found a compound that prevents and even reverses resistance to isoniazid, the most widely used antibiotic for treating tuberculosis.

The research, published the week of May 6 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted in bacteria growing in the lab, setting the stage for future studies in animals and people.

Continue reading “Drug-resistant tuberculosis reversed in lab” »

Study authors say the results don’t mean consumers should stop using sunscreen, but noted that more research needs to be done.

Android Q introduces a bunch of new features, while putting protections in place to provide even more transparency and control over your data.

Harvesters scale tall cliffs to collect this rare honey from Himalayan giant honeybees.

Circa 2016

Terahertz imaging can scan pages that would be too fragile to touch.

Continue reading “MIT uses radiation to read closed books” »

Coffee… mostly, I drink coffee.

A kindergartener once asked me, “why don’t you wear science clothes?” I gathered that she meant a lab coat. Then there is the utter surprise my neighbors show when I tell them—yes—I am on my way to work wearing sandals, shorts and a t-shirt. Take a moment and do a google image search of “scientist”. You have to scroll through several pages before you see a person not wearing a lab coat. So if I don’t wear a lab coat while staring into a beaker as if the colorful liquid inside contained a part of my soul, what do I do all day?

Continue reading “Just what does a postdoctoral theoretical physicist do all day?” »

The live haptic feedback reads off on-screen text for people who can’t make it out.

The ritual container, made of three fox snouts, contains the earliest known evidence of ayahuasca preparation.