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Category: innovation – Page 173

Breakthrough discovery of misbehaving muon challenges known laws of the physical universe

The New York Times Apr 09, 2021 17:29:04 IST

Evidence is mounting that a tiny subatomic particle seems to be disobeying the known laws of physics, scientists announced Wednesday, a finding that would open a vast and tantalizing hole in our understanding of the universe. The result, physicists say, suggests that there are forms of matter and energy vital to the nature and evolution of the cosmos that are not yet known to science.

“This is our Mars rover landing moment,” said Chris Polly, a physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, who has been working toward this finding for most of his career.

Should We Genetically Engineer Carbon-Hungry Trees?

“If you don’t do both, you’re not going to get very far,” he says. He wants to bring “carbon drawdown” technologies into the conversation with genetically modified trees.

Last year, DeLisi organized a workshop with a team of heavy hitters — Sir Richard Roberts (biochemist, Nobel laureate, and staunch advocate for GMOs), Val Giddings (a geneticist at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), and researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory — to create solutions, like genetically modifying carbon-hungry trees.

And they are close.

Breakthrough in electronic display fabrics could help pave the way for smart clothing

The fabric is about as bright as the average flat-screen TV. The researchers noted their prototype was also significantly more durable than conventional thin-film flexible displays, making it more suitable for practical use. The performance for most of the display remained stable after 1000 cycles of bending, stretching and pressing, and 100 cycles of washing and drying.

Scientists create model embryos, raising ethical questions

Australian researchers have created “model” human embryos from the skin cells of an adult’s arm, in a world-first scientific breakthrough that raises significant ethical questions.

The model embryos, created in a laboratory by researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University, do not use egg or sperm, but ordinary cells that are reprogrammed to replicate the first few days of human life.

When placed in a dish, the model embryos attach – much as embryos would in the uterus – and begin developing.

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