Posts tagged research

Fungi in the genus Ophiocordycepsare known to infest an ant’s brain, manipulating the ant to drunkenly wander along the rain-forest leaves before clamping its jaws around the main vein on the leaf’s underside mass grave, past research by Hughes found the ants are manipulated to clamp down on that leaf at high noon, though they don’t actually die until sunset, possibly a strategy that gives the fungus a long cool night during which it can burst from the ant’s head and begin growing its spore-releasing stalk.

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As per a research, which has been published in the PLoS Pathogens, it has been revealed that a team of researchers at California University, has developed cells, which can kills HIV-infected cells in a living organism.

They have genetically engineered stem cells, which in return can form into immune cells that targets HIV infected cells. Lead researcher Scott G Kitchen said that they are satisfied with the findings of their research and are sure that the research will act as a foundation stone for a medical application that can be used to treat HIV infection.

Kitchen said that they have engineered human blood stem cells and have discovered that these cells can develop into engineered human blood stem cells, which will further attack HIV in tissues. In order to reach at the above given conclusion, the study researchers prepared a humanized mouse in which the human HIV infection closely reflected.

They introduced genetically engineered cells in the mouse and noticed the developments in it for six weeks. Kitchen said that they found that T cells number reduced as levels of HIV in the blood was found to be decreasing.

“We believe that this study lays the groundwork for the potential use of this type of an approach in combating HIV infection in infected individuals, in hopes of eradicating the virus from the body”, said Kitchen.

(Source: futurenow321)

Researchers have come up with the most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity. Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players. GraphExeter could also be used for the creation of ‘smart’ mirrors or windows, with computerised interactive features. Since this material is also transparent over a wide light spectrum, it could enhance by more than 30 percent the efficiency of solar panels. Adapted from graphene, GraphExeter is much more flexible than indium tin oxide (ITO), the main conductive material currently used in electronics. ITO is becoming increasingly expensive and is a finite resource, expected to run out in 2017.

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Data collected from a NASA ice-watching satellite reveal that the vast ice shelves extending from the shores of  western Antarctica are being eaten away from underneath by ocean currents, which have been growing warmer even faster than the air above.

The animation above shows the circulation of ocean currents around the western Antarctic ice shelves. The shelf thickness is indicated by the color; red is thicker (greater than 550 meters), while blue is thinner (less than 200 meters).

Launched in January 2003, NASA’s ICESat (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite) studied the changing mass and thickness of Antarctica’s ice from its location in polar orbit. An international research team used over 4.5 million surface height measurements collected by ICESat’s GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimeter System) instrument from Oct. 2005 to 2008. They concluded that 20 of the 54 shelves studied nearly half were losing thickness from underneath.

(Source: futurenow321)

 A new Ground Systems Power and Energy Lab opening in Warren will help the U.S Army of tomorrow become a more fuel efficient fighting machine. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Wednesday at the new Army laboratory at TARDEC where technology such as fuel cells and hybrid systems for combat vehicles will be developed. Federal officials say the facility at the Detroit Arsenal is unique in that it brings together a number of high-technology testing capabilities in a single facility that can test vehicle components, systems and full vehicles, which will enable TARDEC to increase its collaboration with the Department of Energy, industry and academia. Among it’s features, the lab can simulate the desert heat of Afghanistan and a bone-chilling day in Antarctica and can transition between the extremes in temperatures in a matter of minutes.

(Source: futurenow321)

It’s tough being a pirate these days. Facing off with Navy SEALs and missile cruisers on their home turf of the high seas is tough enough for small-arms wielding pirates in diminutive watercraft. Now, the Navy isbringing in the robots . The Office of Naval Research has plans to imbue its Fire Scout unmanned, ship-launched helicopters with electronic brains capable of identifying the small boats generally used by pirates.

Computer vision of this kind is generally pretty difficult, as object recognition is a really tough computational task. But the pirate-hunting Fire Scout will have an additional piece of technology on its side: LIDAR . This “laser radar” technology bounces laser pulses off of surrounding objects to quickly and accurately render a 3-D image of its environment, even at a distance.

(Source: futurenow321)

Amid all the hype over the federal health care law before the Supreme Court, you might have missed this even more relevant news: The high court rejected an appeals court ruling allowing genes to be patented. The case involves two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer, patented by Myriad Genetics Inc.

The ruling is not a final decision, but sends the case back down to the district court for further action.

The Supreme Court said it threw out the appeals ruling in part because of a different SCOTUS ruling last week, in which it said laws of nature are unpatentable. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes for almost 30 years.

Either way, the final outcome will have major impacts on cancer research, personalized medicine and other gene-related medical fields

(Source: futurenow321.blogspot.com)

Russian and South Korean scientists have signed a deal on joint research intended to recreate a woolly mammoth, an animal which last walked the earth some 10,000 years ago. Stem cell scientists are now setting their sights on the extinct woolly mammoth, after there remains were discovered. The South Korean foundation said it would transfer technology to the Russian university, which has already been involved in joint research with Japanese scientists to bring a mammoth back to life.”This will be a really tough job, but we believe it is possible because our institute is good at cloning animals,” Hwang In-Sung said.

South Korean experts have previously cloned animals including a cow, a cat, dogs, a pig and a wolf.

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