Richard Moss

Synaptic bridges help brain cells communicate

Richard Moss — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 14:07:52 GMT

A technology called single-molecule imaging has enabled scientists at the University of Maryland to identify the architecture of synapses – the tiny junctions that connect neurons together – and thereby to reveal new insights into how brain cells communicate. The discovery could also improve our understanding of brain diseases, potentially leading to new treatments.

Category: Biology, Science

Tags: Brain, University of Maryland, Neuroscience

3D hydrogel biochips offer better diagnosis of early-stage bowel cancer

Richard Moss — Mon, 30 May 2016 14:18:22 GMT

Early detection is paramount to survival from bowel cancer, but doing so is difficult because most symptoms don't present until the cancer matures. Worse, existing diagnostic tests tend to be invasive and traumatic. Russian scientists hope to change this with a new biochip technology that can gather better, more precise data for diagnostic analysis. The scientists report that their new method far outstrips traditional methods of diagnosing bowel cancer.

Category: Cancer, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind

Tags: Cancer, Detection, Diagnosis

World's oldest axe fragment found in Australia

Richard Moss — Wed, 11 May 2016 14:17:55 GMT

A thumbnail-sized fragment of a ground-edge stone axe found in Australia predates previous discoveries by more than 10,000 years. The axe fragment, which was discovered in a remote area of Western Australia, is estimated to be between 45,000 and 49,000 years old. Archeologists from the University of Sydney believe it was invented soon after humans arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago in response to new environmental contexts.

Category: Science

Tags: Archeology, University of Sydney, Axes

Study suggests there could be more species on Earth than stars in our galaxy

Richard Moss — Tue, 03 May 2016 20:23:10 GMT

Biologists at Indiana University believe we may have only discovered a mere thousandth of a percent of the species on our planet. To put a number on it, that means the 10 million or so species identified so far represent a drop on the ocean of as many as one trillion total species. As a point of comparison, consider that current estimates suggest that our home galaxy the Milky Way may contain between 100 and 400 billion stars. This is a big number, with possibly big implications.

Category: Science

Tags: Biodiversity, Indiana University

Fermi telescope helps close in on the origin of gravitational waves

Richard Moss — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 13:39:06 GMT

Astrophysicists made history last year when they detected gravitational waves – the elusive ripples in space-time that were first theorized by Albert Einstein as part of his theory of general relativity in 1916. Early efforts failed to pinpoint the visible light component of the chaotic event that triggered the waves. But now data from NASA's Fermi telescope has reduced the search area by around two-thirds, which will help scientists understand more about the nature of the event and improve their systems for detecting future gravitational wave events.

Category: Science

Tags: NASA, Physics, Gravity, Black hole

"Quantum data bus" can relocate quantum information

Richard Moss — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 19:49:14 GMT

While quantum computing has made great gains in recent years in terms of transistors and logic gates and reprogrammable chips, the technology still lacks one vital component: data transfer. This is a fundamental part of normal microprocessor operation; it involves the routing of information from one location to another. An international team of researchers has successfully trialled a "quantum data bus" that does just that, however, thanks to a technique called perfect state transfer.

Category: Quantum Computing, Science

Tags: Quantum Computing, Quantum Information, RMIT

Portable robotic glove enters clinical trials for hand rehabilitation

Richard Moss — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 13:50:28 GMT

A new robotic glove for hand rehabilitation swaps conventional rigid electromechanical components for soft fabric with embedded actuators (motors). The glove, dubbed EsoGlove by its National University of Singapore creators, is meant to conform to natural hand movements and is lightweight, portable, and intuitive enough that patients should be able to easily carry out their rehabilitation exercises in their own homes.

Category: Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind

Tags: Gloves, Hand, Rehabilitation, National University of Singapore

Respite nebulizer may replace inhalers and injections for drug delivery

Richard Moss — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 09:05:40 GMT

Nebulizers aren't anything new – I remember using a big, bulky electric one 25 years ago to help my tiny three-year-old body breathe during asthma attacks. But a new prototype nebulizer developed at RMIT in Melbourne is designed to fit comfortably in your hand and deliver much higher doses of medicine per minute than current nebulizers. The researchers behind the device say it could replace inhalers and injections for people with conditions such as asthma, cancer, cystic fibrosis, and diabetes.

Category: Body and Mind

Tags: RMIT University, Drug delivery

Can we build a complete wiring diagram of the human brain?

Richard Moss — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:18:45 GMT

Our brains are wondrous, incredible machines. They're slower than the earliest personal computers in terms of raw processing power, yet capable of leaps of intuition and able to store a lifetime of memories that are cross-referenced and instantly-accessible at the slightest prompting. We know so very little about how they do these things, however. But imagine for a moment if we could build a complete wiring diagram of a human brain – to map in detail every one of the hundred trillion or so synapses and roughly hundred billion neurons together with all the tiniest supporting mechanisms. What might that mean, and would it even be possible?

Category: Biology, Science

Tags: Brain, Harvard, Imaging, Connectomics, Neuroscience

Fast radio bursts may provide 3D map of cosmos

Richard Moss — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 18:59:03 GMT

Brief bursts of radio waves arriving from far-off galaxies could help astronomers estimate cosmological distances and piece together a 3D map of matter in the universe. If everything checks out, a new technique proposed by two cosmologists from the University of British Columbia will offer an independent metric – set apart from the uncertainties and systemic biases of existing methods – in plotting the large structures of the cosmos.

Category: Astronomy, Science

Tags: Universe, Cosmology, Fast Radio Bursts