Welcome to the Saturday edition of “Hawaii Science Digest”.
Views expressed in this “ScienceDaily” news summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Accessed on 09 February 2019, 1545 UTC.
Source:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwBVWShsdgZVwnwMWQVdMLtJJWQ
Please click link or scroll down to read selections from the current issue of “ScienceDaily”.
ScienceDaily: Top Science News |
- How the brain responds to texture
- Shedding light on the science of auroral breakups
- Life thrived on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, research suggests
- A better eyeshot of the makeup of ancient meteorites
- Gummy-like robots that could help prevent disease
- New pill can deliver insulin through the stomach
- Liberal sprinkling of salt discovered around a young star
- Unusual microbes hold clues to early life
| How the brain responds to texture
Posted: 08 Feb 2019 09:47 AM PST New research by neuroscientists shows that as neurons process information about texture from the skin, they each respond differently to various features of a surface, creating a high-dimensional representation of texture in the brain.
     |
| Shedding light on the science of auroral breakups
Posted: 08 Feb 2019 06:56 AM PST Scientists have quantitatively confirmed how energetic an auroral breakup can be. Using a combination of cutting-edge ground-based technology and new space-borne observations, they have demonstrated the essential role of an auroral breakup in ionizing the deep atmosphere. The research furthers our understanding of one of the most visually stunning natural phenomena.
|
| Life thrived on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, research suggests
Posted: 08 Feb 2019 05:58 AM PST 3.5 billion years ago Earth hosted life, but was it barely surviving, or thriving? A new study led by researchers at the Earth-Life Science Institute of Tokyo Tech provides new answers to this question. Microbial metabolism is recorded in billions of years of sulfur isotope ratios that agree with this study’s predictions, suggesting life throve in the ancient oceans. Using this data, scientists can more deeply link the geochemical record with cellular states and ecology.
|
| A better eyeshot of the makeup of ancient meteorites
Posted: 08 Feb 2019 05:58 AM PST A team of scientists has visualized meteorite components at resolution powers much higher than ever before. Their efforts resulted in a much better look at — and enhanced understanding of — substances inside carbonaceous chondrites, the organic-containing meteorites that land on Earth. These substances include hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and water, all of which are needed for life.
|
| Gummy-like robots that could help prevent disease
Posted: 08 Feb 2019 05:21 AM PST Scientists have developed microscopic, hydrogel-based muscles that can manipulate and mechanically stimulate biological tissue. These soft, biocompatible robots could be used for targeted therapy and to help diagnose and prevent disease.
|
| New pill can deliver insulin through the stomach
Posted: 07 Feb 2019 11:22 AM PST A research team has developed a drug capsule that could be used to deliver oral doses of insulin, potentially replacing the injections that patients with type 2 diabetes have to give themselves every day.
|
| Liberal sprinkling of salt discovered around a young star
Posted: 07 Feb 2019 08:49 AM PST New ALMA observations show there is ordinary table salt in a not-so-ordinary location: 1,500 light-years from Earth in the disk surrounding a massive young star. Though salts have been found in the atmospheres of old, dying stars, this is the first time they have been seen around young stars in stellar nurseries. The detection of this salt-encrusted disk may help astronomers study the chemistry of star formation as well as identify other similar protostars hidden inside dense cocoons of dust and gas.
|
| Unusual microbes hold clues to early life
Posted: 07 Feb 2019 07:26 AM PST A new study has revealed how a group of deep-sea microbes provides clues to the evolution of life on Earth. Researchers used cutting-edge molecular methods to study these microbes, which thrive in the hot, oxygen-free fluids that flow through Earth’s crust.
|
For the latest trends in science, technology, medicine, health, the environment, cyber security, and artificial intelligence (AI), please visit this blog daily. Thanks for joining us today.
Until next time,
Russ Roberts