A World War II-era contamination suit. (Credit: Shutterstock)
In January 1958, two medical officers at Porton Down, Britain’s military science facility, exposed their forearms to 50-microgram droplets of a substance called VX, which was a new, fast-acting nerve agent that could kill by seeping through the skin.
VX, short for “venomous agent X,” is tasteless, odorless and causes uncontrollable muscle contractions that eventually stop a person’s breathing within minu ...read more
(Credit: Gregg Lab)
We’re all the product of genes from both parents. But in the brain, neurons may favor genes from mom or dad far more than previously thought, which is an effect that could impact one’s risk for mental disorders.
Everybody generally receives two versions, or alleles, of each gene, one from each parent. The fact that each person has a spare copy of a gene in case the other is defective is one reason why scientists think sex evolved in the first place, says study s ...read more
On February 15, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s PSLV-C37 flight launched with 101 CubeSats on board. (Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation)
Last week, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched 104 satellites into space via one rocket. Out of those 104, 101 are CubeSats, small satellites that have the potential of doing big things for astronomy, and yet for various reasons the astronomy community isn’t utilizing them. Most of the 613 CubeSats that have launched ( ...read more
A bumble bee hard at work spinning a ball toward its goal. (Credit: Courtesy Clint Perry, Queen Mary University of London)
If scoring a goal is the only way to earn a sugary treat, a bumblebee will summon its inner Messi.
Indeed, rolling a ball into a goal—soccer, sort of—is the latest puzzle solved by Bombus terrestris after training with scientists/bee trainers at Queen Mary University of London. In October, scientists from the same lab—the Chittka Lab—taught bees to ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
