It might not sound glamorous, but cow manure could soon be the unlikely hero of sustainable manufacturing. Scientists have discovered a way to transform cow dung into cellulose, one of the world’s most widely used materials. “Our initial question was whether it could be possible to extract the tiny fragments of cellulose present in cow manure, which is left over from the plants the animals have eaten, and fashion it into manufacturing-grade cellulose material,” said Mohan Edirisinghe, sen ...read more
Any chemical that’s called a flavonoid has to taste good. That’s what you’d think, anyway. But some flavonoids are actually famous for their bitter taste, and can cause astringency — the dry, sometimes numbing sensation that’s created in the mouth when we consume certain foods and beverages. But flavonoids aren’t all bad. They’re anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic. And a new study shows that that’s not the extent of their health benefits, either. Appearing in ...read more
When it comes to navigating areas, young children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Although past studies have proposed that our navigational abilities don’t truly kick in until the age of 12, a new study puts these claims to rest, revealing that children as young as 5 can find their way around large spaces. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrated the surprising cognitive capacity of five-year-olds as they navigated a tiny virtua ...read more
Researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) have unveiled a novel "electricity-conducting organism” that could spark medical and environmental innovations.According to the new study, published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, the OSU team has named the organism — a new species of cable bacteria — Ca. Electrothrix yaqonensis, in honor of the Yaqona people, whose ancestral land the new bacteria were found in. The research team hopes that the new discovery could help develop imp ...read more
Climate change could fuel the spread of a fungus that can sicken and even kill people, as well as threaten crops, according to a study posted on the preprint server Research Square.Fungal infections already kill about 1.5 million a year. There are now few effective antifungal agents available, with many fungi developing resistance to them. One particular mold-like fungus called Aspergillus is responsible for most such deaths in the Northern Hemisphere.What Is Aspergillus?Aspergillus is sometimes ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine