Dogs were domesticated twice, new DNA research shows
New genetic research has shed light on just when and where dogs became domesticated from wolves— and suggests that it might actually have happened twice. Indeed, scientists now believe that man’s best friend was domesticated in both East Asia and Europe separately thousands of years ago from different wolf populations, and that as people moved west to Europe, the dogs that came with them eventually commingled with, and partly replaced, the western pooches. Researchers arrived at this theory by ..>> view originalPlan to Turn Asteroids Into Spaceships Could Spur Off-Earth Mining
Artist's illustration of an asteroid that has been turned into a giant mechanical spacecraft, which could fly itself to a mining outpost. Credit: Made In Space A few decades from now, asteroids may be flying themselves to mining outposts in space, nobly sacrificing their abundant resources to help open the final frontier to humanity. That's the vision of California-based company Made In Space, which was recently awarded NASA funding to investigate how to turn asteroids into giant, aut..>> view originalPrivate companies may profit by turning the moon into a space rest stop
Ranked just after the human desire for adventure and discovery is the drive to make a buck off of whatever has been found. Now, with the privatized space race well under way, there are even designs on the moon. Moon Express could soon gain approval for the first private space mission to leave Earth's orbit and land on the lunar surface, a giant leap for business interests in space but a small step toward the eventual goal of making a business out of space travel. Paul Spudis, a senior staff s..>> view originalPart microbe, part machine: Bionic leaf sucks up carbon dioxide as it makes liquid fuel
A team of scientists at Harvard University says it has come up with a bionic leaf — a system that could use solar power and hydrogen-eating bacteria to generate liquid fuel. The findings, described in the journal Science, offer an alternative path to making carbon-neutral solar fuels.Part microbe and part machine, the bionic leaf marks a tenfold improvement on the researchers’ previous version and could be used to generate all kinds of products, from the precursors for bioplastics to fuel. “Thi..>> view originalEver wondered what a black hole looks like? MIT is here to help
We could be one step closer to knowing what a black hole looks like, thanks to a new algorithm developed by MIT researchers. The method, called Continuous High-resolution Image Reconstruction using Patch priors, would take data from radio telescopes across the planet and stitch it together, MIT said. Advertisement It’s impossible to use an Earth-based telescope to try and get a look at a black hole, the researchers said.“A black hole is very, very far away and very compact,” Katie Bouman, an..>> view originalMeta-lenses could revolutionize optics, from contact lenses to microscopes
Researchers from Harvard University have developed a new type of flat lens that could replace more cumbersome curved glass optics currently used in a wide range of imaging appliances.“This technology is potentially revolutionary because it works in the visible spectrum, which means it has the capacity to replace lenses in all kinds of devices, from microscopes to cameras, to displays and cell phones,” Harvard professor and researcher Federico Capasso said in a university release. Professor Capa..>> view originalShocking New Research Confirms an Old Myth About How Electric Eels Defend Themselves
K.C. Catania At the turn of the 19th century, German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt was exploring South America when he hired a group of local fishermen to collect electric eels for him. Humboldt had been experimenting with creating batteries, and was eager to find what he called “living electric apparatuses.” The locals led him to a pool, where, according to Humboldt's account, they proceeded to fish for the eels using a rather unusual method. Rather than luring the eels with bait..>> view originalCrispr-Cas9 gene editing could help in development treatment for many health conditions
Crispr-Cas9 has been popular among scientists for gene editing. Scientists have been using it in promising experiments and many new projects have been undertaken using the technique. Many companies have already started using Crispr-Cas9 for the development of drugs to treat conditions varying from cancer to sickle-cell anemia. Even then, a lot of misunderstandings prevail around it. Crispr has described a series of DNA sequences found in microbes, part of a system for protecting against attacki..>> view originalWhy China wants US to help poor countries combat climate change
China wants the United States to do more to help developing nations combat climate change and to make sure the Paris agreement on greenhouse gases is enforced."I believe the U.S. government can do better," said Xie Zhenhua, China's special representative on climate change, told Bloomberg. In particular, Mr. Zhenhua said the US could transfer technologies to help developing countries and fund their efforts to curb climate change and extreme weather events. "As the largest developed country in th..>> view original
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Dogs were domesticated twice, new DNA research shows and other top stories.
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