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| ©Rockefeller University |
| Immunity inside. The brain's population of immunity-directing dendritic cells (green and yellow) can be seen here in the subventricular zone -- an area of postnatal neuron development. |
Science & Technology
In a finding that has the potential to change the way researchers think about the brain, scientists at Rockefeller University have found dendritic cells where they've never been seen before: among this organ's neurons and connective cells. The immunity-directing dendritic cell had previously been seen in the human nervous system only after brain injury or disease. But the new study shows for the first time that the brain has its own, resident population of dendritic cells that may serve as a line of defense against pathogens that sneak past the blood-brain barrier.
Researchers in Wyoming report development of a low-cost carbon filter that can remove 90 percent of carbon dioxide gas from the smokestacks of electric power plants that burn coal and other fossil fuels.
Maciej Radosz and colleagues at Wyoming's Soft Materials Laboratory cite the pressing need for simple, inexpensive new technologies to remove carbon dioxide from smokestack gases. Coal-burning electric power plants are major sources of the greenhouse gas, and control measures may be required in the future.
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| ©iStockphoto/Brittany Carter Courville |
| Coal-burning power plant. |
Maciej Radosz and colleagues at Wyoming's Soft Materials Laboratory cite the pressing need for simple, inexpensive new technologies to remove carbon dioxide from smokestack gases. Coal-burning electric power plants are major sources of the greenhouse gas, and control measures may be required in the future.
The Boeing Company said it has fired a high-energy chemical laser aboard a C-130H aircraft in ground tests for the first time.
The successful ground tests, "a key milestone for the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program," took place on May 13 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
"First firing of the high-energy laser aboard the ATL aircraft shows that the program continues to make good progress toward giving the warfighter an ultra-precision engagement capability that will dramatically reduce collateral damage," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.
The successful ground tests, "a key milestone for the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program," took place on May 13 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
"First firing of the high-energy laser aboard the ATL aircraft shows that the program continues to make good progress toward giving the warfighter an ultra-precision engagement capability that will dramatically reduce collateral damage," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Texas, USA, have extracted genes from the extinct Tasmanian tiger (thylacine), inserted it into a mouse and observed a biological function -- this is a world first for the use of the DNA of an extinct species to induce a functional response in another living organism.
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| ©Pask AJ, Behringer RR, Renfree MB |
| From extinction to gene expression. Functional analysis of the thylacine non-coding DNA fragment. (a) Diagram of transgene construct. 4 copies of a 264-bp fragment containing the Thylacine Col2a1 enhancer (TcyCol2a1) region was ligated to the human b-globin minimal promoter (black box) and ligated to lacZpA. (b--e) X-gal stained 14.5 dpc TcyCol2a1-lacZpA transgenic mouse embryo showing varying levels of reporter gene expression within the developing cartilage (blue). (f) Non-transgenic littermate, negative control fetus. (g) Top panel; Magnified image of forelimb from fetus in (b) black line indicates the plane of section shown in (g) bottom panel. Bottom panel; Histological section of transgenic forelimb digit, showing lacZ-expressing chondrogenic tissue (blue) counterstained with eosin (pink). |
A Suffolk company has invested in ground-breaking Dutch technology that controls pests and bugs in food without the need for chemicals.
A new study shows that 20 percent of human genes have been patented in the United States, primarily by private firms and universities.
Marble consecrated slab stone from the Rome epoch was discovered in archaeological excavations by the director of Archaeological Museum in Hisar town doctor Mitko Madjarov.
The precious found has sizes 50 to 50cm and presents the three Rome nymphs - patronesses of the mineral springs.
The precious found has sizes 50 to 50cm and presents the three Rome nymphs - patronesses of the mineral springs.
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The discovery of a new "cog" in the human body clock that governs sleep will enable significant advances in the treatment of jet lag and sleeping disorders, scientists claim today.
The body clock, which links the cycles of metabolism and behaviour to the cycle of day and night, can be disrupted by old age, disease, international travel and shift work.
The disruption can lead not just to problems with sleeping and eating, but also to serious illness.
However, researchers have discovered a molecule, called c-AMP, that plays an important role in keeping the body clock ticking.
The body clock, which links the cycles of metabolism and behaviour to the cycle of day and night, can be disrupted by old age, disease, international travel and shift work.
The disruption can lead not just to problems with sleeping and eating, but also to serious illness.
However, researchers have discovered a molecule, called c-AMP, that plays an important role in keeping the body clock ticking.
The wreck of one of the Second World War's most famous warships has been found by deep sea explorers, 66 years after it was lost in battle.
The cruiser HMS Exeter, best known for its valiant role in the Battle of the River Plate when it hunted down the pride of the German navy, the Admiral Graf Spee, was located by divers searching the Java Sea.
The British vessel was sunk on March 1, 1942, when, with two escorts, the destroyer HMS Encounter and the American destroyer Pope, it was intercepted by nine Japanese warships.
All three Allied ships were lost in the action. The wreck of Encounter, which had passed up a chance to escape by turning back in a brave but futile attempt to protect Exeter, has also now been located.
The cruiser HMS Exeter, best known for its valiant role in the Battle of the River Plate when it hunted down the pride of the German navy, the Admiral Graf Spee, was located by divers searching the Java Sea.
The British vessel was sunk on March 1, 1942, when, with two escorts, the destroyer HMS Encounter and the American destroyer Pope, it was intercepted by nine Japanese warships.
All three Allied ships were lost in the action. The wreck of Encounter, which had passed up a chance to escape by turning back in a brave but futile attempt to protect Exeter, has also now been located.
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| ©Getty Images |
| Crowds at the quayside cheer HMS Exeter as she arrives in Plymouth |
It might have been the greatest lost weapon of World War II. Major-General JFC Fuller, the man credited with developing modern armored warfare in the 1920's, called failure to use it "the greatest blunder of the whole war." He even suggested that British and American tank divisions could have overrun Germany before the Russians if it had been deployed.
I've been looking at a new range of strobing weapons which use flickering lights to subdue criminals and insurgents. But it turns out that the disorienting power of such lights was discovered decades before.
I've been looking at a new range of strobing weapons which use flickering lights to subdue criminals and insurgents. But it turns out that the disorienting power of such lights was discovered decades before.
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