© University of Zurich
Science & Technology
Researchers at the University Zurich have mapped the first complete atlas of single cells that make up the human teeth. Their research shows that the composition of human dental pulp and periodontium vary greatly. Their findings open up new avenues for cell-based dental therapeutic approaches.
During the last 30 years, medical and dental research has attracted a large number of scientists and practitioners working on aspects of high medical relevance that involve a combination of genetic and tissue regeneration approaches. These developments in stem cell and tissue engineering have provided medical and dental researchers with new insights and given rise to new ideas as to how everyday clinical practice can be improved. Many research groups are dealing with questions like: How can we help injured tissues and organs heal? Can lost tissue be regenerated? How can we create solid protocols that apply across all stem cell therapies?
© Renata Brito (AP)
Members of the French team celebrating the end of their 40-day stay in an underground cave.
Members of the French team celebrating the end of their 40-day stay in an underground cave.
At 10:30 a.m. local time on Saturday April 24, 15 people emerged from Lombrives cave in Ussat les Bains, France, following 40 days of complete isolation from the outside world. Many of them had smiles on their faces, which... well, full credit to them. Had it been me, I can guarantee you that I would not be smiling, as the conditions down there were far from ideal.
The environment was most certainly rough, with the temperature fixed at 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) and the relative humidity pinned at an oppressive 100%. Not a single ray of sunlight leaks into this cave, requiring the team to depend exclusively on artificial lighting. And with no way to communicate with the outside world, team members lost touch with their friends, families, and the daily news cycle.
Importantly, they also lost track of time, as no clocks of any sort were allowed in the cave. For this was the point of the "Deep Time" project, organized by the Human Adaptation Institute, which is seeking to understand how humans adapt and work together to recreate "synchronization outside the usual indicators," as the group explains at its website.
When asked how long they had stayed in the cave, the team collectively figured it was around 30 days (though, as The Guardian reports, one person estimated the total duration at 23 days!). That the team had somehow lost track of 10 whole days (or more) is somewhat astounding and testament to our dependence on clocks or the day-night cycle to keep track of time. Our internal clocks, it would appear, really, really suck, and are subject to considerable drift — even across the relatively short time span of 40 days.
© Photo by Francois Gohier/VWPics/Alamy Stock Photo
The finding that male sperm whales have male friends bucks the long-standing assumption about sperm whale behavior.
The finding that male sperm whales have male friends bucks the long-standing assumption about sperm whale behavior.
A new study has found evidence that male sperm whales can develop strong, long-lasting bonds, forming friendships with other males that can last for at least five years.
The findings of this landmark study are based on 12 years of observations conducted by researchers working in the Nemuro Strait, a narrow stretch of water sandwiched between Hokkaido, in northern Japan, and the southernmost Kuril Island. The strait is visited by hundreds of migrating sperm whales each year. Although male sperm whales have previously been observed feeding together, and even stranding themselves in all-male groups of unrelated individuals, no one knew what was driving them to do so.
To find out, researchers led by Hayao Kobayashi, a sociobiologist at Nagasaki University in Japan, spent thousands of hours aboard whale watching boats photographing 226 male sperm whales and listening in on their conversations using hydrophones.
"It takes a steady effort, extensive data sets, and patience to reveal the ecology of long-life animals," says Kobayashi. Although the data collection was arduous, it let the researchers determine which whales hung out together, and for how long.
© Jay Chapman Photo
From left, UW students Shane Scoggin, Adam Trzinski and Jessie Shields are part of new research investigating crustal melting in western North America. Here, they examine igneous rocks in the Snake Range of Nevada.
From left, UW students Shane Scoggin, Adam Trzinski and Jessie Shields are part of new research investigating crustal melting in western North America. Here, they examine igneous rocks in the Snake Range of Nevada.
The rock belt runs through Idaho, Montana, Nevada, southeast California and Arizona.
"Geoscientists usually associate long belts of igneous rocks with chains of volcanoes at subduction zones, like Mount Shasta, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainer," says Jay Chapman, an assistant professor in UW's Department of Geology and Geophysics. "What makes this finding so interesting and mysterious is that this belt of igneous rocks is located much farther inland, away from the edge of the continent, and doesn't contain any evidence for producing volcanoes. In fact, all of the melting to generate the igneous rocks originally took place deep underground, five to 10 miles beneath the surface."
Chapman is lead author of a paper, titled "The North American Cordilleran Anatectic Belt," which was published online in February in the journal Earth-Science Reviews. The print version will be published this month.
The paper is a result of a special course taught by Simone Runyon, an assistant professor in UW's Department of Geology and Geophysics, and Chapman. Runyon, six UW graduate students and one undergraduate student, who took part in the course, are co-authors of the paper.
"It was really fascinating to start with a scientific question in a classroom, then collect and analyze data, and eventually publish our results," says Cody Pridmore, a UW graduate student from Orange, Calif., and co-author of the paper. "It's a process most college students don't get to experience."
Researchers find body's natural pain killers can be enhanced, while reducing side effects of opioids
© National Pain Report
Fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine -- these substances are familiar to many as a source of both pain relief and the cause of a painful epidemic of addiction and death.
Scientists have attempted for years to balance the potent pain-relieving properties of opioids with their numerous negative side effects -- with mostly mixed results.
© Hubble/NASA/ESA
AG Carinae, a Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) star located 20,000 light-years from Earth.
AG Carinae, a Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) star located 20,000 light-years from Earth.
In celebration of the 31st anniversary of the launching of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers aimed the renowned observatory at a brilliant "celebrity star," one of the brightest stars seen in our galaxy, surrounded by a glowing halo of gas and dust.
The price for the monster star's opulence is "living on the edge." The star, called AG Carinae, is waging a tug-of-war between gravity and radiation to avoid self-destruction.
Scientists at the National Research University of Electronic Technology “MIET” (Moscow, Russia) have created a new radar remote sensing device for aircraft and spacecraft.
"It is known that the lower the frequency range, the greater the penetrating power of the wave, so our radar can survey not only through clouds and fog but also under foliage. Accordingly, if the optical method can capture the forest under ideal conditions, our radar can see through foliage and detect, for example, an unauthorised landfill in the forest", Ilya Kuzmin, an engineer at the Institute of Microdevices and Control Systems at MIET, said.
© Simon Allen
Dolphin allies form teams to help their pals fight rivals who might try to take away a fertile female. Here, two males assist their pals in guarding a lone female.
Dolphin allies form teams to help their pals fight rivals who might try to take away a fertile female. Here, two males assist their pals in guarding a lone female.
"It is a ground-breaking study," says Luke Rendell, a behavioral ecologist at the University of St. Andrews who was not involved with the research. The work adds evidence to the idea that dolphins evolved large brains to navigate their complex social environments.
© The Frontier Post/Reuters
Depiction of asteroid defense system • Head of China National Space Admin. Zhang Kejian
Depiction of asteroid defense system • Head of China National Space Admin. Zhang Kejian
Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, did not provide further detail in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China's space day in the eastern city of Nanjing.
China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers by 2045.
The European Space Agency last year signed a deal worth 129 million euros ($156 million) to build a spacecraft for a joint project with NASA examining how to deflect an asteroid heading for Earth.
China is pushing forward a mission where one space probe will land on a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples, fly back toward Earth to release a capsule containing the samples, and then orbit another comet, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Ye Peijian, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The mission could take about a decade to complete, Ye said.
© Deng et al (2021) Geophysical Research Letters/AGU
Melting of glaciers in Alaska, Greenland, the Southern Andes, Antarctica, the Caucasus and the Middle East accelerated in the mid-90s, becoming the main driver pushing Earth's poles into a sudden and rapid drift toward 26°E at a rate of 3.28 millimeters (0.129 inches) per year.Color intensity on the map shows where changes in water stored on land (mostly as ice) had the strongest effect on the movement of the poles from April 2004 to June 2020. Inset graphs plot the change in glacier mass (black) and the calculated change in water on land (blue) in the regions of largest influence.
Melting of glaciers in Alaska, Greenland, the Southern Andes, Antarctica, the Caucasus and the Middle East accelerated in the mid-90s, becoming the main driver pushing Earth's poles into a sudden and rapid drift toward 26°E at a rate of 3.28 millimeters (0.129 inches) per year.Color intensity on the map shows where changes in water stored on land (mostly as ice) had the strongest effect on the movement of the poles from April 2004 to June 2020. Inset graphs plot the change in glacier mass (black) and the calculated change in water on land (blue) in the regions of largest influence.
The locations of the North and South poles aren't static, unchanging spots on our planet. The axis Earth spins around — or more specifically the surface that invisible line emerges from — is always moving due to processes scientists don't completely understand. The way water is distributed on Earth's surface is one factor that drives the drift.
Melting glaciers redistributed enough water to cause the direction of polar wander to turn and accelerate eastward during the mid-1990s, according to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences.
Comment: For an idea of the other drivers of the changes we're seeing on our planet, and throughout our solar system, and beyond, see:
- Volcanoes, Earthquakes And The 3,600 Year Comet Cycle
- Planet-X, Comets and Earth Changes by J.M. McCanney
- Mysterious 'wave' of star-forming gas may be the largest structure in the galaxy
- The effects of solar flares on Earth's magnetosphere
Comment: Star's mysterious disappearance hints at new type of stellar death