Author Archives: Michael Irving

Rock radioactivity may tell the tale of long-lost continents on early Earth's crust

Posted on by

Rock radioactivity models suggest that long-lost continents may have arisen and fallen on Earth's crust earlier ...

Earth has had a tumultuous past, so it’s hard to get a clear idea of those wild early days. But a new study by researchers from the University of Adelaide raises the possibility that continents may have risen out of the sea much earlier than is currently believed, before being destroyed once again by tectonic activity.

..
Continue Reading Rock radioactivity may tell the tale of long-lost continents on early Earth’s crust

Category: Science

Tags:

Continue reading Rock radioactivity may tell the tale of long-lost continents on early Earth's crust→

"Primordial" proteins successfully inserted into engineered E. coli in synthetic biology breakthrough

Posted on by

Researchers at Rutgers and Rice Universities have shed some light on the mystery of how life on Earth got started. After studying proteins that are key to metabolism in modern cells, the team reverse engineered a simplified protein that may h… Continue reading "Primordial" proteins successfully inserted into engineered E. coli in synthetic biology breakthrough→

NASA's TESS spots three new Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting nearby star

Posted on by

The three new planets discovered by TESS – L 98-59b, c and d – as compared ...

Three new, roughly Earth-sized exoplanets have been found orbiting a nearby star. Named L 98-59b, c and d, the small worlds were spotted by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), as part of a larger haul of data that finally brings the total tally past the milestone of 4,000 exoplanets discovered to date.

..
Continue Reading NASA’s TESS spots three new Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting nearby star

Category: Space

Tags:

Continue reading NASA's TESS spots three new Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting nearby star→

Pig-Pen Effect: How our "personal pollution clouds" affect indoor air quality

Posted on by

New research from Pennsylvania State University has found that each of us is regularly producing our own personal cloud of pollutants, which actually affects indoor air quality. Don’t start sniggering and blaming the dog though – it’s not the… Continue reading Pig-Pen Effect: How our "personal pollution clouds" affect indoor air quality→

Eye-tracking, depth-sensing "autofocal" glasses keep everything looking sharp

Posted on by

No matter how good your eyesight, there’s a decent chance that it’ll start to fade at a certain point in your life. Presbyopia is a common form of age-induced far-sightedness, where the lenses in the eyes become stiff and have trouble focusin… Continue reading Eye-tracking, depth-sensing "autofocal" glasses keep everything looking sharp→

Drugs laced with artificial DNA release ingredients in sequence

Posted on by

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have demonstrated a prototype of a drug that can release three active ingredients, at different times in sequence. The key to this unusual and useful ointment is artificial DNA, which br… Continue reading Drugs laced with artificial DNA release ingredients in sequence→

Super 64 connects and upscales your old Nintendo 64 to modern TVs

Posted on by

After releasing the NES Mini and SNES Mini, Nintendo stopped short of the logical next step – a Nintendo 64 Mini. Even if you still have the original console, it’s hard to hook up its analog outputs to the digital inputs of a modern TV. Now a… Continue reading Super 64 connects and upscales your old Nintendo 64 to modern TVs→

Manipulating gut microbes in livestock could cut their methane emissions

Posted on by

Fossil fuels cop the brunt of attention for reducing climate-changing emissions, but they’re far from the only culprit – livestock like sheep and cows are responsible for huge amounts of methane being released into the atmosphere. Now, an int… Continue reading Manipulating gut microbes in livestock could cut their methane emissions→

“Lost City of the Monkey God” reveals treasure trove of rare, new and rediscovered species

Posted on by

In 2012, centuries-old legends of a lost city in Honduras were confirmed when ancient ruins were rediscovered in the dense Mosquita rainforest. Now, scientists have conducted a three-week expedition to these ruins, known as the “White City” o… Continue reading “Lost City of the Monkey God” reveals treasure trove of rare, new and rediscovered species→

Astronomers pinpoint location of mysterious radio signal across the universe

Posted on by

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are one of the most puzzling mysteries of the space age. These one-off, millisecond-long signals pour in from all corners of the cosmos, and so far nobody’s been able to figure out what causes them or where they’re ev… Continue reading Astronomers pinpoint location of mysterious radio signal across the universe→