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Saturday, July 26, 2014

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News


Magnets for fusion energy: High-temperature superconductor achieves new world record for electrical current

Posted: 25 Jul 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Scientists have achieved an electrical current of 100,000 amperes, which is by far the highest in the world, by using the new idea of assembling the state-of-the-art yttrium-based high-temperature superconducting tapes to fabricate a large-scale magnet conductor.

Nanoparticle 'alarm clock' tested to awaken immune systems put to sleep by cancer

Posted: 25 Jul 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Researchers are exploring ways to wake up the immune system so it recognizes and attacks invading cancer cells. One pioneering approach uses nanoparticles to jumpstart the body's ability to fight tumors. Nanoparticles are too small to imagine. One billion could fit on the head of a pin. This makes them stealthy enough to penetrate cancer cells with therapeutic agents such as antibodies, drugs, vaccine type viruses, or even metallic particles.

Bacteria manipulate salt to build shelters to hibernate

Posted: 25 Jul 2014 05:03 AM PDT

For the first time, researchers have detected an unknown interaction between microorganisms and salt. When Escherichia coli cells are introduced into a droplet of salt water that is left to dry, bacteria manipulate the sodium chloride crystallization to create biomineralogical biosaline 3-D morphologically complex formations, where they hibernate. Afterwards, simply by rehydrating the material, bacteria are revived. The discovery was made by chance with a home microscope.

Steam energy from the sun: New spongelike structure converts solar energy into steam

Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:39 PM PDT

A new material structure generates steam by soaking up the sun. The structure -- a layer of graphite flakes and an underlying carbon foam -- is a porous, insulating material structure that floats on water. When sunlight hits the structure's surface, it creates a hotspot in the graphite, drawing water up through the material's pores, where it evaporates as steam. The brighter the light, the more steam is generated.

Moose drool inhibits growth of toxic fungus

Posted: 24 Jul 2014 02:20 PM PDT

Research shows a surprisingly effective way to fight against a certain species of toxic grass fungus: moose saliva. Inspired by an earlier study that showed that moose grazing and saliva distribution can have a positive effect on plant growth, the research team set out to test an interesting hypothesis -- whether moose saliva may, in fact, "detoxify" the grass before it is eaten.

Newly discovered gut virus lives in half the world's population

Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:42 AM PDT

Odds are, there's a virus living inside your gut that has gone undetected by scientists for decades. A new study has found that more than half the world's population is host to a newly described virus, named crAssphage, which infects one of the most common gut bacterial species, Bacteroides. This bacterium thought to be connected with obesity, diabetes and other gut-related diseases.

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