Can you live without a pulse? Yes, now you can. The reason why we have a pulse is because it’s hard for evolution to result in turbines or continuously spinning things. The next generation of artificial hearts may have no pulse. They also have no bearings, so they should last much longer than previous attempts. In fact, engineers don’t give a predicted lifespan on these models
While studying ground squirrels, researchers noticed that some of them made faint whispering sounds, as if they had lost their voices. But when these silent screams
were processed by a bat detector, an abundance of ultrasound was detected. The researchers believe the whispers might be secret alarm calls — that the squirrels’ predators cannot hear — via meta-roj blog
Food scientists have developed a dried food ration that military troops can rehydrate by adding the filthiest of muddy swamp water, or even by peeing in it. The idea is to reduce the amount of water soldiers trekking for miles have to carry. Developed by the same organisation that created the indestructible sandwich
, the new rations can lessen a soldier’s load by 3.1 kilograms
Five big US power companies were sued for creating a public nuisance on Wednesday, accused by eight states and the city of New York of being the largest global-warming polluters in the country
Britain’s Science Museum says it is considering a radical way of paying its hefty energy bills by using visitors’ excrement. The central London museum said it was considering taking the waste from its 14 toilet blocks and converting it into electricity
Noticing that the typical meat packing plant produces 7 tons of blood a day, Russian at the Voronezh State Technological Academy have come up with a process to convert the proteins in the blood into the basic ingredients for milk, yogurt, chocolate, and coffee
— via BoingBoing
After nearly 30 years of arguing that a black hole destroys everything that falls into it, Stephen Hawking now says he was wrong. The about-turn might solve one of the long-standing puzzles in modern physics, known as the black hole information paradox — and cost the physicist an encyclopaedia
Miners once used canaries to judge whether a mine was safe from poisonous gases and now Australian scientists at the University of Melbourne are using insects found in your garden to measure carcinogenic arsenic levels in old gold mines
A recent scientific study that indicate marijuana consumption can improve night vision. The results backed up claims by the Observer columnist Sue Arnold, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa and is officially registered blind. She noticed several years ago that drawing on strong Jamaican skunk suddenly and temporarily enabled her to see things clearly. But Ms Arnold has since warned of side-effects that could impede night-time navigation. Only trouble was,
she said, I couldn’t stand up
— via Pagan Prattle
A new technique might allow surgeons to operate on internal organs without making any cuts in the skin. The Johns Hopkins University team says a mini-telescope could go down the throat and make a cut in the stomach wall to reach abdominal organs. The technique, tested in pigs, could mean faster recovery times say the authors in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy — via Die Puny Humans
The US Centres for Disease Control offer print-and-clip collectable infectious disease trading cards. A little something to go with your plush Giant Microbes — via boingboing
Researchers have moved a little bit closer to the day when new teeth can be grown to replace damaged or missing teeth. One set of researchers has succeeded in growing teeth tissue on bio-degradable scaffolding
in rats. Another group has been able to coax stem cells to form tooth structures in mice. Both reports appear in the July issue of the Journal of Dental Research
A one-year-old Pakistani boy saw the world for the first time through an eye donated [BugMeNot] by an Indian. Mohammed Ahmed gained partial vision after a difficult operation at the Agarwal Eye Institute in the southern city of Madras. Doctors said Ahmed, who was born blind, would get near-normal sight by the time he heads back to Karachi next week
RadarVision has developed a radar system that uses ultra-wideband technology to produce three-dimensional pictures of the space behind a wall from a distance of up to 20 metres. The pictures, which reportedly resemble those produced by ultrasound, are relatively high-resolution and are produced in real time. It sounds like the potential benefits of this device are huge, saving lives of soldiers, firemen, or police; the potential for privacy invasion, however, is similarly large
Professor Terry Davidson and associate professor Susan Swithers, both in the Department of Psychological Sciences, found that artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body’s natural ability to count
calories based on foods’ sweetness. This finding may explain why increasing numbers of people in the United States lack the natural ability to regulate food intake and body weight. The researchers also found that thick liquids aren’t as satisfying — calorie for calorie — as are more solid foods — via BoingBoing
Distiller and beverage manufacturer Suntory has developed the world’s first blue roses with Australian firm Florigene. Suntory officials said researchers extracted the gene that produces blue pigment in pansies and activated it inside the roses — via BoingBoing
The first Australian patients to be cured from type one diabetes have spoken about their treatment. Doctors from Sydney’s Westmead Hospital transplanted cells from a donated pancreas into the patients and they are now producing their own insulin. Barbara Dunn and Julie Mudd are among the first Australian patients to undergo the ground-breaking transplant. After being diabetic for 37 years, Ms Dunne is now free of daily injections
John Howard, showing his usual love of money over environment, has offered a $5 million bribe to the notorious eco-vandal Gunns for a proposed $1 billion pulp mill. The Greens are far from impressed
Folk cures abound for curing a hangover, yet only time — to let the body clear out the toxins — seems to really do the trick. But help may be on the way. Researchers from Tulane University and the University of California, San Francisco report that an extract from Opuntia ficus indica, a type of prickly pear extract, eases the symptoms of a hangover when taken before drinking begins — via Rogue Sun
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