A set of glasses packed with technology normally seen in smartphones and games consoles is the main draw at one of the featured stands at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
But the exhibit isn’t about the latest gadget must-have, it’s all about aiding those with poor vision and giving them greater independence — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The recent screening of the observational documentary Go Back To Where You Came From on SBS shocked many people by some blunt displays of racist attitudes. The program forced many to consider how some people find it acceptable to admit to such attitudes in a modern society where racism is generally regarded as abhorrent. Why do some people dislike or fear people they have never met but who look different? Is racism learned or have we evolved to distrust the unknown?
Racism, or racial prejudice, is usually a negative attitude towards the members of some group, based solely on their membership in that group,
says a social psychology lecturer at the University of Sydney, Dr Fiona White. Some approaches argue that racism is hardwired and that we have evolved to distrust people from racial groups other than ours. Other approaches argue that racism is learnt though our family, peers and the media.
— via redwolf.newsvine.com
Call it another victory for German design. Researchers in Dresden have set a new world record for the strongest magnetic field ever manufactured at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory Dresden (HZDR). Using a two-layer, 440-pound copper coil the size of a water bucket, they managed to coax 91.4 teslas from their creation for just a few milliseconds, surpassing the previous record of 89 teslas — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A study retracing the bananas’ family tree has found their wild ancestors have rarely crossbred in the last 7,000 years, strengthening calls to diversify the popular crop.
The standard yellow banana currently found on most supermarket shelves are mass cultivated as infertile clones and are therefore genetically identical.
But this makes them particularly susceptible to disease, pests and ecological challenges, writes a team of European and Australian scientists in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Tree frogs have specially adapted self-cleaning feet which could have practical applications for the medical industry — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Cancer researchers have now found a way to make high temperatures heal. In a new study, a team found that injecting mice with tiny magnets and cranking up the heat eliminated tumors from the animals’ bodies with no apparent side effects — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Researchers say planes might be changing local weather patterns around airports.
A study released in the American journal Science has found aeroplanes flying through clouds can lead to increased snowfall around airports.
The researchers say the effect is similar to the practice of cloud seeding, where aircraft are used to disperse chemicals to bring about rain or snow — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Traditional solar cell production techniques are usually time consuming and require expensive vacuum systems or toxic chemicals. Depositing chemical compounds such as CIGS on a substrate using vapor phase deposition also wastes most of the expensive material in the process. For the first time, engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) have now developed a process to create CIGS
solar cells with inkjet printing technology that allows for precise patterning to reduce raw material waste by 90 percent and significantly lower the cost of producing solar cells with promising, yet expensive compounds — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Human remains discovered beneath the floors of mud-brick houses at one of the world’s first permanent settlements, were not biologically related to one another, a finding that paints a new picture of life 9,000 years ago on a marshy plain in central Turkey.
Even children as young as 8 were not buried alongside their parents or other relatives at the site called Çatalhöyük, the researchers found — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Scientists in Melbourne say they have found out why a high proportion of people with HIV develop dementia — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A new type of tree kangaroo, a 2.5-metre-long river shark, a frog with vampire-like fangs and a turquoise lizard are among hundreds of new creatures found and being documented in a report by conservationists working in the Pacific island of New Guinea.
Some 1,060 previously unknown species of mammals, fish and birds have been spotted in the volcanic island over a 10-year period.
The Final Frontier report, which was put together by WWF as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, marks a brief respite from the escalating rate of animal and plant extinctions which is taking its toll across the planet and has left a quarter of all known mammals on the endangered list — via redwolf.newsvine.com
An extreme eight-week diet of 600 calories a day can reverse Type 2 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease, says a Diabetologia study.
Newcastle University researchers found the low-calorie diet reduced fat levels in the pancreas and liver, which helped insulin production return to normal.
Seven out of 11 people studied were free of diabetes three months later, say findings published in the journal.
More research is needed to see whether the reversal is permanent, say experts — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A chemical compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and brussels sprouts, selectively kills cancer cells, scientists have found — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The CSIRO has launched a website that allows people to see the raw data of greenhouse gases for themselves, as debate continues to rage over the merits of climate change science.
The website will report un-modelled, raw measurements directly to the public so people can make up their own minds about climate change — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A new study has found that high caffeine use, combined with stress, can cause people to exhibit psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions.
The research suggests that around five coffees, or the equivalent of 200mg of caffeine, may be enough to tip people over the edge and cause psychotic-like symptoms — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A US soldier whose leg muscles were destroyed by a bomb in Afghanistan has been able to start walking again after using a radical therapy that enabled his body to regrow the lost tissue.
Marine Corporal Isaias Hernandez lost 70 per cent of his right thigh muscles in the blast, an injury so severe that amputation is normally the only treatment.
Corporal Hernandez was, however, offered a therapy in which his remaining muscles were impregnated with an experimental growth promoting substance extracted from pig bladders. It prompted the muscles to regenerate to a point that Corporal Hernandez has regained most of his strength — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Being an identical twin might seem like a great way to fool a DNA test and get away with the perfect crime. But furry forensic experts can make sure justice is served — via redwolf.newsvine.com
An international team co-led by scientists at Queen’s University, Belfast, has developed a new drug for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers.
The drug specifically targets the so-called Celtic gene which is common in Ireland.
But the researchers believe the breakthrough will have significant implications for all CF sufferers.
The drug should be available to patients next year. Patients take two tablets a day — via redwolf.newsvine.com
One study asked heterosexual men how comfortable and anxious they are around gay men. Based on these scores, they then divided these men into two groups: men that are homophobic, and men who are not. These men were then shown three, four-minute videos. One video depicted straight sex, one depicted lesbian sex and one depicted gay male sex. While this was happening, a device was attached to each participant’s penis. This device has been found to be triggered by sexual arousal, but not other types of arousal (such as nervousness, or fear – arousal often has a very different meaning in psychology than in popular usage) — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The Doppler shift of sound or light waves from a moving source is familiar to physicists and non-physicists alike. Now, researchers in China and Australia have seen the more exotic inverse Doppler effect in light passing through a material made from tiny silicon rods. They say the result could enhance the use of the Doppler effect in all sorts of applications, from astronomy to medicine — via redwolf.newsvine.com
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