Science

Softday Uisce Salach

#137
Art-Science duo Softday have launched a new community art project called Uisce Salach (Dirty Water) based on water analyses from domestic water supplies from the River Liffey, its tributaries in Dublin City and from Dublin Port. The project will synergise science and arts practice using water sampling and creative technology, developing new thinking and new meaning around the sustainability of water resources.
Innovation
Life
Science

Plant Power

#137
Researchers at the Centre for Micro-Bio Robotics of IIT in Pontedera in Italy have discovered that certain plants generate electricity when touched that can power up to 100 LEDs (150V) per leaf. The leaves gather electric charges on their surface as a result of contact electrification and transmit the current directly to the stem of the plant, which can then be harvested. the researchers built a hybrid Nerum oleander tree with artificial leaves that touch the natural leaves and generate electricity.
Innovation
Science

CRISPR Babies

#135
Chinese scientist He Jiankui claims to have made the first gene-edited babies using CRISPR. In a clinical trial, create embryos through in vitro fertilisation from couples where the father was HIV-positive. The team then edited the embryos using CRISPR to deactivate the CCR5 gene, which the HIV virus uses to gain entry into human cells. News of the trial has been condemned by scientists as irresponsible.
Science

First Ionic Flight

#134
Inspired by the shuttlecraft of Star Trek, researchers at MIT have successful performed the first ionic flight of a solid state fixed wing aircraft using electroaerodynamic thrust! layers of wires underneath the wings create a 20,000 Volt differential between the front and the rear wires, with cause charged electrons to travel through the air from the positive wires to the negative wires. The charged particles push air particles over the wing as they travel, creating a small amount of lift.
Innovation
Science

Dandelion Flight

#130
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have discovered a method of flight used by dandelion seeds that has never before been observed in nature. The seed's bristles form ring shaped air bubbles above the seed as air passes through and these bubbles, called "the separated vortex ring" create resistance and act as a parachute, allowing the dandelion seed to travel on the air up to a kilometer in distance.
Science

IPCC Climate Change Report

#128
We have 12 years to stop catastrophic climate change. The IPCC released their Global Warming of 1.5°C report which may well turn out to be one of the most important documents of modern times. The report describes the predicted effects of a 1.5°C increase in global temperature above the pre-industrial average versus a 2°C increase, written by 91 co-authors across 40 countries and backed by 6000 scientific references.
Life
Motivation
Science

Apollo 11 MOCR

#128
The Internet Archive have released a collection of communications recordings from the Apollo 11 mission. The recordings contain hours of everyday mundane (if you can call space travel mundane :-p) communications between the astronuats and ground control.
Science
Space

Musical Chemical Detector

#124
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered the chemical detection abilities of an African musical instrument called a mbira. The instrument uses metal times connected to a wooden sounding board which produce a musical tone when plucked. The research has discovered that using a hallow U-shaped tine filled with different liquids produce notes of different frequencies. These differences can be used to detect different liquid samples such as sodium chloride or non-toxic glycerol.
Innovation
Music
Science

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