bodies

What makes this documentary about a community of transgender women in Argentina so powerful is the feeling of intimacy and closeness. Director Isabelle Solas films her subjects with sensitivity and insight – and in return they open up their lives for the camera. That said, the film doesn’t exactly make it easy for audiences outside Argentina, giving virtually no explanation or context. It opens with scenes from the 2018 trial of a man convicted of stabbing to death a trans woman, Diana Sacayán. But it takes a bit of…

Our bodies are so complicated that even the most vital and well-studied systems are still throwing up surprises. Blood, for instance, may have not just one, but two types of cellular origins within forming mammalian bodies, a study in mice has just revealed.  "Historically, people have believed that most of our blood comes from a very small number of cells that eventually become blood stem cells, also known as hematopoietic stem cells," explains Harvard University cell biologist Fernando Camargo, one of the researchers…

The majority of federal government organizations in Brazil are still in the very early stages of using artificial intelligence (AI), according to a study carried out by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). The aim of the TCU research was to understand the use of AI by the federal administration, identify the associated risks, and inform the evaluation of the Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.Using a scale ranging from 1 to 4, the study has found that 38% of the federal government bodies in Brazil are at Level 0…

The bodies of 62 nuns buried in a 123-year-old cemetery at the former Loretto Heights campus in southwest Denver will be exhumed and relocated as the former Catholic school campus is redeveloped into new housing and business space. The Sisters of Loretto made the decision to close the cemetery, which opened in late 1898 and received burials until 1969, and move the sisters’ bodies to Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery, where nearly two dozen other sisters are already buried, according to a February letter from the group’s…

Aneides vagrans, also called the wandering salamander, is an elusive critter. Its natural habitat is the canopy of California's redwood trees, the world's tallest trees, making it tough to observe.  One thing we do know about this salamander is that when disturbed it will willingly jump from tree branches, assuming a posture similar to that taken by skydivers, as can be seen below."It was confusing to see these salamanders jump so readily given the height of the trees they inhabit," said Christian Brown, a PhD Candidate…

In the 17th century, ovaries got their modern name, which essentially means “place for eggs”. Before that, they were known only as female testicles, thought to be vestigial versions of male gonads that may or may not produce “female sperm”. A young Dutch anatomist, Regnier de Graaf, was the first to show that they actually made eggs, by dissecting just-mated rabbits. “Nature had her mind on the job when generating the female as well as when generating the male,” he wrote.But in the 19th century, the trend of surgeons…

Flung into freefall for months on end, our bodies adjust in ways that makes for a long list of health concerns for space travelers.The latest evaluation of microgravity's warping effect on our biology focuses on the spaces surrounding the blood vessels that weave through our brain, revealing concerning changes that remain with astronauts between missions.  Researchers from across the US compared a series of magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans of 15 astronaut brains taken prior to a six-month stay on the International…

NASA has shared an image of what astronomers say is the first observation of a giant debris cloud formed by a massive collision of celestial bodies. Astronomers observed the cloud as it passed in front of its star and briefly blocked its light. Astronomers have long found evidence of collision among celestial bodies. But those observations did not provide many details about the collisions, such as the size of the objects involved. This observation was fresh in that sense. The passing by of the debris cloud in front of a…

De Havilland Canada has introduced its latest seaplane for battling forest and wildfires, the DHC-515 Firefighter. The new plane features a number of upgrades, including the ability to take on a full load of fresh or saltwater in 12 seconds.Forest and wildfires have become an increasing concern in recent years and with this has come a growing interest in the techniques and technology needed to combat them. One of the more spectacular methods of putting out fires in remote locations is to use aircraft to bomb them with…