Human

While scientists all over the world are exploring the Moon to find ways to maintain a sustainable human presence, researchers from China have claimed that the lunar soil has the potential to generate oxygen and fuel. They say the soil on the Moon contains active compounds that can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuels. These findings suggest soil on the lunar surface could be used to get hydrogen and methane, which can power equipment and habitation on the Moon. They can also lead to a breathable atmosphere in our…

Scientists from China’s Zhejiang University have unveiled a drone swarm capable of navigating through a dense bamboo forest without human guidance. The group of 10 palm-sized drones communicate with one another to stay in formation, sharing data collected by on-board depth-sensing cameras to map their surroundings. This method means that if the path in front of one drone is blocked, it can use information collected by its neighbors to plot a new route. The researchers note that this technique can also be used by the…

People who smoke cannabis more than once a month have an increased risk of heart disease and heart attack, a new study has found – but the same study has also identified a mechanism and a molecule that may counteract the risk.  While links between weed and poor heart health have already been identified, the latest research sheds more light on the mechanisms behind the relationship, as well as analyzing data from a huge sample: half a million individuals.In further tests on mice, the study also found that…

Paleolithic cuisine was anything but lean and green, according to a 2021 study on the diets of our Pleistocene ancestors. For a good 2 million years, Homo sapiens and their ancestors ditched the salad and dined heavily on meat, putting them at the top of the food chain.  It's not quite the balanced diet of berries, grains, and steak we might picture when we think of 'paleo' food. But according to anthropologists from Israel's Tel Aviv University and the University of Minho in Portugal, modern hunter-gatherers have given…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Olena Koval found out that her husband was dead via text message. He was shot by Russian soldiers inside their home in Bucha while she was sheltering nearby, their neighbors told Human Rights Watch. In the days that followed, despite the brutal cold and her spinal disability, she made repeated attempts to recover his body but was turned back each time by the soldiers' threats.…

Serpent figure with a round head and diamond-shaped body markings. Note that the base of the engraved glyph joins a natural fissure in the ceiling limestone (3.3m long). Credit: S. Alvarez; illustration by J. Simek/ Antiquity New details of our past are coming to light, hiding in the nooks and crannies of the world, as we refine our techniques to go looking for them. Most lauded is the reconstruction of the evolution of…

A robot “chef” is being trained by Cambridge University researchers to taste food and determine if it is adequately seasoned while cooking it just like a human. The robot is being trained to even develop the ability to alter the flavour of the food, based on the preferences of the user. So, does this mean that the human chef is on the verge of extinction as machines mimic the work they do, and, possibly, even become superior cooks? The robot chef was designed by Cambridge University researchers to taste a sample plate of…

Will Jackson, CEO of robotics company Engineered Arts, says he isn’t sure what’s worse: the angry emails that accuse him of building machines that will one day overthrow humanity or the speculative ones enquiring if the sender can fuck the robots. “Everybody wants to see a humanoid robot,” Jackson says. “They love to imagine all these things that are going to happen. Part of what we do is fulfilling that desire.” (Though not, he is careful to stress, the sex-robot stuff.) Footage of Engineered Arts’ most recent…

Microscopy images reveal significant differences in size and structure between brain organoids derived from a patient with Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome (right) and from a control (left). Credit: UC San Diego Health SciencesUniversity of California San Diego (UCSD) study uses lab-grown human brain tissue to identify neural abnormalities in Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome and test gene therapy tools.In a study published on May 02, 2022, in the journal Nature Communications, scientists at the University of California San Diego School of…

Two Indian student groups have won the NASA 2022 Human Exploration Rover Challenge to recognise a new generation of potential space explorers.Announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during a virtual awards ceremony on April 29, the challenge involved as many as 91 teams, including 58 colleges and 33 high schools.Decent Children Model Presidency School from Punjab was the winner of the STEM Engagement Award in the High School division. The team from Vellore Institute of Technology in Tamil Nadu was…