9 MAR 2020 For the first time, doctors have attempted to cure blindness by gene-hacking a patient with CRISPR technology. A team from Oregon Health & Science Institute injected three droplets of fluid that delivered the CRISPR DNA fragments directly into a patient’s eyeball, The Associated Press reports, in hopes that it will reverse …
Read More »THERE’S A PECULIAR LINK BETWEEN WHALES BEACHING THEMSELVES AND SOLAR STORMS
04 FEB 2020 The Gray Whale is the 10th largest creature alive today, and the 9 creatures larger than it are all whales, too. Gray Whales are known for their epic migration routes, sometimes covering more than 16,000 km (10,000 miles) on their two-way trips between their feeding grounds and …
Read More »NEW CORONAVIRUS MAY CIRCULATE FOREVER AS A SEASONAL, ENDEMIC PATHOGEN, EXPERTS FEAR
03 MAR 2020 The new coronavirus is likely here to stay. Experts think will probably become a permanent part of the human respiratory-virus repertoire. “This is going to be with us for some time – it’s endemic in human populations and not going to go away without a vaccine,” Amesh Adalja, an …
Read More »SCIENTISTS DISCOVER MYSTERIOUS VIRUS IN BRAZIL WITH NO KNOWN GENES THEY CAN IDENTIFY
20 FEB 2020 Scientists have identified an enigmatic virus whose genome seems to be almost entirely new to science, populated by unfamiliar genes that have never before been documented in viral research. The so-called Yaravirus, named after Yara – or Iara, a water-queen figure in Brazilian mythology – was recovered from Lake Pampulha, an …
Read More »SMELLING ROSE WHILE SLEEPING COULD HELP KIDS LEARN
12 FEB 2020 If humans are truly capable of learning while we sleep, our noses might be the key. A new study on children suggests that subtle smells, like the fragrance of a rose, might help us to strengthen specific memories from the day. Researchers in Germany found students were …
Read More »CIGARETTES PRODUCE INVISIBLE CHEMICAL EMISSIONS EVEN AFTER THEY’VE BEEN EXTINGUISHED
12 FEB 2020 Cigarettes aren’t just toxic when they’re being smoked. Even when the butts are scrunched up and cold, new research has found they continue to emit harmful compounds in the air. In the first 24 hours alone, scientists say a used cigarette butt will produce 14 percent of …
Read More »THE BOTTOM OF AN ANTARCTIC GLACIER
09 FEB 2020 Researchers have taken the first-ever images of the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, a glacier about the size of Florida that is anticipated to play a key role in future sea level rise. The images, taken by a robotic underwater vehicle, were part of a broad set of …
Read More »CLINICAL TRIAL PROVIDES ‘FIRST REAL HOPE’ OF A LUPUS TREATMENT IN HALF A CENTURY
29 DEC 2019 Lupus is a potentially fatal autoimmune disorder that impacts roughly 5 million people worldwide, and yet it still has no known cause or cure. Today, most treatments come with a whole bunch of adverse side effects, and given how little we know, finding new avenues for medicine has …
Read More »A HAPPY SHIP IS A SAFE SHIP
26 DEC 2019 This is a concept that it is argued on all training and support actions for seafarers by companies and organizations worldwide. This concept is absolutely correct; there is no dispute about that! Since 2009, when I delivered my first training for seafarers about “Mental Health Awareness” until …
Read More »OUR BODIES AGE IN THREE DISTINCT SHIFTS, ACCORDING TO MORE THAN 4,000 BLOOD TESTS
21 DEC 2019 In terms of biological ageing, the body seems to shift gears three times during our lifespans, new research suggests – with 34 years, 60 years and 78 years the key thresholds. In other words, we now have evidence that ageing isn’t one long, continuous process that moves …
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