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Nov 19, 2018

At first glance, a bright blue crescent immediately jumps out of this image from our NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope

Posted by in categories: space, transportation

Is it a bird? A plane? No — it’s a galaxy. Take a closer look: https://go.nasa.gov/2FypUZL

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Nov 19, 2018

Taurine transport gene sheds light on bad sleep

Posted by in categories: energy, neuroscience

Fruit flies and a common energy drink ingredient may help explain how the brain regulates sleep and how that regulation can go wrong.

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Nov 19, 2018

Are These Robots the Future of Farms?

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI, sustainability

Soon enough, agriculture might need a lot more bots.

By matt simon and melanie ruiz

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Nov 19, 2018

Coming to terms with complexity: Eco-evolutionary dynamics under more than one selection pressure

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, evolution, genetics

We found that the evolution of anti-predatory defense in the prey species stabilized predator population size but that this was delayed in the presence of the abiotic stressor. This corresponded with a lack or delay in the evolution of resistance to the abiotic stressor. Therefore, the abiotic stressor had a big effect on the eco-evolutionary dynamics, weakening the evo-to-eco link. One might expect that this is caused by competition between (asexual) bacterial lineages possessing different adaptations, decreasing the rate and directionality of evolution under multiple selection pressures. Instead, the genomic investigation showed that different targets (genes or duplicated sites) were repeatedly mutated in the individual and combined treatments. The population genetics thus revealed complex mechanistic underpinnings for a seemingly sensible difference in dynamics. Perhaps a specific type of bacterial cell clumping or another adaptation is favored in the dual-stressor environment because of conferring a degree of resistance to both types of stressors? This could then direct the mutational path away from the optimal adaptations to the individual stressors.


It took us five years to disentangle the complex interplay between ecology and evolution in an experimental system consisting of bacteria, ciliates and antibiotics.

Go to the profile of Johannes Cairns

Continue reading “Coming to terms with complexity: Eco-evolutionary dynamics under more than one selection pressure” »

Nov 19, 2018

The Tragedy of the Commons, Revisited

Posted by in categories: climatology, governance

Over two decades, I’ve worked with many collaborators studying infrastructure commons and knowledge commons. We developed the Governing Knowledge Commons framework, adapting Ostrom’s empirical approach to the special characteristics of knowledge resources. Understanding how communities share and develop knowledge is crucial in today’s “information society.” And, of course, sharing and developing knowledge is critical to successful governance of natural resources, especially on a global scale. Using the GKC framework, we’ve made substantial progress toward an empirical picture of knowledge-related commons governance. But it’s not nearly enough. Here’s why.


A classic study of the perils of resource sharing, with implications for how we deal with climate, has been updated.

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Nov 19, 2018

World’s first full-body medical scanner generates astonishing 3D images

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, electronics

After over a decade of development, the world’s first full-body medical scanner has produced its first images. The groundbreaking imaging device is almost 40 times faster than current PET scans and can capture a 3D picture of the entire human body in one instant scan.

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Nov 19, 2018

Can quantum computing prevent an encryption meltdown?

Posted by in categories: computing, encryption, government, quantum physics

Even with government and industry working on quantum-resistant encryption, getting any solutions rolled out will take time and a massive effort.

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Nov 19, 2018

Patch delivers medication

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

We’ve already heard about “microneedle” patches that near-painlessly deliver medication through the skin. Well, scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore have now taken the same approach to treating eye diseases. They’ve developed a tiny patch laden with even tinier needles, which get poked into the eyeball.

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Nov 19, 2018

‘Pinwheel’ system may upend star death theory

Posted by in category: space

A newly-discovered massive star system, perhaps the first of its kind found in our galaxy, challenges existing ideas about how large stars eventually die.

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Nov 19, 2018

Photo 3

Posted by in category: futurism

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