Their findings promise to create new tools for early diagnosis of prions causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease, in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people, they say. The researchers believe that their work may also help advance investigations of more common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The [...]

In the study, Mungall, his graduate student Jacob Hanley and Geological Survey researcher Doreen Ames concluded Sudbury Igneous Complex is predominantly derived from shock-melted lower crust rather than the average of the whole crust as has been previously supposed. The researchers discovered a subtle but significant enrichment of iridium, an extremely rare metal found mainly [...]

This Canadian study surveyed the fruit fly genome database, FlyBase, for sexually selected genes – genes contributing to courtship behaviour and the song males use to entice females, as well as genes that influence whether the female will respond to the male’s sexual advances. Of the 63 sexually selected genes used in the study, approximately [...]

artificial gravity – structural concepts for artificial gravity systems, including long deployable trusses and tethers that can hold together while spinning through interplanetary space. Such systems should also include methods to control rotation rate and structural dynamics.
inflatables – concepts for inflatable truss elements that self-rigidize to enable the in-space assembly of large platforms, and inflatable [...]