Lifeboat Foundation

Organic farmers are returning to an unusual tool in the fight against weeds — fire. Called ‘flame weeding’ the process involves either using a small, handheld flamethrower, or installing a pretty hardcore row of flamethrowers onto the front of a tractor and slowly driving through fields of crops singeing the weeds in between the rows.

Flame Engineering, Inc. specializes in developing and selling flame weeding equipment and says the technique is rooted in science. The company’s website explains that the technique is not about blasting the weeds to kingdom come, but rather about focusing on destroying cell structure.

Continue reading “Flame-Throwing Tractor Needs No Chemicals to Get Rid of Weeds” »

This time, astronomers will see all the way to the Milky Way’s edge.

The upcoming release will add some previously unavailable information, including about the chemical compositions, ages and masses of millions of stars.

Related: 4 big Milky Way mysteries the next Gaia mission data dump may solve.

NASA will launch a mission that will both fly by Venus and descend through its harsh atmosphere in 2029. Called DAVINCI, the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry and Imaging mission will be the first to study Venus through both flybys and descent.

The spacecraft is expected to explore the layered Venusian atmosphere and reach its surface by June 2031. The DAVINCI mission will be able to capture data about Venus that scientists have been eager to measure since the early 1980s.

Only two NASA missions have previously visited the second planet from our sun – Pioneer in 1978 and Magellan in the early ’90s.

Aqueous droplet formation by liquid-liquid phase separation (or coacervation) in macromolecules is a hot topic in life sciences research. Of these various macromolecules that form droplets, DNA is quite interesting because it is predictable and programmable, which are qualities useful in nanotechnology. Recently, the programmability of DNA was used to construct and regulate DNA droplets formed by coacervation of sequence designed DNAs.

A group of scientists at Tokyo University of Technology (Tokyo Tech) led by Prof. Masahiro Takinoue has developed a computational DNA droplet with the ability to recognize specific combinations of chemically synthesized microRNAs (miRNAs) that act as biomarkers of tumors. Using these miRNAs as molecular input, the droplets can give a DNA logic computing output through physical DNA droplet phase separation. Prof. Takinoue explains the need for such studies, “The applications of DNA droplets have been reported in cell-inspired microcompartments. Even though biological systems regulate their functions by combining biosensing with molecular logical computation, no literature is available on integration of DNA droplet with molecular computing.” Their findings were published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Developing this DNA droplet required a series of experiments. First, they designed three types of Y-shaped DNA nanostructures called Y-motifs A, B, and C with 3 sticky ends to make A, B, and C DNA droplets. Typically, similar droplets band together automatically while to join dissimilar droplets a special “linker” molecule is required. So, they used linker molecules to join the A droplet with the B and C droplets; these linker molecules were called AB and AC linkers, respectively.

Imagine we could do what green plants can do: photosynthesis. Then we could satisfy our enormous energy needs with deep-green hydrogen and climate-neutral biodiesel. Scientists have been working on this for decades. Chemist Chengyu Liu will receive his doctorate on 8 June for yet another step that brings artificial photosynthesis closer. He expects it to be commonplace in fifty years.

In fact, we can already achieve photosynthesis as green plants can. Solar energy converts CO₂ and water into oxygen and chemical compounds that we can use as fuel. Hydrogen for example, but also carbon compounds like those found in petrol. But the costs are higher than the value of the fuel it yields. If that changes, and we can scale up this artificial photosynthesis gigantically, then all our energy problems will be solved. Then CO₂ emissions from energy production will become negative.

Is it all down to a cup of joe then?

People who drink coffee regularly, with or without sugar, both seem to benefit from the beverage as it cuts down on the risk of early death, * The Guardian* reported.

Grabbing a cup of coffee may just be something you do almost unconsciously as you sit down with your morning newspaper or before you start your workday. As the day wears on, you might be down three cups or maybe even five without giving it a second thought. However, scientists have been very conscious of the world’s coffee consumption.

Continue reading “Coffee drinkers have a 29 percent lower risk of death than non-coffee drinkers” »

Background An attempt was made to reprogram peripheral blood cells into human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSCs) as a new cell source for cartilage repair. Methods We generated chondrogenic lineage from human peripheral blood via hiPSCs using an integration-free method. Peripheral blood cells were either obtained from a human blood bank or freshly collected from volunteers. After transforming peripheral blood cells into iPSCs, the newly derived iPSCs were further characterized through karyotype analysis, pluripotency gene expression and cell differentiation ability. iPSCs were differentiated through multiple steps, including embryoid body formation, hiPSC-mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-like cell expansion, and chondrogenic induction for 21 days. Chondrocyte phenotype was then assessed by morphological, histological and biochemical analysis, as well as the chondrogenic expression.

An attempt was made to reprogram peripheral blood cells into human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSCs) as a new cell source for cartilage repair.

We generated chondrogenic lineage from human peripheral blood via hiPSCs using an integration-free method. Peripheral blood cells were either obtained from a human blood bank or freshly collected from volunteers. After transforming peripheral blood cells into iPSCs, the newly derived iPSCs were further characterized through karyotype analysis, pluripotency gene expression and cell differentiation ability. iPSCs were differentiated through multiple steps, including embryoid body formation, hiPSC-mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-like cell expansion, and chondrogenic induction for 21 days. Chondrocyte phenotype was then assessed by morphological, histological and biochemical analysis, as well as the chondrogenic expression.

HiPSCs derived from peripheral blood cells were successfully generated, and were characterized by fluorescent immunostaining of pluripotent markers and teratoma formation in vivo. Flow cytometric analysis showed that MSC markers CD73 and CD105 were present in monolayer cultured hiPSC–MSC-like cells. Both alcian blue and toluidine blue staining of hiPSC–MSC-chondrogenic pellets showed as positive. Immunohistochemistry of collagen II and X staining of the pellets were also positive. The sulfated glycosaminoglycan content was significantly increased, and the expression levels of the chondrogenic markers COL2, COL10, COL9 and AGGRECAN were significantly higher in chondrogenic pellets than in undifferentiated cells. These results indicated that peripheral blood cells could be a potential source for differentiation into chondrogenic lineage in vitro via generation of mesenchymal progenitor cells.

Most 3D printing methods currently in use rely either on photo (light)- or thermo (heat)-activated reactions to achieve precise manipulation of polymers. The development of a new platform technology called direct sound printing (DSP), which uses soundwaves to produce new objects, may offer a third option.

The process is described in a paper published in Nature Communications. It shows how focused ultrasound waves can be used to create sonochemical reactions in minuscule cavitation regions—essentially tiny bubbles. Extremes of temperature and pressure lasting trillionths of a second can generate pre-designed complex geometries that cannot be made with existing techniques.

“Ultrasonic frequencies are already being used in destructive procedures like laser ablation of tissues and tumors. We wanted to use them to create something,” says Muthukumaran Packirisamy, a professor and Concordia Research Chair in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. He is the paper’s corresponding author.