Category Archives: Science & Technology

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First There Super-Glue – Now There’s Hyper-Glue

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Scientists in Canada have created a new kind of "hyper glue" that relies on cross-linked molecules to form tight bonds
Scientists in Canada have created a new kind of “hyper glue” that relies on cross-linked molecules to form tight bonds
Razvodovska/Depositphotos

Modern adhesives can work wonders when say, applying a bumper sticker to your car or engaging in some arts and crafts, but there are still many materials that resist their sticky grasp. Now scientists in Canada have come up with a new formula they say can fill the gaps, using ultra-strong connections at the molecular level to create new kinds of bonds between unlikely material partners. read more

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New Polymer Hardens When Heated

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The new material was inspired by organisms that thrive in extreme-heat habitats like Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park
The new material was inspired by organisms that thrive in extreme-heat habitats like Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park
Jim Peaco, National Park Service

Hokkaido University’s ongoing research into hydrogels has borne fresh fruit: a new polymer-based material that, unlike other polymers, hardens when heated – by 1,800 times. read more

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New Way to Subdue Criminals

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The BolaWrap 100 can shoot a body-wrapping Kevlar tether up to 25 feet (7.6 m)
The BolaWrap 100 can shoot a body-wrapping Kevlar tether up to 25 feet (7.6 m)
Wrap Technologies

Although Tasers are an effective alternative to the use of lethal force by police officers, getting shot by one is still quite a painful and potentially harmful experience. That’s where the BolaWrap 100 comes in – when fired at a “difficult” suspect, it simply ties them up. read more

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Is Healing the Blood-Brain Barrier the Key to Halting Dementia?

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The results of new research that has reversed dementia in mice is impressive but some are questioning whether they will apply to humans
The results of new research that has reversed dementia in mice is impressive but some are questioning whether they will apply to humans
ksuksu/Depositphotos

Two compelling new studies are building on a hypothesis suggesting age-related dementia is caused by a leaky blood-brain barrier, triggering neuro-inflammation and, ultimately, brain cell damage. The research reveals a novel anti-inflammatory drug can reverse brain aging in senile mice, but experts suggest the studies are interesting but not particularly applicable to human cases of dementia. read more

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Mid-Sized Commercial Lunar Lander

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Illustration depicting the mid-sized lander on the lunar surface
Illustration depicting the mid-sized lander on the lunar surface
NASA

NASA has unveiled its latest concept for a mid-sized lunar lander designed to deliver payloads of up to 300 kg (660 lb) to the Moon’s polar regions. Part of the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, the unmanned “pallet” lander is designed to carry a variety of experiments and instruments, including small autonomous rovers, to the lunar surface. read more

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Using Fiber Optic Cable for Earthquake Detection

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A map showing the fiber optic cable involved in the study, with the tested portion highlighted in pink
A map showing the fiber optic cable involved in the study, with the tested portion highlighted in pink
Nate Lindsey, UC Berkeley

As you might imagine, installing seismic sensors on the ocean floor isn’t an easy task. Recently, however, scientists were able to detect seabed seismic activity using something that was already down there – a fiber optic telecommunications cable.

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Turning Banana Waste into Plastic

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Although all plants are a potential source of nanocellulose, banana plants' high cellulose content makes them particularly well-suited – along with the fact that new plants are grown every year
Although all plants are a potential source of nanocellulose, banana plants’ high cellulose content makes them particularly well-suited – along with the fact that new plants are grown every year
Maria_/Depositphotos

The bunches of bananas that we buy in stores grow off of a central trunk-like structure, known as the pseudostem. And while that part of the plant is typically discarded during harvesting, it may soon find use in a plastic that biodegrades and is fully recyclable. read more

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A Decade of Scientific Breakthroughs

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Kepler's efforts in exoplanet hunting was one of the biggest scientific achievements of the decade
Kepler’s efforts in exoplanet hunting was one of the biggest scientific achievements of the decade
NASA/Wendy Stenzel

As we stare down the barrel of the futuristic-sounding year 2020, it’s a time for reflection on the past decade. The world has seen some pretty major scientific achievements in the last 10 years, as discoveries and developments decades in the making were finally realized. New Atlas rounds up five of the most ground-breaking, history-making milestones of the 2010s. read more

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Big Government Will Lower Our Drug Prices!!

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Isn’t it funny (not funny ha ha) that our government is the only one who is never to blame for price increases or shortages of any kind. It’s always Big Oil, the military industrial complex, etc. Or in this case, evil Big Pharma. We can’t name one industry that doesn’t get blamed for these occurrences (except of course, Big Education), yet the government, with its penchant for artificially picking winners and losers, escapes all scrutiny. We’re about to see it happen again. And when it has the opposite effect, we’ll all be instructed to once again blame “Big Pharma.”

from Human Events:

“Cold” Medicine: Canadian Drug Imports Will Cost Americans

The solution to drug prices is ending freeriding, not buying Canadian

In the hopes of lowering the cost of prescription drugs for Americans, the Trump Administration announced plans in late July to draft a proposal for the importation and sale of prescription drugs from Canada. The announcement was overshadowed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing bill and the bipartisan package before the Senate in September—but is a cause for concern, nonetheless. A dozen states, Congress—even the Trump Administration, despite initial opposition—are now considering such legislation.

If “buy-Canadian” doesn’t sound like a policy consistent with Trump’s platform of putting Americans first, that’s because it isn’t. Importing drugs from Canada is an ineffectual and counterproductive policy. President Trump had it right the first time. The prohibitive drug prices that Americans deal with are not solely caused by pharmaceutical companies; they are primarily the product of a failure of government policy.

Instead of artificial fixes, the Trump Administration should directly address the global freeloading and regulatory glut that’s costing Americans—both in dollars and lives. read more

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Have We Achieved the Star Wars Hologram?

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Voxon Photonics co-founder Gavin Smith with the VX1 hologram table
Voxon Photonics co-founder Gavin Smith with the VX1 hologram table
Voxon Photonics

Interactive 3D images that appear to float in the air, above a table that a group of people can stand around without needing any special headsets or glasses: that’s what South Australian company Voxon Photonics has built with its US$10,000 VX1 table. read more