What’s going on in the science world?
Stay informed with news, research developments and ground-breaking discoveries released in March 2015:
Technology
- Fuel-free airplane, powered by solar impulse, almost completes its flight around the world, landing in China to prepare for its largest ocean crossing to Hawaii.
Earth and Space
- NASA’s Curiosity Rover finds nitrogen on the surface of Mars, lending significant evidence to the theory that it once maintained life.
- Ants display teamwork in finding coping mechanisms for gravity-free environment, serving as a model for researchers to develop robots displaying similar behavior.
- Science journal releases prediction that West Antarctic ice shelves on pace to completely disappear within 100 years.
Body and Brain
- Study in Nature Neuroscience shows that family income has an impact on children’s cognitive development. Socioeconomic factors influencing brain structure may have potential to impact governmental policies aimed at promoting programs that reduce family poverty.
- Recent study in London demonstrates that victims of domestic violence are at greater risk of mental health problems, particularly depression, furthering the need for awareness on part of health care professionals to examine more than just physical injuries.
- Natural small molecule, Borrelidin, found to have powerful and wide-ranging antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-malaria, and anti-cancer effects. It was noted as possibly the most potent tRNA synthetase inhibitor on earth, preventing tumors from spreading and providing effective treatment for microbial infections.
- Biomedical researchers successfully burst microbubbles into nanoparticles that can be used for tumor tracking. Nanoparticles stay within tumors and can be detected for diagnosis and therapy, allowing for visualization in imaging and direct delivery of cancer treatments to the tumor.
- Oncotarget journal finding that less-toxic drug, combined with fasting, may kill cancer cells. This discovery is significant because the combination can be used as a future therapy model to replace traditional chemotherapy.