It was another mixed bag of science this week, including the resurgence of an amazing article (including video) on a recent breakthrough from neuroscience research team that was able to grow neurons in the lab that are implantable.
Other surprising breakthroughs and first discoveries this week included:
- The first fossilized heart was discovered
- A scorpion turns out to have venom that may be beneficial to humans
- A robotic diver that is getting close to being a real avatar
- More very interesting news about what’s happening at Chernobyl 30 years later.
And… with no further ado, here are this week’s most popular stories on Science Rocks My World as voted by your clicks:
Neuroscience Breakthrough: Artificial, Implantable Neurons [Video]
Scientists at McGill University have achieved a huge breakthrough in neuroscience – they have discovered how to make artificial neurons that are indistinguishable from normal human neurons and can be implanted to make new connections in the nervous system.
This is the first time scientists have managed to create new functional connections between neurons…
The first fossilised heart ever found in a prehistoric animal
Palaeontologists and the famous Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz were once in search of the same thing: a heart. But in our case, it was the search for a fossilised heart. And now we’ve found one.
A new discovery, announced today in the journal eLife, shows the perfectly preserved 3D fossilised heart in a 113-119 million-year-old fish from Brazil called Rhacolepis.
This is the first definite fossilised heart found in any prehistoric animal…
This Scorpion’s Sting May Be Good for You
Because of their venomous sting, scorpions are usually avoided at all costs. But a new discovery suggests the toxins found in some venom might actually have a unique benefit.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings show that when a toxin produced by Scorpio maurus—a scorpion species found in North Africa and the Middle East—permeates the cell membrane it loses its potency and may actually become healthful.
“This is the first time a toxin has been shown to chemically reprogram once inside a cell, becoming something that may be beneficial…”
How Astronomers Determined Whether This Object is an Exoplanet or a Brown Dwarf
Our galaxy may have billions of free-floating planets that exist in the darkness of space without any companion planets or even a host sun.
But scientists say it’s possible that some of those lonely worlds aren’t actually planets but rather light-weight stars called brown dwarfs.
Take, for example, the newfound object called WISEA 1147. It’s estimated to be between roughly five to 10 times the mass of Jupiter…
Losing your virginity: how we discovered that genes could play a part
As far as big life decisions go, choosing when to lose your virginity or the best time start a family are probably right up there for most people. It may seem that such decisions are mostly driven by social factors, such as whether you’ve met the right partner, social pressure or even your financial situation. But scientists are increasingly realising that such sexual milestones are also influenced by our genes…
To fight Zika, let’s genetically modify mosquitoes – the old-fashioned way
The near panic caused by the rapid spread of the Zika virus has brought new urgency to the question of how best to control mosquitoes that transmit human diseases. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes bite people across the globe, spreading three viral diseases: dengue,chikungunya and Zika. There are no proven effective vaccines or specific medications to treat patients after contracting these viruses.
Mosquito control is the only way, at present, to limit them. But that’s no easy task…
This Robot ‘Mermaid’ can Grab Shipwreck Treasures [Video]
![This Robot ‘Mermaid’ can Grab Shipwreck Treasures [Video]](http://www.sciencerocksmyworld.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/1112/2016/04/this-robot-mermaid-can-grab-ship-110x110.jpg)
A robot called OceanOne with artificial intelligence and haptic feedback systems gives human pilots an unprecedented ability to explore the depths of the oceans.
Oussama Khatib held his breath as he swam through the wreck of La Lune, over 300 feet below the Mediterranean. The flagship of King Louis XIV sank here in 1664, 20 miles off the southern coast of France, and no human had touched the ruins—or the countless treasures and artifacts the ship once carried—in the centuries since…
At Chernobyl and Fukushima, radioactivity has seriously harmed wildlife
The largest nuclear disaster in history occurred 30 years ago at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in what was then the Soviet Union. The meltdown, explosions and nuclear fire that burned for 10 days injected enormous quantities of radioactivity into the atmosphere and contaminated vast areas of Europe and Eurasia. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Chernobyl released 400 times more radioactivity into the atmosphere than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945…
Also Trending This Week, Check Out:
- Software Will Let you Design & Print Your Own Custom Robot
- How ancient warm periods can help predict future climate change
- Great Barrier Reef bleaching would be almost impossible without climate change
- Before fusion: a human history of fire
- New Study: Volcanoes Ruled Out as Dinosaur Extinction Cause
- This Ancient Society may have Invented Authority [Video]
- Has climate change really improved U.S. weather?