technical updates

Scientists have found evidence that vulnerability to rheumatoid arthritis may begin before birth. Finger joints commonly affected by the disease develop with different tissue structures and larger populations of specialized fibroblasts than joints that are usually spared. Those cells also respond differently to inflammation, suggesting that the architecture of each joint may help determine where arthritis eventually takes hold. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/WNVAFyh

Harvard researchers have transformed ordinary knitting into a platform for creating fabrics that can snap between different shapes and perform useful functions. Using elastic yarns and industrial knitting techniques, the team engineered thick textiles that naturally curve and lock into multiple stable configurations, much like a light switch flipping between on and off. By adding conductive yarn, they turned these shape-shifting fabrics into soft electronic switches capable of controlling lights, counting steps, and responding to movement. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/OsumE3b

Astronomers have used the MeerKAT radio telescope to detect hydrogen gas billions of light-years away from us — from a period when the cosmos was billions of years younger than its current age of 13.8 billion years. The research may provide astronomers with a new way of mapping the large-scale structure of the universe . The technique would rely on charting out where hydrogen, the universe's lightest and most abundant element, is located across the cosmos. It's known as hydrogen intensity mapping. Neutral hydrogen emits a faint radio signal that astronomers call the 21-centimeter line. As the cosmos expands under the influence of dark energy , the wavelength of this radio signal is stretched, or " redshifted ." The extremity of the redshift allows astronomers to determine how long a particular signal has been travelling to us and thus what period of the universe the hydrogen tha...

Creator Gene Roddenberry's " Wagon Train To The Stars ," has certainly lived long and prospered since " Star Trek " first launched on the NBC Television Network on Sept. 8, 1966 with the hour-long debut episode titled "The Man Trap." Since then, this hopeful space fantasy franchise flourished and grew to encompass a total of 9 live-action series, 3 animated series, and 14 feature films across six decades, inspiring multiple generations with its adventurous spirit, enduring optimism, and thoughtful humanism. Now, as its 60th anniversary approaches, Paramount and its crew of worldwide partners are celebrating the milestone occasion with global fan events, theatrical screenings, special TV programming, and even a voyage into orbit. Here’s a short list of some of the more notable "Star Trek" festivities planned for Earth: Firstly, limited-release restored ...

Venus is something of a frustration for stargazers. It's the brightest planet and the easiest to see, while the sight of it close to a crescent moon is one of the most achingly beautiful sights in the sky. Yet it gives almost nothing away. Mars has its reddish color. Saturn rewards even a small telescope with its spectacular rings. Jupiter has moons, belts and an obvious disk. Venus , meanwhile, spends months blazing away in twilight looking exactly like what people who do not stargaze assume a star should look like — a brilliant white point. What we're seeing is sunlight reflected by its global cloud cover, which in turn makes it impossible to see in any detail. But every now and then, it does something revealing by becoming a crescent. That is when Venus, an inner planet relative to Earth, finally makes sense. Put a small telescope on Venus this week and its appearance is completely d...

Astronomers have identified a surprisingly young population of fading radio galaxies whose supermassive black holes have already switched off their powerful jets. The confirmed remnants range from about 8 to 42 million years old, suggesting many may disappear from view much faster than previously recognized. More distant remnants also seem to fade especially quickly, helping explain why they have been so difficult to detect. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/M74NGfP