Our editors pick of the best science for this week: 23rd September top 10 STEM News
1. Tardigrade protein helps human DNA withstand radiation
Tardigrades, or water bears, are pudgy, microscopic animals that look like a cross between a caterpillar and a naked mole rat. These aquatic invertebrates are consummate survivors, capable of withstanding a host of extremes, including near total dehydration and the insults of space.
2. Quantum teleportation of a particle of light six kilometers
What if you could behave like the crew on the Starship Enterprise and teleport yourself home or anywhere else in the world? As a human, you’re probably not going to realize this any time soon; if you’re a photon, you might want to keep reading.
3. Map-reading more difficult for women during ovulation
It’s been suggested that women are better at giving directions than men. New research from Concordia University in Montreal, published in the journalPsychoneuroendocrinology, shows that may be thanks to the hormones that trigger the menstrual cycle.. New research shows tha estrogen and progesterone cause the brain to favor one memory system or strategy over another.
4. Sri Lanka eliminates malaria
Experts and authorities attribute Sri Lanka’s success in eliminating malaria from the island to a concerted effort by multiple programmes acting in concert with a robust national healthcare system.
5. Human DNA tied mostly to single exodus from Africa long ago
A study of hundreds of new genomes from across the globe has yielded insights into modern genetic diversity and ancient population dynamics, including compelling evidence that essentially all non-Africans today descend from a single migration out of Africa.
6. Detecting your true emotions with wireless signals
Researchers have developed “EQ-Radio,” a device that can detect a person’s emotions using wireless signals. By measuring subtle changes in breathing and heart rhythms, EQ-Radio is 87 percent accurate at detecting if a person is excited, happy, angry or sad — and can do so without on-body sensors.
7. You can’t blame your genes if you don’t lose weight, study finds
You might be able to blame your genes for weighing more and increasing your risk of obesity, but you can no longer blame your genes for failing to lose weight, a comprehensive study has found.
8. ‘Sixth sense’ may be more than just a feeling
With the help of two young patients with a unique neurological disorder, scientists have discovered that a gene called PIEZO2 controls specific aspects of human touch and proprioception, a “sixth sense” describing awareness of one’s body in space. Mutations in the gene caused the two to have movement and balance problems and the loss of some forms of touch. Despite their difficulties, they both appeared to cope with these challenges by relying heavily on vision and other senses.
9. Study finds loneliness is a heritable trait
Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity. To better understand who is at risk, researchers conducted the first genome-wide association study for loneliness — as a life-long trait, not a temporary state. They discovered that risk for feeling lonely is partially due to genetics, but environment plays a bigger role.
10. Good relationships with parents may benefit children’s health decades later
Growing up in a well-off home can benefit a child’s physical health even decades later — but a lack of parent-child warmth, or the presence of abuse, may eliminate the health advantage of a privileged background, according to a new study.