Do you know that ?---Article from TamilYoungsters.com
Organs can be supercooled
A new development in medicine could transform the world of organ donation. Scientists have discovered that ‘supercooling’ human organs by chilling cells can slow the deterioration process and give them a better chance of being used in future operations and transplants.
A brighter future for solar cells
A research team from Liverpool University have found a new way of producing solar cells. Current solar panels are made using cadmium chloride, which is toxic to the environment, but they have discovered that magnesium chloride works just as well. This material isn’t toxic and is found in bath salts and is plentiful in seawater. The future is looking bright…
Carbs are apparently good for trees
There’s good news for the natural world as scientists have found a new and innovative method to help tropical trees survive droughts. It has been found that when exposed to high levels of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs), the trees could live in spite of severely reduced hydration levels. Experts are still unsure on how NSC benefi ts the trees but this is an important development against the ongoing problem of deforestation.
Water pistol: version 2.0
Want to emerge victorious from the neighbourhood water battle this summer? Look no further than this hulking beast. The pistol uses the material sugru, which is the world’s fi rst hand-mouldable self-setting rubber. Designed in the style of an action-movie Gatling gun, it is CO2 powered, has a range of 12 metres (40 feet) and can carry up to ten litres (2.6 gallons) of water to soak the unlucky victim.
Our brains grow and erase old memories
Our infant experiences become hazier as we grow older. Now, scientists from Toronto believe they can explain why that happens. Their theories state that new memories gathered over time effectively erase the old ones. Our brain grows so rapidly in our youth that old memories are just disposed of, especially recollections from before your third birthday. Scientists are delving deeper into the neuroscience of the hippocampus region of the brain to fi nd more answers.
Creepy crawlies gave us bigger brains
A diet of ants and slugs could have helped the human race evolve, according to research at Washington University in St Louis. In the winter months when fresh food was scarce, primates had to rack their brains and process new cognitive functions to fi nd food. As a result, our ancestors were forced to develop tools to fi nd insects as their main source of food and our prehistoric primate brains increase in size and intelligence.
There’s a cure for garlic breath, at last!
Experts have found a remedy to garlic breath: green tea and apples. The smell of garlic is created by sulphur, but apples and green tea (as well as milk and lemon juice) contain an oxidising enzyme that neutralises the odour through a chemical reaction. So you can have garlic bread, as long as you put the kettle on afterwards.
Flying saucers are being made
Looking much like a classic B-movie alien spaceship, NASA’s latest vehicle could soon be on its way to Mars. The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) is the fi rst of three in a project that is designed to improve landing technology for future missions to the Red Planet. This ‘saucer’ is in fact a parachute that will be deployed from a high-altitude balloon.
New Earth-like planet discovered
The quest for interstellar colonisation has taken another step closer after the discovery of another planet with similar characteristics to Earth. Christened GJ 832c, this ‘Super Earth’ is at least fi ve times the size of our planet, but may have similar temperatures to Earth’s.
