The intricate processes behind newborns developing an immune system have been exposed for the first time by scientists at the California Institute of Technology. Using gold atoms to track down proteins inside the new body, they uncovered that the antibodies transmitted by the mother through breast milk or through the placenta during pregnancy are literally snatched by a protein in cells inside the intestines and then delivered into the bloodstream. The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) protein is primarily responsible for trapping the antibodies circulating inside an infant's gut. It then surrounds them with a protective layer, called a... [read more >>] A recent experiment performed at Berkshire's University of Reading checked whether robots could resemble humans in thinking, based on text conversations. Chatbots' jokes, arguments and answers were not enough to beat a Turing test. Alan Turing was a bright British mathematician who addressed the issue of robot thinking capabilities during the 1950s, stating that chatting was not a sign of intelligence and that, if a computer spoke like a human, then it should also think like one in all practical aspects. In order to test artificial talking skills, he devised a stratagem that would confront a human with a computer said to poss... [read more >>] Starting 2012, the U.S. military plans to begin construction of one of the largest solar-powered electrical plants in the country, which is to be finished and fully operational by 2014. The plant will generate an enormous 500 megawatts of energy, several hundred times more than the largest current such facility, that on Nellis Air Force Base, which outputs only 14 megawatts. The project aims at reducing the carbon emissions of the military power grid by more than 4 million tones over the next 25 years, with estimated savings at about $21 million. The future plant will only be second to the one currently being constructed by OptiSolar, ... [read more >>] The second documented case of a female shark bearing a live young without ever being exposed to the presence of a male has recently been recorded. But this doesn't mean that there haven't been such cases before, even though they were not observed and analyzed by specialists. But before all feminist supporters possibly reading this article start crying out loud that “See, we can fare very well even without men's only needful feature,” it should be stressed out that this is perceived by biologists rather as a natural aberration than a normal response to being deprived of the presence of the opposite gender. Fur... [read more >>] A renowned publication, “Epoch Times,” seems to be giving some serious credit to Chinese bloggers who watched closely and thoroughly the footage that showed the Shenzhou VII crew's mission and Zhai Zhigang's walk in space. Perhaps too thoroughly, since they came up with all sorts of mismatches and oddities that would clearly prove, they say, that the whole event was a fake. Following the exact pattern of questioning the American moon mission of Apollo 11, which was discredited to the maximum, some Chinese see – or maybe they think they see, this is for you to decide – stuff that might prove that their... [read more >>] The state of Earth's wildlife is bleak at best, say researchers. More than 50 percent of all mammal species are endangered and a quarter of them are in immediate danger and face extinction. Out of the 5,487 mammals studied in this year's edition of the Red Book, a publication that keeps track of the danger levels on all animals worldwide, more than 1140 are going to completely disappear during our lifetime. The statistics are frightening and ecologists are warning that human activities are the main cause for this decline. According to them, reduction of habitats, hunting and deforestation are the main causes that determine an... [read more >>] Archaeologists discovered an ancient bowl, dated 2nd century BC to early 1st century AD, engraved with an inscription that refers to Christ, the earliest one found to date. The carving on the bowl reads "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which can be translated either as "by Christ the magician" or "the magician by Christ." It was discovered by a group of French marine archaeologists, led by Franck Goddio, during an underwater excavation of the ruins of an ancient harbor in Alexandria, Egypt, which is also the place that may have hosted Cleopatra's palace. It is not known (and there is little probability that much evidence can be gathered ... [read more >>] The fatidic date of December 21, 2012 was linked by many to the drastic decrease in strength of our planet's magnetic field and to the complete reversal of its poles. This would leave Earth undefended against solar radiation, as well as force our satellites down from their orbit, wrecking the GPS system, further causing social collapse. But don't worry, real science contradicts all that. Perhaps it will happen later in time, but not now.Most obviously, people tend to manifest an attraction for numerical patterns in dates, in that they link them to possibilities of Armageddon-like events that mean the end of the world as we know it... [read more >>] A group of scientists has discovered a new class of anti-HIV drugs, which apparently are able to better deal with the effects the virus has in human bodies. The real breakthrough is that patients have not yet been exposed to this class of drugs, which means that their body hasn't yet developed an immunity to it. In other words, it could be possible even for those who are currently ill to have their conditions medicated without side effects. Actually, test results show bright perspectives, as doctors try to figure out ways to combine this new drug, called maraviroc, with other medications that have the ability to slow the progress of HI... [read more >>] Direct consumption and agricultural uses of water, together with other industrial purposes, have recently become more and more worrying in quantitative terms. While people generally worry they will eventually come to lack food, in fact the water that provides it should be their main source of concern.Many millennia have passed since man first began to use water for other purposes than drinking. About 8.000 years ago, the discovery of irrigation had influenced mankind's behavior, diet and migrations. Today, on a rough average, people drink approximately 2 liters of water per day. But if all the water that is involved in providing their ... [read more >>] | 
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