The First Complete Map of an Insect Brain A team led by John Hopkins University and the University of Cambridge have completed the most expansive map of a brain to date. The diagram, which traces every neuron and connection of a larval fruit fly (whose biology is comparable with humans), took 12 years to map and is expected to inform future brain research. To survey the …
Drinking in space is typically tricky, as liquids separate into droplets without Earth’s gravitational pull. However, researchers at NASA have devised a way to drink from an open-top cup without gravity or a straw. The Space Cup, part of NASA’s Capillary Flow Experiment, combines cup geometry and fluid dynamics to allow astronauts to sip liquids as if on Earth. Designed by astronaut Don Pettit, physicist …
There are roughly 550,000 abandoned mines in the US. This vast amount of space might be the solution for scientists who have been researching ways to store renewable energy. In a study led by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, researchers devised a gravity battery using millions of mines worldwide. For this concept, they proposed lowering sand underground when energy is at its peak. …
