|  Scientists find Zika increases risk of rare neurological illness  | French scientists say they have proved a link between the Zika virus and a nerve syndrome called Guillain-Barre, suggesting countries hit by the Zika epidemic will see a rise in cases of the serious neurological condition. Guillain-Barre (GBS) is a rare syndrome in which the body's immune system attacks part of the nervous system. In a retrospective study analyzing data from a Zika outbreak in French Polynesia during 2013 and 2014, researchers led by Arnaud Fontanet of France's Institut Pasteur calculated the estimated risk of developing Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) at 2.4 for every 10,000 people infected by Zika.
| Read More » Lockheed unit to help design quieter supersonic passenger jet: NASA (Reuters) - NASA on Monday announced a contract award to Lockheed Martin Corp's unit for the preliminary design of a "low boom" flight demonstration aircraft. NASA's Commercial Supersonic Technology Project had asked industry teams to submit design concepts for a test aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds, creating a supersonic "heartbeat" - a soft thump rather than the disruptive boom currently associated with supersonic flight. Read More » Really? Millennials Probably Not Too Lazy to Eat Cereal Millennials may not be eating cereal, but it's not because they're lazy. Internet outrage erupted last week after a New York Times food column on cereal reported that 40 percent of millennials said cereal is an inconvenient food because it requites cleanup after eating. Read More » New Scans of King Tut's Tomb May Reveal Hidden Burial Chamber  | On April 2, a new series of radar scans will be performed on King Tutankhamun's tomb to search for hidden chambers that may contain an undiscovered royal burial, Egypt's antiquities ministry has announced. The announcement comes after stories were published in numerous media outlets last week claiming that Egypt's tourism minister, Hisham Zazou, had told the Spanish news outlet ABC that the chambers had been proven to exist and contain numerous treasures. Last year, University of Arizona Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves published findings suggesting that there are hidden chambers behind a wall in Tutankhamun's tomb.
| Read More » Oldest Nervous System Found in 520-Million-Year-Old Fossil  | Fossils of an ancient creature resembling a shrimp with an armored head contain the oldest and best-preserved nervous system ever found, which could help scientists decipher the evolution of nervous systems in animals alive today, according to a new study. The remarkable remains belonged to Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis, a crustaceanlike creature that lived 520 million years ago in what is now South China. The fossils revealed a long "ropelike" central nerve cord that extended throughout the body, with visible clusters of nerve tissue arranged along the cord, like beads strung on a thread.
| Read More » Moving Ink: Cool Animation Tech Brings Tattoos to Life  | In July 2015, Oskar & Gaspar, a collective of multimedia and visual artists based in Portugal, staged a landmark event in Lisbon, Portugal, called "Ink Mapping" that used projection mapping to transform tattoos into dynamic works of art. Projection mapping combines traditional projection technology with software that conforms the projected media to fit within the boundaries of a three-dimensional surface — like a building façade — rather than a flat, rectangular screen. This allows artists to design motion sequences that follow a unique pathway of planes, curves and crevices, embracing the architecture and structure of the projection surface as part of the visual story.
| Read More » Zika Virus Linked to Guillain-Barré in New Study  | A new study from French Polynesia provides the strongest evidence to date of a link between the Zika virus and the rare neurological condition Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), researchers said. In GBS, a person's own immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscle weakness, and sometimes, paralysis in adults and children. In the new study, researchers analyzed blood samples from 42 adults who were diagnosed with Guillain-Barré between November 2013 and February 2014 during the Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia.
| Read More » How to Start Exercising Again After Pregnancy But with a new bundle of joy, finding the time to exercise can be challenging. But postpartum physical activity doesn't have to drain your time — here are four tips to get back in action after having a baby. Gone are the days when doctors commonly recommended bed rest for pregnant women. Read More » Aerojet on track to complete work on AR1 rocket engine by 2019 - CEO Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc is on track to complete development of its AR1 rocket engine by 2019 as a replacement for the Russian-built RD-180 engine after receiving a funding "booster shot" from the U.S. Air Force on Monday, Chief Executive Officer Eileen Drake told Reuters on Tuesday. Drake said the Air Force's $115-million contract for work on the AR1 prototype, along with options that could increase the government's investment to $501 million in coming years, moved the U.S. military a step closer to ending its reliance on Russian engines for national space launches. Read More » | |
