Category: New Discoveries

Impact Lab > New Discoveries
Latest Trend, Legalized marijuana, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

The next big thing in cannabis? Terpenes

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The future of the industry is all in the nose.

Looking for a new angle to approach the cannabis business? While medical and lifestyle entrepreneurs have been honing in on the active cannabinoids, like THC and CBD, it turns out the real soul of the plant has been right under our noses.

Terpenes are the future of cannabis. These organic, aromatic compounds exist naturally in the essential oils of all plants — they’re what give herbs, flowers, and fruits their signature aromas. But terpenes are also the specific reason why various strains of cannabis affect the body and mind in subtly different ways.

Continue reading… “The next big thing in cannabis? Terpenes”

Energy, Future, New Discoveries, Space

This astrophysicist explains the surprisingly complex concept of ‘nothing’

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Philosophers have debated the nature of “nothing” for thousands of years, but what has modern science got to say about it?

In an interview with The Conversation, Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, explains that when physicists talk about nothing, they mean empty space (vacuum).

This may sound straightforward, but experiments show that empty space isn’t really empty – there’s a mysterious energy latent in it which can tell us something about the fate of the universe.

Rees was interviewed for The Conversation’s Anthill podcast on Nothing. This Q&A is based on an edited transcript of that interview.

Continue reading… “This astrophysicist explains the surprisingly complex concept of ‘nothing’”

Biotech, DNA, New Discoveries

Gene editing technique allows silkworms to produce spider silk

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An analysis of transformed cocoons. Morphology of the WT-1, FibH+/-, FibH-/-, WT-2, MaSp1+/-, and MaSp1+/+ cocoons. Scale bar represents 1 cm. Credit: Jun Xu

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in China has succeeded in using a gene editing technique to get silkworms to produce spider silk. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes the technique they used and the quality of the silk produced.

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Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Medicine, New Discoveries

These anti-aging pills seem to be actually working

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Pills hailed as the first real “anti-aging” drugs inched a little closer to the market after a study found they cut the number of respiratory infections in the elderly by half.

The drugs: The pills act on an aging-related pathway called TORC1. Inhibiting this pathway “has extended life span in every species studies to date,” according to Joan Mannick, who led the study for drug giant Novartis. Those species include mice and worms.

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Biotech, New Discoveries, Robotics, Robots

These robots use living muscle tissue to mimic human fingers

As if the line between human and machine wasn’t already blurry enough, researchers in Tokyo have developed a new method for using living rat muscle tissue in robotics.

The “biohybrid” design, described today in the journal Science Robotics, simulates the look and movements of a human finger. Video shows how it bends at the joint, picks up a loop, and places it down. It’s a seemingly simple movement but one that researchers say lays the groundwork for more advanced—and even more lifelike—robots. (Meet Sophia, the robot that looks almost human.)

Continue reading… “These robots use living muscle tissue to mimic human fingers”

Battery, Business, Energy, Latest News, New Discoveries

A massive, ‘semi-infinite’ trove of rare-earth metals has been found in Japan

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Researchers have found hundreds of years’ worth of rare-earth materials underneath Japanese waters — enough to supply to the world on a “semi-infinite basis,” according to a study published in Nature Publishing Group’s Scientific Reports.

Rare-earth metals are crucial in the making of high-tech products such as electric vehicles and batteries, and most of the world has relied on China for almost all of its needs.

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cutting edge, Energy, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

Physicists just discovered an entirely new type of superconductivity

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“No one thought this was possible in solid materials.”

One of the ultimate goals of modern physics is to unlock the power of superconductivity, where electricity flows with zero resistance at room temperature.

Progress has been slow, but physicists have just made an unexpected breakthrough. They’ve discovered a superconductor that works in a way no one’s ever seen before – and it opens the door to a whole world of possibilities not considered until now.

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NASA, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News, Space, Space Flight

‘A fantastic find’: Mars hides thick sheets of ice just below the surface

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The slope rises as high as London’s Big Ben tower. Beneath its ruddy layer of dirt is a sheet of ice 300 feet thick that gives the landscape a blue-black hue. If such a scene sounds otherworldly, it is. To visit it, you’ll have to travel to Mars.

Continue reading… “‘A fantastic find’: Mars hides thick sheets of ice just below the surface”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
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By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.