background preloader

Education Resources

Facebook Twitter

Science at Shorefields. Home. DNA sequenced of woman who lived to 115. 15 October 2011Last updated at 00:52 By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website The woman had some rare genetic changes The entire DNA sequence of a woman who lived to 115 has been pieced together by scientists. The woman, who was the oldest in the world at the time of her death, had the mind of someone decades younger and no signs of dementia, say Dutch experts. The study, reported at a scientific conference in Canada, suggests she had genes that protected against dementia.

Further work could give clues to why some people are born with genes for a long life, says a UK scientist. It is more than 10 years since the first draft of the human genetic code was revealed. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote Sequencing the genome of the world's oldest woman is an important starting point ” End QuoteDr Jeffrey BarrettSanger Centre Since then, perhaps a few hundred individuals have had their genes mapped in full, as the technology to "read" DNA gets better and cheaper. Dolphins 'decompress like humans' 14 October 2011Last updated at 10:23 Stranded dolphins are common along the coast of Cape Cod in winter months Scientists have found tiny bubbles beneath the blubber of dolphins that have beached themselves.

Dolphins 'decompress like humans'

The bubbles were discovered by taking ultrasound scans of the animals within minutes of stranding off Cape Cod, US. The team's findings help confirm what many researchers have long suspected: dolphins avoid the bends by taking long, shallow decompression dives after feeding at depth. World's 'lightest material' unveiled by US engineers. 18 November 2011Last updated at 13:23 Engineers say the material is less dense than aerogels and metallic foams A team of engineers claims to have created the world's lightest material.

World's 'lightest material' unveiled by US engineers

The substance is made out of tiny hollow metallic tubes arranged into a micro-lattice - a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between the tubes. The researchers say the material is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has "extraordinarily high energy absorption" properties. Potential uses include next-generation batteries and shock absorbers. The research was carried out at the University of California, Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology and is published in the latest edition of Science. "The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair," said lead author Dr Tobias Schaedler. Low-density The resulting material has a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimetre. Robust.

Deep-sea creatures at volcanic vent. 28 December 2011Last updated at 02:17 By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News The team used an underwater robot to film the creatures living around the hydrothermal vent (Footage: University of Southampton) Remarkable images of life from one of the most inhospitable spots in the ocean have been captured by scientists.

Deep-sea creatures at volcanic vent

Researchers have been surveying volcanic underwater vents - sometimes called black smokers - in the South West Indian Ridge in the Indian Ocean. The UK team found an array of creatures living in the super-heated waters, including yeti crabs, scaly-foot snails and sea cucumbers. They believe some of the species may be new to science. Hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977.

Species such as this sea cucumber are not found in neighbouring ridge systems This area is also unusual because it is an "ultra-slow spreading" ridge, which means it is less volcanically active than other ridges, with fewer vents that are further apart. "One was a type of yeti crab. A new concept in e-learning solutions.

Nanotube yarns twist like muscles. 14 October 2011Last updated at 11:48 Nanotubes continue to amaze scientists with their mechanical and electronic properties Yarns made of the tiny straws of carbon called nanotubes have an astounding ability to twist as they contract, scientists have found. The effect, reported in Science, is similar to the action of muscles found in elephant trunks and squid tentacles. However, the yarns twist 1,000 times as much as previous "artificial muscles". The effect, which occurs thanks to a conducting fluid in which the yarns were dipped, could be put to use in motors much thinner than a human hair. The team of researchers from Australia, the US, Canada and South Korea demonstrated motors that could spin at nearly 600 revolutions per minute, turning a weight 2,000 times heavier than the yarn itself.

Carbon nanotubes have only recently been identified by scientists; they are "straws" made only of atoms of carbon linked together in hexagons. OpenLearn - The Open University.

Bbc bitesize