#Custom Engineering latest news
- VLBA makes first direct distance measurement to magnetar September 18, 2020Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) have made the first direct geometric measurement of the distance to a magnetar within our Milky Way Galaxy—a measurement that could help determine if magnetars are the sources of the long-mysterious Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).
- Biologists create new genetic systems to neutralize gene drives September 18, 2020In the past decade, researchers have engineered an array of new tools that control the balance of genetic inheritance. Based on CRISPR technology, such gene drives are poised to move from the laboratory into the wild where they are being engineered to suppress devastating diseases such as mosquito-borne malaria, dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever and […]
- Mapping the 1.6 billion people who live near forests September 18, 2020Global maps of places where people and forests coexist show that an estimated 1.6 billion people live within 5 kilometers of a forest. The assessment, based on data from 2000 and 2012 and published September 18 in the journal One Earth, showed that of these 1.6 billion "forest-proximate people," 64.5 percent were located in tropical […]
- Bolsonaro's Indigenous land mining policy a billion-dollar backfire September 18, 2020Research has found a proposal to regulate mining of Indigenous lands in Brazil's Amazon rainforest could affect more than 863,000 square kilometers of forest and harm the nation's economy.
- Melting glacier floods Arctic coal mine, highlighting climate change irony September 18, 2020On July 26, Svalbard's only active coal mine, Gruve 7, was reported to be flooded by its operators, Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani. It had been shut down earlier this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; now plans to reopen the mine will now be delayed even further as a result. Glacial meltwater entered the […]
- Arctic sea ice is being increasingly melted from below by warming Atlantic water September 18, 2020Each September, scientists like me look out for the point when the Arctic's meager summer fizzles out and sea ice begins to grow once more. This point is known as the annual sea ice minimum extent. It has declined consistently over the past 15 years, and 2019 was the second lowest after 2012 in 42 […]
- Hot Stuff: Unusual thermal diode rectifies heat in both directions September 18, 2020You can feel it on your laptop and mobile phone. It's behind your refrigerator and office copy machine. While heat is desirable for appliances like a coffee maker, it can jeopardize the reliability and safety of electronic systems in other devices, causing premature failure at best and explosions at worst.
- Chimpanzees in volatile habitats evolved to behave more flexibly September 18, 2020One of the reasons humans are so resilient is our ability to mold our behavior to ever changing situations. It wasn't so long ago that many of us hugged when we met. In the middle of a pandemic, in which close contact between people can help spread a deadly virus, we now stand (often awkwardly) […]
- Human genetics: A look in the mirror September 18, 2020Who are we? Where did we come from? How did we get here? Throughout the ages, humans have sought answers to these questions, pursuing wisdom through religion, philosophy, and eventually science. Evolutionary analyses published by Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE) allow us to peer into the mirror and better understand ourselves as a species, bringing […]
- Survey explores impact of technology-facilitated abuse September 18, 2020A team from The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and University College London is examining how domestic and sexual violence survivors are being impacted by Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which enables everyday devices to collect, send and receive data.