io9: science porn

Top Medical Discovery of 2007 Explained via Cartoon

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:00:49 PDT

For a long time, it seemed as if a medical discovery that Science called "one of the greatest of 2007" might never get covered by the mainstream media because it was just too complicated. But then an enterprising journalist and artist with the Philadelphia Inquirer boldly went where no reporters dared go. Writer Tom Avril and artist Cynthia Greer figured out how to simplify this complicated discovery into a completely-accurate cartoon (pictured).

A researcher named Steven Reiner at University of Pennsylvania proved that the human body fights disease with two kinds of immune cells (called T-cells): some that fight the invading microbes, and some that exist just to keep a record of how to fight those microbes in the future. Those "memory" cells are what this researcher revealed, and their mysteries are still being unlocked.

Writes Avril:

The University of Pennsylvania physician electrified his field last year by showing how the immune system generates two types of the sophisticated tools known as T-cells: one to fight invaders to the death, the other to remember the battle plan for the next time the same enemy shows up.
Reiner's finding, made with John Chang, Vikram Palanivel and colleagues, was named one of the top 10 breakthroughs of 2007 by the journal Science. Using mice, the team provided evidence that T-cells arise from a self-renewing process a bit like that used by stem cells. Without it, we'd fight off a bug once, and the next time we'd be dead.

"It's an amazing system," Reiner marvels. "You do use these cells, but you don't deplete them. That's how we can live long lives with short-lived cells."

I love it when somebody figures out a simple way to explain such a crucial issue to the public. Want to get really complicated about it? Read one of Reiner's published papers.

Making Immune Memories [via Knight Science Journalism Tracker]

Defeated Giant Monster Hung From The City's Rafters

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:45:00 PDT

"Wheke," the giant calamari that invaded New Zealand in January 2000, went on display in Paris today. The massive tentacles almost make Wheke look like a space marauder or crazed mutant by themselves, but they're not what make him science-fictional. Rather, it's the process used to preserve Wheke so he can go on display for years to come: he's the first creature to be "plastinated," meaning that he was totally dehydrated and all fluids were replaced by a special plastic resin. The next step: to create a living plastic, so plastinated creatures can continue to move and even think. Click through for a gallery of Wheke pictures.

Images by Stephane De Sakutin for AFP/Getty Images

World's Fastest Camera Catches An Electron In Motion

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:53:23 PST

Here's the world's first video of an electron in motion, showing how an electron rides on a light wave after having just been pulled away from an atom. Electrons move so fast, it's almost impossible to generate a short enough burst of light to be able to see them move. But a new camera generates "attosecond pulses." (An attosecond is to a regular second as a second is to the age of the universe, says the MARS blog.) The next step: Film an electron colliding with an atom. [Attosecond Physics and High-Order Harmonic Generation]

The Next Mars Rover Needs A Mega-chute

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:30:23 PST

NASA tests the next generation of space parachute inside the world's largest wind tunnel, built to hold a Boeing 737. The 165-foot-long parachute opens to a diameter of nearly 55 feet, holds more air than a 3,000 square foot house, and can survive loads of over 80,000 pounds. NASA hopes to launch its new Mars Science Lab in 2009, which will put the next generation of rover on the surface of Mars in 2010. Click through for a couple of images of the new rover in progress.

Above is an artist's image of the next-generation Mars rover, and below is a model of the Mars rover which engineers call the Scarecrow, because it's missing its computer brain. Mobility engineers are using the headless rover to test its mobility and suspension performance. The next Mars rover faces development problems and skyrocketing costs, which could threaten its 2009 launch date. Images by AP/NASA.

A 3-D Look Inside A Virus

charliejane — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:30:17 PST

The latest electron microscopes can create three-dimensional images of the smallest structures, turning an agricultural pest into a work of art. This is the cowpea mosaic virus, scourge of legume farmers everywhere, vitrified and subjected to a single particle reconstruction procedure by FEI Corp. You can easily make out the blue outer protein shell and the yellow viral genomic material inside. Maybe soon we'll be able to hack viruses as easily as we can image them. Image by FEI Corp. [FEI]

A Foam Peanut, Sliced Thinly and Magnified

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:40:41 PST

Every science fiction lover starts out by taking the world around them apart: unscrewing the cover from the cable box, putting shit in the microwave to watch it explode, asking their teachers and parents WHY the dog can't talk, or WHY we have to work for money instead of donuts. That's why this image delights me. Aaron Messing took a foam peanut, sliced it thinly, and put it under the microscope. The result? Beautiful deconstructed foam. [Aaron Messing Microscopy Gallery]

Nationalist Robots Swarm To Conquer Space

charliejane — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:45:34 PST

There are more robot space probes now than any other time in history, says MSNBC. Blame the new space race: Europe, Japan, China, India, Canada and South Korea have all launched probes, or will soon. A gallery of this international flotilla, after the jump.

Image of the Venus Express from the European Space Agency. [MSNBC]

A Robot's Vision of Antarctica's Undersea Kingdom

charliejane — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:00:01 PST

This looks like a rocket entering a wormhole, but it's actually a robot camera designed to function on the ocean floor under the Anatarctic ice. The Submersible Capable of under Ice Navigation and Imaging (SCINI) can fit through a hole in the ice as small as 15 cm. Similar cameras could one day probe a buried ocean on Saturn's moon for unknown life forms. Click through to see the sea life under the polar ice.

Image of camera by Elisfanclub Undersea image by SCINI.

T Rex Loved Rough Sex

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:53:33 PST

A new science porn magazine, Science Illustrated, hit the stands this week. Packed with ultra-glossy pictures, the magazine is a cross between Scientific American and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Best factoid in the image-packed, editorially slim first issue: tooth marks on T Rex skeletons suggest the beasts had rough sex and the smaller males had to bite bigger females to convince them to mate.

Saturn: Hot Or Not?

charliejane — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:30:28 PST

You can vote for the sexiest image of Saturn and its moons from the Cassini space probe, until Dec. 30. You even get to rate every space photo from 1 to 10, bringing a whole new meaning to "science porn." This pic shows the "dragon storm" on Saturn, a disturbance so fierce it kicked up radio waves.

Tentacled Fungus Attacks The Microverse

charliejane — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:30:00 PST

This creepy monster skull is actually a snapdragon seed pod, magnified by an electron microscope. Just as you'd always suspected, the microscopic world turns out to contain nothing but slimy textures and sinister craggy shapes, judging from Karin Jones' haunting microscopy photos.

Just check out the image of a fungal growth attacking another snapdragon seed pod: its tentacles pulsate with a slick malevolence.

Grampa's Robot Enforcer

charliejane — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:30:00 PST

Japanese researchers tested out a new robot designed to take care of elderly people, at a Waseda University lab today. Despite its 244-pound bulk and menacing pincer-arms, the battery-powered Twendy-One is supposed to handle old people gently. [Photo by Koji Sasahara for AP]

Car Of 2017 Will Mix High-Tech With No-Tech

charliejane — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:30:31 PST

The car of the future will have sleek plastic on the outside, but hand-woven seats on the inside. Harsha Ravi's designs for the car of 2017 won Wheels magazine's design prize. They're an awesome mixture of high-tech (cutting-edge carbon-neutral bioplastic) with zero-tech. It's all part of an urban car that's customizeable and cheap, but also green.

The old basketweaver dude in Ravi's plans represents the local supplier, who provides the car seats wherever Ravi's Globetrotter car is sold. The 21-year-old Ravi also included airless tires, a zinc-air fuel cell and nano-paper battery in the Globetrotter, which won the Young Designer of the Year Award from Australia's Wheels.

Tomorrow's City Car [Rambodoc, via Ecofriend]

Japanese Toilet Bug Makes Small Talk

charliejane — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 06:30:00 PST

Japanese truckers could soon be having some surreal encounters. Not only will this ladybug robot scrub the floor and dodge around people, it will also try to engage them in conversation. Are people ready for a chatty cleaning bot? The Lady Bird will understand simple speech and respond. You can ask about local traffic conditions, and it'll have the latest info. Between this and the kneeling office bot, Japan could be swarming with officious (but adorable) answer-bots by 2010.Image from Yomiuri.

Ladybug Robot Cleans Public Restrooms [Pink Tentacle]

The Fastest Solar Car In The World

charliejane — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:00:06 PST

This is the Nuna4, which won the World Solar Challenge in Australia — the fourth time in a row the University of Delft has won the race. The Nuna4 weighs less than 190 kg (without driver), and its lightweight construction means it can get up to an average speed of 90.87 km/hour. Image by Erik Van 'T Woud/AFP/Getty Images

Green Ooze Controls Woman's Mind

charliejane — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:19:46 PST

From "Can algae save the world?" an exhibit at the Science Museum in London running until April 2008. Scientists are hoping the entire planet will use algae as biofuels in the future. More menacing algae after the jump. Images by Kirsty Wigglesworth for AP.