Memory lost in sleep deprivation is not loss: Scientists
While research has shown sleep deprivation is bad for memory, a team of scientists from University of Groningen, Netherlands, discovered that what you learn while being sleep deprived is not necessarily lost, it is just difficult to recall. The team has found a way to make this ‘hidden knowledge’ accessible after studying whilst sleep-deprived using optogenetic approaches, and the human-approved asthma drug roflumilast. An experiment on mice proved that the lost info was stored in the hippocampus, but could be retrieved with stimulation.
Spray created to remove food and water contamination
Researchers at McMaster University in Canada have found an effective way to fight food and water contamination. They have developed a way to coax bacteriophages — harmless viruses that eat bacteria — into linking together and forming microscopic beads. These beads can safely be applied to food and other materials to rid them of harmful pathogens such as E. coli 0157. Each bead is about 20 microns, (one-50th of a millimetre) in diameter and is loaded with millions of phages. The research team has created a spray using microbeads which lets the bacteriophages loose on the bacteria and avoids food or water contamination. Basically, when it is sprayed, it is like millions of micro-soldiers set free to protect the food or water to destroy the bacteria that is causing the contamination.
Mystery behind millennia-old Roman concrete durability solved
Researchers have solved the mystery behind why concrete used by ancient Romans has lasted for millennia. For instance, Rome’s famed Pantheon, which has the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome and was dedicated in AD 128, is still intact, and some ancient Roman aqueducts still deliver water to Rome today.
The discovery has opened avenues to use the same in modern construction to ensure durability of modern structures. The research team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) along with labs in Italy and Switzerland discovered that ancient Roman concrete-manufacturing strategies incorporated several key self-healing functionalities. They found the main reason for the durability was the loime clasts — fragments of lime rocks — which have long been recognised as ubiquitous component of Roman concrete. These lime clasts have a self-healing property that helps automatically fill up cracks when exposed to water.