Research

‘Ice that burns’ may provide clean, sustainable energy in future

‘Ice that burns’ may provide clean, sustainable energy in futureWashington, March 24: Researchers have reported that gas hydrates, known as “ice that burns”, which is derived from chunks of ice that workers collect from beneath the ocean floor, show increasing promise as an abundant, untapped source of clean, sustainable energy for the future.

These so-called “gas hydrates,” a frozen form of natural gas that bursts into flames at the touch of a match, may one day may fuel cars, heat homes, and power factories.

‘Use of stem cells for research allowed in Islam’

‘Use of stem cells for research allowed in Islam’Lahore, Mar 24: The use of stem cells for research was allowed in Islam, but not for human cloning, said Dr. Israr Ahmed, an internationally recognised Pakistani religious scholar and founder of Tanzeem-e-Islami Quran Academy.

He was speaking on the issue at a seminar organised by the Punjab University Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB) on “Ethical Issues Related to Work on Stem Cells”.

Evidence indicates maize was domesticated 8,700 years ago in Mexico

Evidence indicates maize was domesticated 8,700 years ago in MexicoWashington, March 24: An international team of researchers has found the earliest physical evidence for domesticated maize in Mexico, dating back to at least 8,700 calendar years ago, which is 1,500 years earlier than previously documented.

According to the researchers, the maize was probably domesticated by indigenous peoples in the lowland areas of southwestern Mexico, not the highland areas.

Evidence of early agriculture found in dog and pig bones from China

Evidence of early agriculture found in dog and pig bones from ChinaWashington, March 24: Researchers have gathered evidence of early human experiments with agriculture in dog and pig bones, as well as bones of other animals, from an archaeological site in a region of northwest China.

The bones come from a Neolithic site known as Dadiwan, in China’s western Loess Plateau, excavated first by a Chinese team in the late 70s and early 80s, and in 2006 by a team from the University of California, Davis, and Lanzhou University in China.

Romance, fear could make you change your mind

Romance, fear could make you change your mindWashington, Mar 24: Feeling scared or amorous can greatly change the way people make decisions, claims a new study.

According to Vladas Griskevicius, professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota''s Carlson School of Management, everyday people are confronted with innumerable pieces of information and hundreds of decisions.

Unsurprisingly, people often process each piece of information deeply, instead relying on quick mental shortcuts to guide their behaviors.

Compound used by TV crime detectives helps detect immune inflammation in mice

Compound used by TV crime detectives helps detect immune inflammation in miceLondon, March 23: A compound used by TV show detectives to make blood glow, known as luminol, is now being used by scientists to highlight the sites where the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that injected luminol glows blue at sites of active immune inflammation in living mice.

The researchers say that this glow can be detected from outside the mice with the aid of scientific cameras.

Pages