A Scottish high-tech manufacturing facility which helped create the technology that runs the modern internet is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The University of Glasgow’s James Watt Nanofabrication Centre is one of the UK’s key facilities for…
Determining fish age using inner ear structures
Biologists in Japan have identified four distinct zones in the otolith, a calcium carbonate structure in the inner ear, which can be used to determine age in fish. "Age determination is very important for fishery…
The privacy risks of compiling mobility data
Merging different types of location-stamped data can make it easier to discern users’ identities, even when the data is anonymized. A new study by MIT researchers finds that the growing practice of compiling massive, anonymized…
Engineers repurpose wasp venom as an antibiotic drug
Altered peptides from a South American wasp’s venom can kill bacteria but are nontoxic to human cells. The venom of insects such as wasps and bees is full of compounds that can kill bacteria. Unfortunately,…
Learning from lunar lights
Every few hours observing the Moon, ESA’s ‘NELIOTA’ project discovers a brilliant flash of light across its surface – the result of an object hurtling through space and striking our unprotected rocky neighbour at vast…