Lagrange Point

We recap March Mamma Madness Round 1, and look at some latest science stories that relate. From what happens inside your brain when you smell a repulsive smell, to making the right call on fleeing or standing your ground. Plus we look at using archaeological techniques to help understand the history of animal tool use like with otters. 

References:

1. Ahmed A. M. Mohamed, Tom Retzke, Sudeshna Das Chakraborty, Benjamin Fabian, Bill S. Hansson, Markus Knaden, Silke Sachse. Odor mixtures of opposing valence unveil inter-glomerular crosstalk in the Drosophila antennal lobe. Nature Communications, 2019; 10 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09069-1

One of the futuristic technologies always touted is Hydrogen fuel cells. So why are they not everywhere? we look at the challenges in production,storage, and use of hydrogen from cars to factories. Plus we examine if our electricity grid will be able to cope with the drastic weather condition changes from climate change in the year 2100.

1. Yinjun Xie, Peng Hu, Yehoshoa Ben-David, David Milstein. A Reversible Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier System Based on Methanol-Ethylenediamine and Ethylene Urea. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/anie.201901695

We preview 2019 March Mammal Madness, and find out about interesting animals from across the world. We look at ways to augment vision to help see in infra-red, and use singing mice to study human conversation. Plus we find out about balancing predators and prey.

1. March Mammal Madness

It's easy to think of the solar system as a static object that's always been there. But by studying asteroids, meteorites and moons we can piece together the often violent and dramatic history of our solar system. From Earth being bombarded by water bearing asteroids, to moons being broken apart and reformed around Neptune. We even follow up on some of the great work done by JAXA and the Hyabusa 2 mission. This week we look at some of the latest research into our solar system by studying the smallest often overlooked pieces.

1. Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez, Albert Rimola, Safoura Tanbakouei, Victoria Cabedo Soto, Martin Lee. Accretion of Water in Carbonaceous Chondrites: Current Evidence and Implications for the Delivery of Water to Early Earth. Space Science Reviews, 2019; 215 (1) DOI: 10.1007/s11214-019-0583-0

From the bottom of the ocean, to the earliest days of the earth, life has managed to not just survive but thrive. We look at several cases which change our understanding of the earliest life on earth and just what that might mean for understanding life on this planet and beyond. From moving life fossilised in mud, to using isotopes to study metabolism and discovering whole new methods of getting food, life continues to astound researchers with its inventiveness.

1. Min Sub Sim, Hideaki Ogata, Wolfgang Lubitz, Jess F. Adkins, Alex L. Sessions, Victoria J. Orphan, Shawn E. McGlynn. Role of APS reductase in biogeochemical sulfur isotope fractionation. Nature Communications, 2019; 10 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07878-4

The greatest pop hits can cross continents, but what about oceans? We all know whales make songs, but not only are they very complex, they can be covered, repeated and spread like a Number 1 summer hit across oceans to the far flung corners of the globe. Plus reaching the deepest depths of the ocean is tough for humans, but easy for whales. How do they accomplish these great feats? We also touch on the impact of naval sonar on the battle between squids and whales. 

1. Jeanne M. Shearer, Nicola J. Quick, William R. Cioffi, Robin W. Baird, Daniel L. Webster, Heather J. Foley, Zachary T. Swaim, Danielle M. Waples, Joel T. Bell, Andrew J. Read. Diving behaviour of Cuvier's beaked whales ( Ziphius cavirostris ) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Royal Society Open Science, 2019; 6 (2): 181728 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181728

The greatest pop hits can cross continents, but what about oceans? We all know whales make songs, but not only are they very complex, they can be covered, repeated and spread like a Number 1 summer hit across oceans to the far flung corners of the globe. Plus reaching the deepest depths of the ocean is tough for humans, but easy for whales. How do they accomplish these great feats? We also touch on the impact of naval sonar on the battle between squids and whales. 

Reference:

1. Jeanne M. Shearer, Nicola J. Quick, William R. Cioffi, Robin W. Baird, Daniel L. Webster, Heather J. Foley, Zachary T. Swaim, Danielle M. Waples, Joel T. Bell, Andrew J. Read. Diving behaviour of Cuvier's beaked whales ( Ziphius cavirostris ) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Royal Society Open Science, 2019; 6 (2): 181728 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181728

Water is essential for life, but if its too cold it can cause havoc on infrastructure. If it's too hot there is not enough to go around. If it's too salty its not good for organic material, and if its saturated with CO2 its even more dangerous. So how do we keep water working for us as our climate changes and we have more droughts, more polar vortexes and more power plants? This week we find out about advances in chemistry and materials science that can help make better use of water.

1. Peyman Irajizad, Abdullah Al-Bayati, Bahareh Eslami, Taha Shafquat, Masoumeh Nazari, Parham Jafari, Varun Kashyap, Ali Masoudi, Daniel Araya, Hadi Ghasemi. Stress-Localized Durable Icephobic Surfaces. Materials Horizons, 2019; DOI: 10.1039/C8MH01291A

What happens when a star dies? We can investigate what is left behind at the scene of the crime to piece together the final moments of a star. Some become white dwarfs so cold and cool they crystallize with thick oxygen and carbon skins. Others collapse in on themselves becoming supernova in a catastrophic core collapse. But sometimes in complex binary systems there is an accomplice that pushes the star over the edge, into supernova territory. Plus super massive black holes can devour passing stars, but sometimes they have a little help.

1. Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay, Gilles Fontaine, Nicola Pietro Gentile Fusillo, Bart H. Dunlap, Boris T. Gänsicke, Mark A. Hollands, J. J. Hermes, Thomas R. Marsh, Elena Cukanovaite, Tim Cunningham. Core crystallization and pile-up in the cooling sequence of evolving white dwarfs. Nature, 2019; 565 (7738): 202 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0791-x

A brain injury like a stroke or a neuro degenerative condition like Huntingdon's or Parkinson’s disease can be a long and arduous ordeal. It can be difficult to diagnose and there are no clear treatments, but scientists are working hard to solve it. We find out about the important role Glial cells play in supporting neurons and how things can go wrong if they are disrupted. We also find out about ways to use the abundance of Glial cells to make new neurons. Plus we get a better understanding of cell death and repair and the roll proteins can play in slowing down those processes to give your brain time to recover.

1. Mikhail Osipovitch, Andrea Asenjo Martinez, John N. Mariani, Adam Cornwell, Simrat Dhaliwal, Lisa Zou, Devin Chandler-Militello, Su Wang, Xiaojie Li, Sarah-Jehanne Benraiss, Robert Agate, Andrea Lampp, Abdellatif Benraiss, Martha S. Windrem, Steven A. Goldman. Human ESC-Derived Chimeric Mouse Models of Huntington’s Disease Reveal Cell-Intrinsic Defects in Glial Progenitor Cell Differentiation. Cell Stem Cell, 2018; DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.11.010