Diversity Maps Of Vertebrate Groups In The United Statest

Exclusive: First U.S. Baby Born After a Uterus Transplant

For the first time in the United States, a woman who was born without a uterus gave birth to a baby. The landmark birth took place at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, a part of Baylor Scott & White, TIME reports exclusively.

“We’ve been preparing for this moment for a very long time,” says Dr. Liza Johannesson, an ob-gyn and uterus transplant surgeon at Baylor. “I think everyone had tears in their eyes when the baby came out. I did for sure.” The woman and her husband asked that their identity not be revealed in order to protect their privacy

Climate Change

Mimosa pudica is an herb of the pea family and is known for its compound leaves that fold inward and droop when touched or shaken. This defense mechanism protects the leaf from harm and allows for reopening a few minutes later. 

Terraforming Mars

How Does Alcohol Make You Drunk?

As you know, I started university this year and since then I have made some embarrassing descisions as a result of alcohol consumption. Making this educational infographic about the science behind drunkeness balances it all out right..?

Could this be the most powerful scientific tool?

Described as “the biggest biotech discovery of the century” by the scientific community, CRISPR-Cas has been all the rage in labs around the world for its exceptional ease and accuracy in editing the gene of almost any organism.

In 2012, UC Berkeley’s world-renowned RNA expert and biochemist Jennifer Doudna was part of a research team that discovered that you could use the CRISPR system as a programmable tool: scientists can precisely target a gene sequence, cutting and changing the DNA at that exact point. 

CRISPR, which stands for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats” are repeated DNA sequences that are an essential component of a bacteria’s defense system against viruses.

And what started out as a study to understand the bacterial immune system unwittingly resulted in a powerful technology that has the potential to cure genetic diseases, create more sustainable crops, and even render animal organs fit for human transplants.

We’ve had gene-editing technology for decades, but now, “we’re basically able to have a molecular scalpel for genomes,” says Doudna.

“All the technologies in the past were sort of like sledgehammers.”

GIF source: Business Insider

Feeding the gods: Hundreds of skulls reveal massive scale of human sacrifice in Aztec capital.

Fun Fact: The obsidian blade used during the rituals are sharper than today’s surgical steel.

The image below shows a reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs. Templo Mayor is the pyramid seen center-back, with two temples on top. One temple was dedicated to the war god, Huitzilopochtli, and the other to the rain god, Tlaloc.

Image Source: Rosemania. Reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs - the centre of modern Mexico City. (National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico City). Wikimedia Commons.

The enormous rack of skulls called, Tzompantli, was built in front of the Templo Mayor pyramid. The Mexica people performed human sacrifices to feed the gods. The Aztecs made up the majority of the Mexica people. To them, the skulls would guarantee the sustained continuation of humanity.

There are numerous depictions of tzompantli in Aztec codices. Here is one taken from the 16th Century Aztec manuscript, Codex Duran.  Image source: Public Domain.

The Spanish conquistadors marched into Tenochtitlan in 1519. The Spanish saw the skulls and the practice of human sacrifice as barbaric. In 1521 the Templo Mayor was torn down, and the tzompantli paved over. The ruins are underneath of what is known today as Mexico City. Archaeologists are currently studying the skulls to learn about rituals and the postmortem handling of those that were sacrificed.

Saying that man and woman are the only genders is actually LESS nuanced than saying that earth, water, air, and fire are the only elements.

How does chemistry help make fingerprints at crime scenes visible? Here are four key methods! More info/high-res image: http://wp.me/p4aPLT-1Xb