Where does the periodic table of elements end? The short answer is: no-one knows.
Tag Archives: wonders of science
Where no spacecraft has gone before
For a few years now NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has been flirting with the edge of our Solar System. After nearly 36 years and over 18 billion kilometres of travel, the space probe is now way past Neptune (4.7 billion km from Earth[1. At its farthest. It's only 4.3 at its closest!]) and even Pluto (7.4 … Continue Reading ››
Science is not just an opinion
People often write heartfelt pieces about the personal history of a certain belief of theirs. Virginia Heffernan recently attempted just that on her blog, when she felt an urge to explain … Continue Reading ››"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" —Douglas Adams
Growing a liver from scratch
Unlike axolotls with their terrific regenerative capacities, once humans lose an organ or a limb, it’s gone. And they need to get a new one.
To an extent, the human liver is a notable exception, given its capacity to regenerate fully from as little as 25% of its original size. However, chronic liver diseases often … Continue Reading ››
A lesson in curing HIV
Of all the viruses known to us in the modern world, none other has as terrifying a reputation as HIV. According to amfAR, there are more than 34 million people all over the world who live with HIV/AIDS, and in year 2011 alone 1.7 million died from it.
A pandemic like that is particularly … Continue Reading ››