by Mark Maunder of Wordfence August 17, 2017 This is a public service announcement from the Wordfence team regarding a security issue that has a wide impact. During the past 3 months, eight Chrome browser extensions were compromised and the attacker used them to steal Cloudflare credentials and serve up malicious ads. This post discusses exactly what […]

All the visual cells identified in animals detect light using a single family of proteins, called the opsins. These proteins grab a light-sensitive molecule – derived from vitamin A – that changes its structure when exposed to light. The opsin in turn changes its own shape and turns on signaling pathways in photoreceptor cells that […]

Advancements in 2D materials research is enabling a new way of making computer processors even faster; something which is seen as vital to maintaining the progress of electronic technology. Graphene and other 2D materials could also be used to help generate and store energy. Elton Santos, Assistant Professor, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University […]

The future is here! Flying warehouses, robot receptionists, smart toilets… do such innovations sound like science fiction or part of a possible reality? Technology has been evolving at such a rapid pace that, in the near future, our world may well resemble that portrayed in futuristic movies, such as Blade Runner, with intelligent robots and […]

Who should be able to use this technology? And who should decide? Jessica Berg, Law Dean; Professor of Law; and Professor of Bioethics & Public Health, Case Western Reserve University The announcement by researchers in Portland, Oregon that they’ve successfully modified the genetic material of a human embryo took some people by surprise. With headlines […]

Astronomers are always on the hunt for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, asteroids and comets whose orbits periodically bring them within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. The NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office supports the search programs, while also planning and coordinating any response to possible asteroid impacts. Lindley Johnson Heads up this NASA office. He […]

Mobile phones only have a limited number of charge cycles before the battery loses its capacity to recharge entirely. Jacek Jasieniak, Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Director of the Monash Energy Materials & Systems Institute (MEMSI), Monash University As mobile phone users, all we want is enough battery life to last the […]

Titan’s dense nitrogen and methane atmosphere is similar to the early Earth’s, some 2.5-4 billion years ago. At this time, before the build-up of oxygen occurred, large quantities of methane resulted in organic chemistry similar to that observed at Titan today. The moon is therefore a high priority target in the search for the beginnings […]

Faced with hard choices, many experts say that extracting carbon from the atmosphere is among the less risky options. Among other possible geo-engineering techniques are to create clouds that reflect sunlight back into space, perhaps by using a mist of sea spray. Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle, OSLO – REUTERS 26 July 2017  Scientists are sucking carbon dioxide […]

Mars’ Olympus Mons is the solar system’s largest volcano – 22km high and more than 500km across its base. It began to grow over 3 billion years ago, but some lava flows high on its flanks appear to be as young as 2m years. David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University It may […]