SUPER SLUG

Deep-sea snail shell to inspire next-generation body armour?

The shell that protects snails living on deep-sea vents could inspire the next generation of body armour for humans, say scientists.

“The three-layer design could improve body armour without adding excessive weight,” Christine Ortiz, who led a research team at MIT, said.
The scientists studied the snail’s shell, rich in iron-based nanoparticles, to find how it resists crab attacks. They penetrated it with a diamond-tipped probe — applying the same force a crab’s claws might use.

It turns out that the snail employs some unique tricks to protect itself. For example, the shell’s outermost layer consists of strong particles of iron sulphide created in the hydrothermal vents, each around 20nm across. When hit, this structure is designed to crack in a way that absorbs energy.

Cracks spread only by fanning out around the iron sulphide particles. This “microcracking” not only absorbs energy, it also ensures that larger cracks do not form. What’s more, the particles of iron sulphide may blunt and deform intruding claws

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Running can help jog memory

Running regularly not just helps one shed those extra weight, it also does wonders for the mind, claims a new study.
According to scientists at Cambridge University, regular jogging leads to growth of new cells in the area of the brain which in turn boosts the memory.
Timothy Bussey, a behavioural neuroscientist and the lead researcher, said their study on mice showed that aerobic exercise triggers the growth of grey matter, a condition known as neurogenesis. It may be linked to increased blood flow or higher levels of hormones that are released while exercising, the scientists said.
The researchers examined two groups of mice, one which had unlimited access to a running wheel while the other did not. After a few days, they put both groups of mice through a series of memory tests on a computer screen.
The screen displayed two identical squares side by side, and if they nudged the one on the left with their nose they received a sugar pellet reward, while the one on the right yielded nothing. The mice who had been running were almost twice as successful as those in the control group at picking the correct square.
The scientists, who examined brain tissues taken from the rodents, found that the running mice had grown fresh gray matter during the experiment.

Tissue samples from the dentate gyrus part of the brain, one of the few regions of the adult brain which can grow new cells, showed on average 6,000 new brain cells had been created.

Previous studies on people with depression have found their symptoms can improve if they exercise regularly

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Gadget allows blind & deaf people to ‘hear’ with skin

A gadget that converts sound to vibrations will help individuals who are deaf and blind or severely hearing impaired to perceive and recognize sounds with their skin, says its maker. Called Monitor, the super device is being developed by engineering researcher Parivash Ranjbar, reports the Daily Express. Ranjbar, an engineering researcher at Örebro University in Sweden, said, “Deaf blind people are used to getting information about their surroundings from vibration. The purpose of the aid is to help people identify different sounds. One of my subjects was able to repeat exactly to me what I had said to my supervisor when I took a phone call. Monitor could make a real difference to people’s lives.”

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