Aestus Ajith

This giant, fiery hole is located in Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert.  It has been burning continuously since it was lit by Soviet petrochemical scientists in 1971.  The natural gases in the ground keep it aflame. It is called the Door to Hell.

Thirteen popular routers including the Netgear Centria WNDR4700 pictured here were tested and found vulnerable to hacks in a new study by research firm Independent Security Evaluators. (Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET) The Wi-Fi router you use to broadcast a private wireless Internet signal in your home or office is not only easy to hack,  says a report released today , but the best way to protect yourself is out of your hands. The report, written by research firm Independent Security Evaluators of Baltimore, found that 13 of the most popular off-the-shelf wireless routers could be exploited by a "moderately skilled adversary with LAN or WLAN access." It also concludes that your best bet for safer Wi-Fi depends on router vendors upping their game. All 13 routers evaluated can be taken over from the local network, with four of those requiring no active management session. Eleven of the 13 can be taken over from a  Wide-Area Network  (WAN) such as a wireless network, with tw...

Nanosponge  Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a "nanosponge" capable of safely removing a broad class of toxins from the bloodstream, including toxins produced by MRSA, E. Coli, poisonous snakes and bees. The nanosponges are made of a biocompatible polymer core wrapped in a natural red blood cell membrane.  Zhang Research Lab A newly invented “nanosponge,” sheathed in armor made of red blood cells, can safely  remove a wide range of toxins  from the bloodstream. Scientists at the University of California-San Diego inoculated some mice with their nanosponge, and then gave the animals otherwise lethal doses of a toxin--and the mice survived. This is especially interesting because a nanosponge can work on entire classes of toxins. Most antidotes or treatments against venom, bioweapons or bacteria are targeted to counteract a specific molecular structure, so they can’t be a one-size-fits-all solution; this nanosponge can. S...

There was scarcely time to process the  fatal Boston Marathon bombings  on Monday when the  news broke  late yesterday afternoon that a letter mailed to Republican Senator Roger Wicker had tested positive for  ricin , one of the most potentially toxic and easily-synthesized poison substances in the world, which is extracted from beans of the commonly available castor plant. Recent reports indicate that other letters mailed to other government officials,  including President Obama himself , may have tested positive for ricin as well. "YOU CAN MAKE IT IN YOUR KITCHEN FROM A PLANT YOU GROW IN YOUR GARDEN." People can be exposed to ricin through a variety of ways: inhaling the powder, ingesting powder or castor beans, or having it injected straight into the bloodstream. Absorption through the skin is rare. The symptoms and health effects  vary depending on the route ricin was administered, including everything from coughing, nausea, diarrhea, vo...

The hearts of newborns have the remarkable capacity to heal themselves after injury by generating new heart cells but we lose this ability shortly after birth. Now researchers have for the first time identified the gene which causes this change, allowing cells to continue dividing and potentially giving the adult heart the same regenerative power. In experiments on rats, deleting the Meis1 gene allowed the heart cells of newborn mice to keep dividing for longer, and reactivated the regeneration process in adults without impeding the normal working of the heart. Results also showed that making the gene more active in newborn mice prevented their cells from dividing and regenerating damaged tissue. The findings suggest that deactivating the gene could lead to new treatments for adult heart failure patients and offer an alternative to stem cell therapies currently being developed, researchers said. The hearts of newborns have the remarkable capacity to heal thems...

Placing wireless smart skin sensors on aging structures could detect potential trouble that could lead to collapse, like in the case of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis in 2007. Above: a close-up of a strain-testing specimen mounted with a wireless antenna sensor. (Credit: Gary Meek/Georgia Tech) The sensors require no power and can be implemented on tough yet flexible polymer substrates to identify structural problems at a very early stage. The only electronic component is an inexpensive radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip. Major bridge failures in recent years have focused attention on the need to monitor America’s bridges and other infrastructure. As thousands of bridges, parking garages, and other structures age, improved methods for detecting deterioration could save lives and prevent economic disruption. Researchers say the new sensor designs can be inkjet-printed on various substrates, using methods that optimize them for operation at radio frequency. The resul...

A kidney in a bioreactor after seeding with cells. After transplantation it filtered blood and produced urine. Photograph: Ott Lab/Center for Regenerative Medicine Scientists have grown a kidney in a laboratory and shown that it works when implanted into a living animal. The work is an important step towards the longer-term goal of growing personalised replacement organs that could be transplanted into people with kidney failure. More than 51,000 people are treated every year in the UK for end-stage kidney failure and 90% of those who are on the waiting list for organs are waiting for kidneys. A shortage of organs means that every year fewer than 3,000 transplants are carried out, however, while more than 3,000 people die waiting for a transplant. There is no cure for kidney failure. The only available treatments – dialysis or receiving a transplant – just buy a patient more time but come with considerable limitations on quality of life. A patient on dialys...