by Maimouna Kante
On this week’s review of research around the world, one of the studies that was recently published is “Jellyfish caught snoozing give clues to origin of sleep”. A jellyfish is considered one of the simplest organisms known to mankind and sleep has, for the longest time, been associated with having a brain. Jellyfish do not have a brain and it has also been discovered that they have the potential to sleep. For the first time, scientists have encountered an organism that does not have a brain, yet expresses sleep like behaviors. Their snooze takes place after sundown, which is similar to humans. Many questions still remain around the subject and scientists remains prudent. Read more in Nature — doi:10.1038/nature.2017.22655
Where do the most energetic particles in nature come from? Scientists from The Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina have strong evidence that these particles originate from outside of the Milky Way. Alan Watson, a UK astronomer and co-founder of the observatory says, “For the first time, we have proof that the highest-energy cosmic rays are of extragalactic origin.” This conclusion was made after analyzing 12 years of data.
Read more in Nature — doi:10.1038/nature.2017.22655
Scientists at the University of Texas have created a pen like device, called the MasSpec, that can detect a cancerous tissue in 10 seconds. This would then lead to a removal of the cancer in the days or months immediately following. Many questions remain— is this MasSpec Pen only available to a certain group of individuals? How does the product adjust to different individuals with different body types? The research is promising, but more time is needed to see if it will come to fruition.
