What does your poo microbiome do?
Even if you've been enjoying the solitary confinement of life under a rock, you'll probably still have heard the phrase 'gut microbiome'. You might even be aware that we all have one.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-poo-microbiome.html
Rats help each other out just as humans do
Rats demonstrate cooperative behaviour similar to human beings, researchers at the University of St Andrews have discovered.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-rats-humans.html
Panasonic upgrades earnings targets on cheap yen
Japanese electronics giant Panasonic on Monday upgraded its annual earnings targets thanks to a weak yen and robust demand for its automotive products.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-panasonic-cheap-yen.html
Islands in yeast membrane revealed by extreme microscopy
University of Groningen microbiologists have visualized tiny islands in the cell membrane of baker's yeast. These membrane compartments appear to store transport proteins before use. The scientists observed that these proteins move extremely slowly in the plasma membrane of the yeast and discovered how they travel through the membrane to reach the islands. They made these observations with state-of-the-art super-resolution optical microscopy. The results were published in Nature Communications on 5 February.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-islands-yeast-membrane-revealed-extreme.html
Monitoring solar activity
Living near a star is risky business, and positioning a spacecraft near the sun is a very good way to observe rapidly changing solar activity and deliver early warning of possibly harmful space weather. ESA is now looking at doing just that.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-solar.html
UK bank bans bitcoin purchases via credit card
Lloyds Banking Group on Monday joined major US banks in banning purchases of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies via credit card amid debt and security concerns.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-uk-bank-bitcoin-credit-card.html
Source: https://phys.org/