General science thread

Quote:

A study published months ago, that called female doctors "provocative," "unprofessional," and "inappropriate" for posting bikini photos on their social media, is regaining attention and causing a stir on Twitter.

The paper, published online behind a paywall on December 25, 2019 in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, looked at the social media accounts of 480 recent vascular-surgery graduates between 2016 and 2018.

The researchers created fake social media profiles to view each person's personal photos. They determined that 61 of the 235 medical residents they studied had "unprofessional or potentially unprofessional content," which they defined as: drinking alcohol, using profane language, and wearing Halloween costumes, and sharing bikini photos.

Quote: rxwine

Apparently some female doctors are responding by posting bikini pics.

Quote:

A radiation-absorbing fungus found at the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear reactor has been shown to absorb harmful cosmic rays on the International Space Station, and could potentially be used to protect future Mars colonies. A pair of US researchers had the idea after reading that Cladosporium sphaerospermum could absorb high levels of radiation, and wondered if it could function as a space radiation shield.

After winning a space innovation competition, they were able to send a petri dish containing the fungus to the ISS for 30 days to test their idea. They were only able to send a very thin layer of the fungus – just 2 millimetres – but it still blocked about 2 per cent of incoming radiation. This suggests that a 21-centimetre-thick layer of the fungus would be enough to effectively shield people on Mars.

Quote:

You can now get a massage without having to rely on another human being or leave your home, thanks to newly developed robot masseurs.
French company Capsix Robotics and researchers at the University of Plymouth in the UK have both created robots that can give personalised massages.
The Capsix model has a robotic arm with sensors and a camera that allow it to adapt to the individual user’s body shape. It has been programmed with a range of massage protocols developed by physiotherapists, and users can adjust the firmness of the massage.

François Eyssautier at Capsix, who engineered the robot, says over 4000 people have tried it and most have enjoyed it. Some people are a bit unsure at first, but “after 3 or 4 minutes they forget it’s a robot and just relax,” he says.

Quote:

An international team of researchers led by the Australian National University (ANU) and RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia said Wednesday they have created two types of diamond at room temperature by using high pressure equivalent to 640 African elephants balancing on the tip of a ballet shoe.

Quote: rxwine

Scientists create diamonds at room temperature in minutes