This week in health, science and tech: a seismic shift in our understanding of DNA, the Saudi female students taking control of their future, and the exciting start to the 2016 Rio Olympics and what the event means for Brazil’s healthcare infrastructure. This weekend, catch up on what you might have missed from The Pulse and beyond.
In Rio, Greatness Begins with Health
This Friday, the world turns its attention to Rio de Janeiro. The city will become the center stage for new records, exceptional displays of character, and historical moments of sportsmanship.
Over 10,000 athletes from 206 nations will compete in 28 different sports in Rio this year, and they will be closely followed by around half a million tourists. As with all the world’s greatest shows, a huge amount of unseen work is going on behind the scenes to make sure these Games, the first ever to be hosted in Latin America, go smoothly.
The Female Saudi Students Engineering Their Future
As the sun rises this morning in Dallas, Texas, 18 Saudi female biomedical engineering students will be getting ready for the first day of an intensive, hands-on learning program that will help them continue to break stereotypes.
Around the world, and in Saudi Arabia, the wider Middle East, and Turkey, women are underrepresented in the engineering field, but these students are working to change that. GE Healthcare Education Solutions is helping, with the second edition of a summer internship program taking place in Texas.
What a concussion looks like in the brain, on the cellular level
CNN
Scientists have captured in real-time video what happens to a brain cell after experiencing a major concussion-causing impact.
The detailed video was created as part of a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports on Tuesday. It shows a rat’s brain cell — not those of a human — but the research provides the first-ever glimpse of a concussion’s effects on the cellular level at such high resolution and over a 24-hour timeline, said Christian Franck, an assistant professor at Brown University’s School of Engineering and a co-author of the study.
Scientists have just uncovered a major difference between DNA and RNA
Science Alert
A new study has shown for the first time that RNA – the older molecular cousin of DNA – splits apart when it tries to incorporate change, while DNA can contort itself and change its shape to compensate for any chemical damage.
The research could finally explain why the blueprint of life is made from DNA and not RNA – and it could also prompt a rewrite of the textbooks.
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Más información: Weekend Pulse: The Saudi women engineering their future, re-writing the textbooks on DNA and the beginning of the Greatest Show on Earth