3 Mind Blowing Scientific Advancements in 2018

Science and technology are closely interlinked with one another. A better understanding of the universe and everything in it can pave the way for newer technologies to come into play.

Here are three mind blowing scientific advancements done this year.

Memory Transfers in Snails

In May of 2018, neurobiologist David Glanzman was successful in transferring memories in certain sea snails.

His hypothesis was that memories were hardcoded into an organism’s RNA and not in the brain cells. In order to test this, he turned to sea snails called sea hares.

The first thing he did was take a couple of sea hares and electrocute them. Sounds inhumane? Well, there was a reason. In electrocuting them, he had instilled the response of contracting their gills whenever it happened.

Afterwards, he extracted some RNA and placed it in a fresh group of snails that have not been electrocuted. In doing so, the snails were also contracting their gills whenever they were just prodded in the siphon.

While the implications for this discovery are not quite known yet, discoveries of this kind are always a step forward. Who knows? We might be able to accurately see and feel someone’s memories like Snape did for Harry Potter.

Reversing Aging in Mice

Led by Dr. David Sinclair, his team at Boston were able to reverse the aging process in mice.

The aging process in mammals is controlled and related to the NAD molecule. This is a molecule that is necessary for survival.

However, over time, the level of NAD molecules drops. This is what leads to age-related diseases.

With his team, Sinclair had the brilliant idea of boosting the NAD levels in old mice through a dietary supplement. The result?  These mice became younger and their health started to improve.

This advancement is just the beginning for Sinclair and his team. They hope to continue their research on humans now.

This practice could be a total game changer as it would slow down people’s rate of again, making them live longer.

McDonald’s Hair Growing Molecule

For years and years, men have looked for the solution for baldness. Who knew that the solution was right under their noses whenever they ordered fries at McDonalds?

Japanese researchers from Yokohama National University were able to discover that the chemical called dimethylpolysiloxane was able to produce numerous hair follicles.

This same chemical is being added to the oil that McDonalds uses to cook their French fries.

Testing it on mice, scientists transported these new hair follicles onto mice. Afterwards, new hairs began to sprout in no time at all.

This scientific discovery could lead to better treatment for hair loss in all people. Eating more McDonalds though won’t do the same. We’ll just have to wait and see how this develops.

There are always more scientific advancements being discovered. These advancements could help create the next big piece of technology that would make an impact in people’s lives. In turn, these new pieces of technologies could help in the discovery of new scientific advancements.

It is a great cyclical relationship that will go on for many years to come.