Lab notes: from space origami to ancient Oz, we've hunted high and low for this week's science

I can ’t even fold t-shirts neatly (yes, yes, I’ve seen the online tutorials, I’m ham-fisted, ok?) but if you’re or origami expert or a whizz at folding, Nasa might have just the challenge for you. The space agency iscrowdsourcing ideas for ways to efficiently pack a radiation shield to protect manned spacecraft on deep space missions. Potentially more achievable for the majority of us, however, are some of the lifestyle changes highlighted in a new report on dementia prevention. The researchers say that potentiallyover a third of dementia cases could be prevented, although they admit that ’s a best case scenario. Still, with 2015 figures showing 45 million people worldwide living with dementia, it’s a ray of hope. Ageing of a different kind has caused excitement this week in Australia, as anarchaeological dig has found evidence of Aboriginal habitation from up to 80,000 years ago. The artefacts discovered in Kakadu national park have been dated as being between 65,000 and 80,000 years old, extending the likely occupation of the area by thousands of years. And finally, what once seemed like impossible science fiction is now happening - and causing ethical dilemmas. Robots are now starting to enter public spaces and work alongside humans, bringing with them a need for additional safety measures, say academics, who are calling forrobots to be given ‘ethical black boxes’ to track and explain their decisions.Continue reading...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - July 21, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Tash Reith-Banks Tags: Science Source Type: news