Email us at jcwebtunes@gmail.com
After decades of development, the James Webb Space Telescope finally completed the final systems tests! The telescope is the "largest and most technically complex space science telescope NASA has ever built." It's an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. Development of the delay-plagued orbital spyglass began in 1996, with an initial launch planned in 2007. Now, after a slew of significant redesigns, countless delays, and budget overruns, NASA is tentatively eyeing a March 2021 launch. The space agency will reevaluate launch readiness later this month.
==========================
In a biological beating of swords into plowshares, researchers have converted a bacterial toxin into a genome editing tool that can make precise changes to DNA in mitochondria. Mitochondria are specialized structures unique to the cells of animals, plants and fungi. They serve as batteries, powering various functions of the cell and the organism as a whole. Though mitochondria are an integral part of the cell, evidence shows that they evolved from primitive bacteria.
=========================
The first cataract surgery was described in a textbook written by an Indian physician who lived on the banks of the Ganges river around 1000 BC. The method he used was called "couching" and consisted of using a needle or a thorn to push the clouded lens downwards into the eye. The stick was used as a tool to displace the clouded white cataract to clear the visual axis. Once the patient claimed that he or she could see clearly, the couching stopped. The method had abysmal results with only about a 30% success rate. Today couching is still performed in some remote areas of the third world. The cataract is not actually removed from the eye, but dislodged so that the visual axis is clear.
This episode is sponsored by ยท Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sciencebytes/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sciencebytes/support