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Futurism
DNA Test Fails to Find Any Tuna in Subway Tuna Sandwiches
 
Tuna Trouble After a lawsuit claimed that the gigantic sandwich chain Subway was lying about using real tuna in its food, a reporter from The New York Times decided to investigate. After buying up tuna sandwiches from a few different Subway locations, freezing the mystery meat, and sending it to a fish testing lab, the NYT investigation found that there was absolutely zero trace of any DNA from t
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Big Think
Stephen Hawking's black hole theory proved right
 
A new paper confirms Stephen Hawking's black hole area theorem. The researchers used gravitational wave data to prove the theorem. The data came from Caltech and MIT's Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. The late Stephen Hawking's black hole area theorem is correct, a new study shows. Scientists used gravitational waves to prove the famous British physicist's idea, which
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Futurism
A Tiny Planet Will Soon Drift Nearer to Earth Than Since Caveman Times
 
Passing Ships Scientists have spent the last few years tracking a curious space rock called 2014 UN271, which is a little too big to be a comet and a little too small to be a planet, as it careens through the solar system. And pretty soon, they’ll finally be able to get an even better look at it, according to New Atlas , when 2014 UN271 reaches the closest point to Earth in its orbit in 2031, whe
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Futurism
The Japanese Government Is Strongly Encouraging Four-Day Work Weeks
 
Four-Day Work Week Japan’s government is now recommending that companies allow their staff to work for four rather than five days a week, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reports . In newly released economic policy guidelines, the government is aiming at improving the country’s work-life balance by allowing workers to get a long weekend — every weekend. It’s a bold new stance, given Japan’s famo
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Science | The Guardian
Scientists identify 29 planets where aliens could observe Earth
 
Astronomers estimate 29 habitable planets are positioned to see Earth transit and intercept human broadcasts For centuries, Earthlings have gazed at the heavens and wondered about life among the stars. But as humans hunted for little green men, the extraterrestrials might have been watching us back. In new research, astronomers have drawn up a shortlist of nearby star systems where any inquisitiv
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Futurism
John McAfee Found Dead in Prison Cell
John McAfee Spanish
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John McAfee, an eccentric software pioneer who lived on the lam for many years, was found dead in a Spanish prison cell Wednesday evening. According to a statement released by the Catalan justice department and obtained by Reuters , suicide is the most likely cause. The news comes just hours after news emerged that McAfee would face extradition to the US after a Spanish High Court ruling. McAfee
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Phys.org
Tiny ancient bird from China shares skull features with Tyrannosaurus rex
 
Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered a 120-million-year-old partial fossil skeleton of a tiny extinct bird that fits in the palm of the hand and preserves a unique skull with a mix of dinosaurian and bird features.
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Futurism
First Patient Injected With Cancer Vaccine in Phase II Trial
 
The pharmaceutical company BioNTech has officially begun injecting participants with an experimental cancer vaccine in a new phase II clinical trial. Preclinical and earlier clinical data showed that the vaccine is safe enough to progress along the clinical research pipeline, according to Clinical Trials Arena . So now, BioNTech plans to measure how well the vaccine, in concert with the medicatio
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The Atlantic
The mRNA Vaccines Are Extraordinary, but Novavax Is Even Better
 
At the end of January, reports that yet another COVID-19 vaccine had succeeded in its clinical trials—this one offering about 70 percent protection—were front-page news in the United States, and occasioned push alerts on millions of phones. But when the Maryland-based biotech firm Novavax announced its latest stunning trial results last week, and an efficacy rate of more than 90 percent even agai
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Phys.org
Geochemical study confirms cause of end-Permian mass extinction event
 
The most severe mass extinction event in the past 540 million years eliminated more than 90 percent of Earth's marine species and 75 percent of terrestrial species. Although scientists had previously hypothesized that the end-Permian mass extinction, which took place 251 million years ago, was triggered by voluminous volcanic eruptions in a region of what is now Siberia, they were not able to expl
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Futurism
The World’s First Lab Grown Meat Factory Just Opened Up
 
Growing Burgers Israeli biotech company Future Meat has opened what it claims to be the “world’s first industrial cultured meat facility,” a watershed moment in the development of futuristic meat alternative products. They say the facility is capable of producing 1,100 pounds of lab grown — rather than plant-based — meat products a day, or roughly the equivalent of 3,000 medium-sized hamburgers.
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Futurism
A Scary Parasite Is Spreading From Dogs to Humans
 
A parasite that can jump to humans from dogs has spread to Canada, experts warn. According to recent research, a cancer-like parasitic disease caused by tapeworms was identified in patients in the Canadian province of Alberta, Gizmodo reports . The researchers believe the parasite was brought over by dogs from Europe and is now making its presence felt in North America. “Alberta is clearly the ho
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Phys.org
Is dark matter real, or have we misunderstood gravity?
 
For many years now, astronomers and physicists have been in a conflict. Is the mysterious dark matter that we observe deep in the Universe real, or is what we see the result of subtle deviations from the laws of gravity as we know them? In 2016, Dutch physicist Erik Verlinde proposed a theory of the second kind: emergent gravity. New research, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics this week, pushe
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Singularity Hub
The Four Stages of Intelligent Matter That Will Bring Us Iron Man’s ‘Endgame’ Nanosuit
 
Imagine clothing that can warm or cool you, depending on how you’re feeling. Or artificial skin that responds to touch, temperature, and wicks away moisture automatically. Or cyborg hands controlled with DNA motors that can adjust based on signals from the outside world. Welcome to the era of intelligent matter—an unconventional AI computing idea directly woven into the fabric of synthetic matter
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Phys.org
NASA's Webb Telescope will use quasars to unlock the secrets of the early universe
 
Quasars are very bright, distant and active supermassive black holes that are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun. Typically located at the centers of galaxies, they feed on infalling matter and unleash fantastic torrents of radiation. Among the brightest objects in the universe, a quasar's light outshines that of all the stars in its host galaxy combined, and its jets and winds shap
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Phys.org
Researchers find 3,000-year-old shark attack victim
 
Newspapers regularly carry stories of terrifying shark attacks, but in a paper published today, Oxford-led researchers reveal their discovery of a 3,000-year-old victim—attacked by a shark in the Seto Inland Sea of the Japanese archipelago.
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Phys.org
ATLAS experiment measures top quark polarization
 
Unique among its peers is the top quark—a fascinating particle that the scientific community has been studying in detail since the 90s. Its large mass makes it the only quark to decay before forming bound states (a process known as hadronisation) and gives it the strongest coupling to the Higgs boson. Theorists predict it may also interact strongly with new particles—if it does, the Large Hadron C
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Phys.org
These sea anemones eat ants
 
The giant plumose anemone is an animal, but it looks a bit like an underwater cauliflower. Its body consists of a stalk-like column that attaches to rocks and other surfaces on one end, and to a crown of tentacles on the other.
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MIT Technology Review
Radio waves from Earth have reached dozens of stars
 
For billions of years, Earth has been playing a cosmic game of hide-and-seek. New research published today in Nature posits that roughly 1,700 stars are in the right position to have spotted life on Earth as early as 5,000 years ago. These stars, within 100 parsecs (or about 326 light-years) of the sun, were found using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the European Space
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Phys.org
DNA from sediment reveals epic history of Denisova Cave
 
In a landmark study, scientists from Australia, Germany and Russia have used ancient DNA recovered from sediment samples from Denisova Cave in Siberia to reveal a detailed occupational history of this unique site by three distinct groups of ancient humans and a variety of animals over the past 300,000 years.
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Phys.org
Life in these star-systems could have spotted Earth
 
Scientists at Cornell University and the American Museum of Natural History have identified 2,034 nearby star-systems—within the small cosmic distance of 326 light-years—that could find Earth merely by watching our pale blue dot cross our sun.
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Phys.org
New possibilities for detecting Hawking radiation emitted by primordial black holes
 
While many physicists have predicted the existence of dark matter, a type of matter that does not absorb, reflect or emit light, so far no one has been able to observe it experimentally or determine its fundamental nature. Light primordial black holes (PBHs), black holes the formed in the early universe, are among the most promising dark matter candidates. However, the existence of these black hol
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Phys.org
An ally for alloys: AI helps design high-performance steels
 
Machine learning techniques have contributed to progress in science and technology fields ranging from health care to high-energy physics. Now, machine learning is poised to help accelerate the development of stronger alloys, particularly stainless steels, for America's thermal power generation fleet. Stronger materials are key to producing energy efficiently, resulting in economic and decarboniza
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Phys.org
Exotic superconductors: The secret that wasn't there
 
A single measurement result is not a proof—this has been shown again and again in science. We can only really rely on a research result when it has been measured several times, preferably by different research teams, in slightly different ways. In this way, errors can usually be detected sooner or later.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences current issue
Preferences for nutrients and sensory food qualities identify biological sources of economic values in monkeys [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences]
 
Value is a foundational concept in reinforcement learning and economic choice theory. In these frameworks, individuals choose by assigning values to objects and learn by updating values with experience. These theories have been instrumental for revealing influences of probability, risk, and delay on choices. However, they do not explain how…
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Phys.org
Study sheds more light on the properties of open cluster IC 1434
 
Astronomers have performed a detailed photometric and kinematical study of an open cluster known as IC 1434. Results of the research provide essential information regarding the properties of this stellar grouping. The study was detailed in a paper published June 10 on the arXiv pre-print server.
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Phys.org
Researchers propose the use of quantum cascade lasers to achieve private free-space communications
 
Free-space optical communication, the communication between two devices at a distance using light to carry information, is a highly promising system for achieving high-speed communication. This system of communication is known to be immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI), a disturbance generated by external sources that affects electrical circuits and can disrupt radio signals.
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Phys.org
Shifting sands, creeping soils, and a new understanding of landscape evolution
 
A new study published in Nature Communications finds that piles of sand grains, even when undisturbed, are in constant motion. Using highly-sensitive optical interference data, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University present results that challenge existing theories in both geology and physics about how soils and other types of disordered materials behave.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences current issue
Stewardship of global collective behavior [Sustainability Science]
 
Collective behavior provides a framework for understanding how the actions and properties of groups emerge from the way individuals generate and share information. In humans, information flows were initially shaped by natural selection yet are increasingly structured by emerging communication technologies. Our larger, more complex social networks now transfer high-fidelity…
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Phys.org
Scientists can predict and design single atom catalysts for important chemical reactions
 
Researchers at Tufts University, University College London (UCL), Cambridge University and University of California at Santa Barbara have demonstrated that a catalyst can indeed be an agent of change. In a study published today in Science, they used quantum chemical simulations run on supercomputers to predict a new catalyst architecture as well as its interactions with certain chemicals, and demo
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ScienceDaily
Language trade-off? No, bilingual children reliably acquire English by age 5
 
A new study in U.S.-born children from Spanish-speaking families finds that minority language exposure does not threaten the acquisition of English by children in the U.S. and that there is no trade-off between English and Spanish. Rather, children reliably acquire English by age 5, and their total language knowledge is greater to the degree that they also acquire Spanish. Children's level of Engl
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EurekAlert! – Breaking News
Nerve tumor in children: better tolerable chemotherapy without loss of efficacy
 
The initial chemotherapy of aggressive childhood nerve tumors, so-called high-risk neuroblastomas, is crucial for ultimate survival. It has now been shown that the chemotherapy regimen used by the European Neuroblastoma Study Group is equally efficacious but better tolerated than a highly effective regimen from the US. This was the conclusion of an international trial coordinated by St. Anna Child
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The Atlantic
What Quitters Understand About the Job Market
 
Quitting your job is hot this summer. More Americans quit in May than any other month on record going back to the beginning of the century, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . For every 100 workers in hotels, restaurants, bars, and retailers, about five of them quit last month. Low-wage workers aren’t the only ones eyeing the door. In May, more than 700,000 workers in the bureau’s mostl
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Futurism
Leaked UN Climate Report: The Apocalypse Is Almost Here
 
Doomsday Report A draft climate change report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issues a dire warning that we are on the cusp of planetary destruction thanks to the myriad dangers of worsening climate change. The report, which was leaked to Agence France-Presse , is 4,000 pages long but it’s central message can be summarized very clearly: Humanity has screw
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Futurism
It’s Looking Possible That the Hubble Is Dead Forever
 
Orbital CPR The Hubble Space Telescope is still offline nine days after it first failed , despite numerous attempts to bring its payload computer back online. NASA still doesn’t know for sure what caused the computer glitch that brought the orbital observatory offline, according to Insider . But after three failed attempts to switch to a backup version of the memory module that NASA believes to b
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Futurism
Researchers Claim Collapsing Ocean Ecosystem Will Devastate Humanity Within 25 Years
 
Acid Oceans As the oceans grow increasingly acidic — a particularly dangerous side effect of greenhouse gas emissions — the global food web could collapse and humanity could face utter devastation within just a few decades, according to an alarming new paper . The paper, penned by two entrepreneurs and researchers working to provide access to clean water who are affiliated with Edinburgh Universi
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Science | The Guardian
Moderna, Pfizer or AstraZeneca? The ridiculous, diverting rise of vaccine envy
 
Casual vaccine chat is today’s only form of small talk, so it’s not surprising it would take a lightheartedly tribal turn. Ultimately, of course, gratitude is at the heart of the conversation Last week, I had cause to go searching for images of men getting vaccinated (it’s not a fetish – it was for work) and I turned up a photo from a flu vaccination drive in 2012. I tried to think back nine year
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Big Think
Every 27.5 million years, the Earth’s heart beats catastrophically
 
It appears that Earth has a geologic "pulse," with clusters of major events occurring every 27.5 million years. Working with the most accurate dating methods available, the authors of the study constructed a new history of the last 260 million years. Exactly why these cycles occur remains unknown, but there are some interesting theories. Our hearts beat at a resting rate of 60 to 100 beats per mi
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Science | The Guardian
Iron age people were emotionally attached to objects, research shows
 
Dilemma of finding it hard to part with ‘problematic stuff’ we no longer need could date back more than 2,000 years From outgrown baby clothes to hideous mugs once used by a parent, there are certain items it is curiously hard to part with. Now research suggests difficulty of what to do with such objects could date back at least 2,000 years. Writing in the journal Antiquity, Dr Lindsey Büster, an
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Science | The Guardian
Drinking coffee may cut risk of chronic liver disease, study suggests
Coffee Risk Liver Disease
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UK analysis shows people who drank coffee had 49% reduced risk of dying from the condition From espresso to instant, coffee is part of the daily routine for millions. Now research suggests the brew could be linked to a lower chance of developing or dying from chronic liver disease. Chronic liver disease is a major health problem around the world. According to the British Liver Trust , liver disea
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Futurism
Video Shows Man Flying Through Times Square on Giant Drone
 
Green Goblin IRL A new video going viral on social media shows a helmeted daredevil shooting through Times Square in New York City — on what appears to be a giant, eight-rotor drone, cruising a solid ten feet above the ground. It’s a stunt particularly reminiscent of the Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe, flying through NYC in director Sam Raimi’s blockbuster “Spider-Man” (2002). Is this reall
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The Atlantic
The Authoritarian Instincts of Police Unions
 
This article was published online on June 21, 2021 and updated at 11:43 p.m. ET on June 22, 2021. I n May 2020 , Darnella Frazier, a 17-year-old with a smartphone camera, documented the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Most Americans who watched the video of Floyd begging for his life, as Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck, saw a human being. Robert Kroll did not. T
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Science | The Guardian
I rested my way to recovery from ‘long-haul Covid’. I urge others to do the same | Fiona Lowenstein
 
Rest and pacing, rather than graded exercise, seem the most effective treatments to prescribe widely to long Covid patients Within a few days of being discharged from the hospital in March last year, it was clear I was not improving in any sort of recognizable way. My Covid symptoms morphed, and any attempt to push through the fatigue, migraines and flu-like symptoms failed, often exacerbating th
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Science | The Guardian
Flu could be a ‘bigger problem than Covid in UK this winter’
 
Low prevalence of flu during pandemic may have led to drop in immunity among population Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Flu could be a “bigger problem” than Covid-19 in the UK this winter, a senior government vaccine adviser has said, with low prevalence over the past months possibly leading to a drop in immunity among the population. Anthony Harnden, the deputy chai
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Science | The Guardian
More than 2m adults in England have had long Covid for over 12 weeks – study
Two England Long Covid
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Research says people tend to fall into two categories: those with respiratory illness and those with fatigue-related symptoms Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage More than 2 million adults in England have experienced coronavirus symptoms lasting over 12 weeks, government data suggests – double the previous estimate for long Covid. The study, one of the largest to date, f
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Futurism
NYC Just Shut Down a Tesla Taxi Fleet in Favor of Gas Guzzlers
 
Grounded Fleet New York City regulators stepped in to quash a planned fleet of Tesla taxis in the city, and the logic behind the decision is baffling. Tesla had partnered with the electric scooter startup Revel to launch a fleet of 50 Tesla Model Y taxis in the Big Apple, according to the New York Post . But the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) blocked the companies from buying the necessa
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Futurism
Towing a Tesla Recharges It Really Quickly Due to Regenerative Braking
 
Regen Hack The idea is deceptively simple: thanks to regenerative braking, an electric vehicle can technically charge its batteries while being being towed by another vehicle. But according to a recently uploaded YouTube video, the efficiency at which this works is pretty surprising — and proof that regenerative breaking can significantly extend the range of any electric vehicle. As seen in a vid
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Futurism
Giant Arc of Galaxies Is Way Too Big to Exist, Scientists Say
 
Arc of the Universe A team of scientists has found a gigantic structure in space, called the Giant Arc, that’s way too big to exist based on what we thought we knew about the universe. The Giant Arc is a massive collection of galaxies, galactic clusters, and other space stuff that measures 3.3 billion light-years across, according to Live Science , blanketing about seven percent of the known univ
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The Atlantic
Cancel Amazon Prime
 
T oday is Prime Day. Imagine trying to explain that to an alien or to a time traveler from the 20th century. “Amazon turned 20 and on the eve of its birthday, the company introduced Prime Day, a global shopping event,” reads Amazon’s formal telling of the ritual’s 2015 origins. “Our only goal? Offer a volume of deals greater than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members.” The holiday was inven
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The Atlantic
Our New Postracial Myth
 
T he signposts of racism are staring back at us in big, bold racial inequities. But some Americans are ignoring the signposts, walking on by racial inequity, riding on by the evidence, and proclaiming their belief with religious fervor. “America is not a racist country,” Senator Tim Scott said in April. Black babies die at twice the rate of white babies. Roughly a fifth of Native Americans and La
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The Atlantic
Remember Who Tucker Carlson Is
 
In November 2018, The Washington Post published a disturbing headline: “‘They Were Threatening Me and My Family’: Tucker Carlson’s Home Targeted by Protesters.” The Post story quoted the prime-time Fox News host at length. “Someone started throwing himself against the front door and actually cracked the front door,” Carlson claimed. “It wasn’t a protest. It was a threat … They weren’t protesting
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Futurism
GPU Prices Plummet After China Cracks Down on Bitcoin Mining
 
Price Chopper Chinese authorities are cracking down on cryptocurrency mining , which is causing an interesting side effect: the price of graphics cards is plummeting, the South China Morning Post reports . Graphics cards, with their powerful Graphics Processing Units, (GPUs) are a critical piece of the energy-intensive mining process. Growing demand for GPUs has caused their market price to soar
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Futurism
Elon Musk’s New House Is a $50,000 Shack
 
Musk Mahal SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has chosen to move into a $50,000 prefabricated house that’s only about 400 square feet, on-site at the company’s South Texas testing facilities, Teslarati reports . The news comes after Musk announced last week he had “decided to sell my last remaining house” in a tweet . “Just needs to go to a large family who will live there,” he added. “It’s a special place.” I
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Science | The Guardian
Dinosaurs lived in the Arctic, research suggests
 
Discovery of tiny fossils indicates dinosaurs raised young in freezing region – and may have been warm-blooded It had long stretches of winter darkness, freezing temperatures and often scarce resources, but an array of tiny fossils suggests dinosaurs not only roamed the Arctic, but hatched and raised their young there too. While dinosaur fossils have previously been found in the Arctic, it was un
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Science | The Guardian
Strawberry moon 2021: how to photograph the full supermoon on your phone or camera
 
Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don’ts of shooting June’s super moon on Thursday night With another full supermoon rising – this time the June ‘strawberry moon’ on Thursday night across the world – many people will pull out their mobile phones to try and get an Instagram-worthy photograph, but unfortunately it’s really challenging to take a great picture of the m
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Futurism
Texas Hospital Fires Over 150 Employees For Refusing To Get Vaccinated
 
Earlier this month, the Houston Methodist hospital system informed 178 anti-vaxxer employees who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine that they had two weeks to either get the shot or get the boot. Some of them got with the program, Ars Technica reports , but 153 of them dug in their heels and either quit or allowed themselves to be fired. The hospital did grant exemptions to employees who could n
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Futurism
Harvard Professor Says Alien Spacecraft May Have Dropped Sensors
 
We Get Signal An ancient alien civilization may have seeded the Earth with sensors providing a readout on what it’s like within our solar system’s habitable zone, Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb suggests, and new unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP) sightings might be a sign of extraterrestrials following up. Specifically, he says the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua might have been a spacecraf
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Futurism
NASA’s Mars Lander Is Dying
 
Dusty Lander After spending a little over two and a half years on the surface of Mars, NASA’s Insight Mars Lander is looking a little worse for the wear. The lander is getting pummeled with Martian dust, which is accumulating on top of its solar panels. That means the amount of power it can generate is being drastically reduced, SpaceNews reports , which is endangering the entire mission . The mi
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Futurism
China Orders Banks to Stop Handling Crypto, Bitcoin Plummets
Bitcoin China Chinese
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Crackdown Continued Things are not looking good for Bitcoin right now. Chinese officials continued their crackdown on cryptocurrencies this week, the BBC reports , ordering banks to stop supporting any transactions involving the digital currencies. Unsurprisingly, the value of Bitcoin slumped yet again in light of the news, dropping below $30,000 for the first time since early January — back when
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Science | The Guardian
Petition urges Jeff Bezos to blast into space – and stay there
 
Change.org effort has gathered tens of thousands of signatures Bezos to go into space in July on first human Blue Origin flight A growing group of earthlings is banding together in an effort to keep Jeff Bezos off the planet, after he leaves it in late July. Related: Sold! Bidder pays $28m for spare seat on space flight with Jeff Bezos Continue reading…
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Science | The Guardian
‘It’s going to come as a big shock’: UFO experts await Pentagon report
 
UK ufologists are worlds apart on the importance of a hotly anticipated US intelligence release Nearly 75 years after Roswell, the possibility that we are not alone in the universe is once again the talk of mainstream politics. The impending release of a Pentagon report on the activities of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) has sparked a wave of interest and recent pron
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Futurism
Study: A Comet Hitting Earth May Have Helped Spark Civilization
 
Trigger Point 13,000 years ago, fragments of a comet that exploded in space screamed through the atmosphere and crashed into the Earth around what ‘ s now the Middle East, North America, and Greenland. And according to a new study, there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that the impact helped trigger human civilization. For now, most of the work involved in the paper , published in the jou
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The Atlantic
The Democrats Are Already Losing the Next Election
 
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell knew that winning reelection in her swingy Florida district would be difficult. But it wasn’t until one night in February last year that the 50-year-old Democratic representative started to worry. That was the evening when then-presidential-candidate Bernie Sanders, in a 60 Minutes interview, showered praise on Cuba’s literacy programs under the Castro regime. “Is that a ba
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Futurism
New Video Shows Chinese Astronauts Hanging Out in Brand-New Space Station
 
Life in Space In a new “vlog” released on Chinese social media, three astronauts can be seen living on board the Tianhe module, the first section of the country’s Tiangong, or “Heavenly Palace,” space station. The clip shows the crew sleeping, waking up, brushing their teeth, and shaving while floating in relatively cramped quarters — a reminder of just how far China’s space program has come. Fir
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Futurism
NASA Says It’s Still Trying to Fix Damaged Hubble
 
Off and On Again NASA scientists are still furiously trying to fix the main payload computer onboard NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. A serious glitch with the telescope’s payload computer put the Hubble’s various scientific instruments into a safe mode configuration last week. Since then, the team has tried and failed to remotely revive the computer, which was built in in the 1980s, at least three
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Futurism
Scientists Puzzled by Giant Red Patches on Pluto
 
Red Spots A team of researchers from the Netherlands have recreated the conditions observed in Pluto’s atmosphere in a laboratory chamber, and then shot it with plasma to simulate space radiation. Their goal was to investigate a strange phenomenon on the surface of the dwarf planet, first spotted by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft back in 2015, New Scientist reports : huge reddish patches that dot
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NYT > Science
Covid's Delta Variant: What We Know
India Delta Variant
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The variant is gaining traction worldwide. But vaccines are driving down coronavirus case numbers in the U.S., and it’s unclear whether Delta will reverse that trend.
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Futurism
The Navy Says Its Nuclear Submarines Are Beat Up Pieces of Crap
 
Sub-Optimal The US Navy is having some serious issues with procuring replacement parts for its nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines. According to Bloomberg , more than 1,600 parts had to be swapped among the Navy’s Virginia-class submarines since 2013 just to keep them operational. Many of these components were meant to be good for 33 years — but started wearing out decades early. The submarine
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Futurism
Tesla Built One of the World’s Most Powerful Supercomputers to Train Its Self-Driving System
 
Tesla Supercomputer Tesla just showed off its massive new supercomputer — and according to the figures it’s released, Electrek reports , it may be the fifth most powerful unit in the world. The car company says it’s using its newly gained computing power to train its vehicles’ Autopilot feature, as well as still-unreleased self-driving artificial intelligence systems. It’s an incremental step tow
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Big Think
Galactic wind from early universe detected
 
A new study finds the oldest galactic wind yet detected, from 13.1 billion years ago. The research confirms the theory that black holes and galaxies evolve together. The galactic wind was spotted using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile. An enormously powerful galactic wind generated by a supermassive black hole 13.1 billions years ago has been discovered by researchers. Th
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Science | The Guardian
Experts study viability of giving flu and Covid jabs at same time
 
Findings on side-effects and vaccine efficacy expected by August or September as NHS prepares for potential flu surge Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Researchers are working to establish whether the flu jab and a Covid vaccine can be given at the same time, as the NHS braces itself for a potential surge in cases of flu this winter. Giving the two shots at the same ti
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Science | The Guardian
Leader behind bleach ‘miracle cure’ claims Trump consumed his product
 
Mark Grenon says in interview from prison he gave Trump the product and was the source of Trump’s fixation with disinfectant The leader of a spurious church which peddled industrial bleach as a “miracle cure” for Covid-19 is claiming that he provided Donald Trump with the product in the White House shortly before the former president made his notorious remarks about using “disinfectant” to treat
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Futurism
US Navy Sets Off Giant Explosion That Registers as 3.9 Magnitude Earthquake
 
Big Boom The US Navy detonated 40,000 pounds worth of explosives right next to a a warship to make sure it can withstand battle conditions — and the aerial footage picked up by a nearby helicopter is unreal. The explosion was so massive, in fact, that it registered as a 3.9 magnitude earthquake about 100 miles away on the coast of Florida, as ABC Australia reports . The intentional explosion was
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The Atlantic
The Fight Over Canada’s Founding Prime Minister
 
Updated at 9:50 a.m. ET on June 22, 2021 T he memory of John A. Macdonald , Canada’s first prime minister, is not thriving these days in the country he brought into being. In 2018, his image was removed from the Canadian $10 bill, which it had decorated since 1971. His name has been quietly scrubbed from the Ottawa airport named in his honor in 1993 . In August 2020, vandals toppled a statue of M
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The Atlantic
The Countries Stuck in Coronavirus Purgatory
 
On a recent day at Hong Kong’s Kerry Hotel, a few city dwellers escaped the late-spring heat by wading in the property’s shallow pool, which, with its infinity edges, gave the illusion of spilling into the harbor. A few others lay on chaise lounges under umbrellas, reading books and lazily scrolling on their phones. These guests were not staying at the hotel; they had purchased day passes to use
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Science | The Guardian
Robots may soon be able to reproduce – will this change how we think about evolution? | Emma Hart
 
Nature is full of examples of biology adapting to its surroundings. Technology may just be about to catch up From the bottom of the oceans to the skies above us, natural evolution has filled our planet with a vast and diverse array of lifeforms, with approximately 8 million species adapted to their surroundings in a myriad of ways. Yet 100 years after Karel Čapek coined the term robot , the funct
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Science | The Guardian
Earth emerges from shadow in Nasa time lapse of astronauts installing solar panels – video
 
French and American astronauts have completed a six-hour spacewalk as they installed new solar panels to boost power supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). In time lapse footage taken at 10x speed, Earth pulls into frame as astronauts float outside the station on Sunday 20 June as they begin the 19-metre panels, which will power daily operations and the research and science projects c
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Futurism
Startup Successfully Tests Space Hotel Building Robot
 
Robot Space Assembly Orbital Assembly Corporation, a company that claims to be the “first large-space space construction company” on its website , has unveiled an early prototype robot capable of churning out parts for a ring-shaped luxury hotel that it says will one day orbit the Earth. “Today we achieved our milestone in validating the Demonstrator Structural Truss Assembly Robot (DSTAR) fabric
10h
The Atlantic
We’ve Never Heard Britney Spears Like This
Britney Spears Years
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When typed out in full , the chilling speech that Britney Spears gave to a Los Angeles judge yesterday afternoon comes to more than 4,500 words. Those words are now circulating online as quotations about how Spears lived in “denial” about the legal and medical arrangement that has given other people control over her life for 13 years. She says this “abusive” conservatorship forced her to take deb
13h
Science | The Guardian
‘Chirps’ in space: new album captures the sound of black holes colliding
 
Scientists have turned electromagnetic and gravitational waves – which, unlike sound waves, can travel in a vacuum – into musical tracks If two black holes collide in the vacuum of space, do they make a sound? Sound waves can’t travel in the almost perfect vacuum of space – no one can hear you scream, as the tagline from Alien goes. But electromagnetic and gravitational waves can, and a new album
13h
Futurism
Britney Spears Says She’s Being Forced to Take Psychiatric Medication, Stay on Birth Control
Britney Spears J.
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American pop icon Britney Spears spoke out in explosive testimony on Wednesday about the troubling situation surrounding her conservatorship, a contractual agreement that she says has resulted in trauma and abuse. “I’ve been in denial; I’ve been in shock; I am traumatized,” Spears said during the hearing, as quoted by The New York Times . “I just want my life back.” “I truly believe this conserva
13h
The Atlantic
Manchin and Sinema Now Face the Weight of History
Democrats Biden Senate
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The battle over access to the ballot is entering a precarious new stage. Democrats and civil-rights groups are pursuing a two-track strategy to preserve their embattled hopes of passing federal legislation establishing a nationwide floor of voting rights. What happens next will likely determine whether Congress can act at all. Advocates are betting that a combination of what might be called insid
15h
Quanta Magazine
Nathan Seiberg on How Math Might Complete the Ultimate Physics Theory
 
Nathan Seiberg, 64, still does a lot of the electrical work and even some of the plumbing around his house in Princeton, New Jersey. It’s an interest he developed as a kid growing up in Israel, where he tinkered with his car and built a radio. “I was always fascinated by solving problems and understanding how things work,” he said. Seiberg’s professional career has been about problem solving… S
16h
Science | The Guardian
The longest of Covids: the man infected for 10 months
 
Dave Smith, 72, from Bristol, tells of an experience including 42 positive tests and seven hospital admissions Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Like thousands of people, Dave Smith became infected with coronavirus at the start of the first wave in the UK in 2020. But while most people, including those who suffer “long Covid”, eliminate the live virus from their bodies
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Futurism
John McAfee’s Instagram Posted Something After He Died
 
After news emerged that John McAfee died of a suspected suicide in his jail cell in Barcelona, Spain, his official Instagram account posted a black and white image of the letter “Q.” After reports of John McAfee's death, his social media team just posted a "Q" to his Instagram account. McAfee has alleged a ton of global conspiracies against him in the past, and done plenty of media stunts. It was
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Quanta Magazine
Same or Different? The Question Flummoxes Neural Networks.
 
The first episode of Sesame Street in 1969 included a segment called “One of These Things Is Not Like the Other.” Viewers were asked to consider a poster that displayed three 2s and one W, and to decide — while singing along to the game’s eponymous jingle — which symbol didn’t belong. Dozens of episodes of Sesame Street repeated the game, comparing everything from abstract patterns to plates of..
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Science | The Guardian
Delta Plus Covid variant: what is it and should we be concerned?
 
Same mutation of Delta Plus is found in Beta variant, which is partially resistant to vaccines Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage One of the latest coronavirus variants to raise concern is the Delta Plus. But what is it and why is it a potential problem in the fight to suppress the virus? Continue reading…
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Science | The Guardian
Strawberry moon 2021: how to take a good photograph of the full supermoon on your phone or camera with the right settings
 
Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don’ts of shooting June’s super moon With another full supermoon rising – this time the June ‘strawberry moon’ on Thursday night across the world – many people will pull out their mobile phones to try and get an Instagram-worthy photograph, but unfortunately it’s really challenging to take a great picture of the moon. Two reasons:
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The Atlantic
The High Cost of Divorce
 
S ara met her future husband when she was 18. He struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, but Sara thought marriage would change him for the better. It didn’t. Sara gave birth to two kids before the age of 25, and she says her husband grew controlling and abusive. A few weeks ago, he got drunk and punched her in the face repeatedly, she says, and she realized they had to divorce. Sara’s divorce
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Phys.org
Space object with orbit stretching into the Oort cloud discovered
 
Astronomers Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein discovered a space object recently that has an orbit around the sun and also stretches into the Oort cloud—they have named it 2014 UN271. The researchers made the discovery while studying archival images collected for the Dark Energy Survey over the years 2014 to 2018. Since its discovery, entities such as the MMPL forum, the Minor Planet Center a
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The Atlantic
Trump’s Campaign to Overturn the Election Was Inane
 
In October 2006, just as bankers all over Wall Street were realizing that maybe, just maybe, they should be a little more circumspect about their adventures in subprime-mortgage bundling, some financiers at Goldman Sachs dreamed up a code for use in email: LDL. “Let’s discuss live.” In one notorious example , someone on the mortgage-securities desk mentioned Goldman’s urgent need to sell off “jun
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Science | The Guardian
The real urban jungle: how ancient societies reimagined what cities could be
 
They may be vine-smothered ruins today, but the lost cities of the ancient tropics still have a lot to teach us about how to live alongside nature Visions of “lost cities” in the jungle have consumed western imaginations since Europeans first visited the tropics of Asia, Africa and the Americas. From the Lost City of Z to El Dorado, a thirst for finding ancient civilisations and their treasures i
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Science | The Guardian
How clocks have shaped civilisations – podcast
 
Since the dawn of time, clocks have shaped our behaviour and values. They are embedded in almost every aspect of modern life, from the time on your smartphone to the atomic clocks that underpin GPS. Anand Jagatia talks to horologist David Rooney about his new book, which tells the history of civilisation in twelve clocks Continue reading…
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Futurism
Video Reportedly Shows Chinese Rocket That Smashed Into Earth
 
Rocket Crash A video shared by aerospace reporter Andrew Jones on Twitter shows a massive rocket booster, reportedly part of China’s Long March 2F rocket that launched three astronauts into orbit on June 16, lying in the middle of the field, leaking what appears to be nitrogen tetroxide. Another problematic inland launch leads to an inevitably dangerous situation with Chinese rocket debris Whoeve
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Futurism
Scientists Built a Walking Mars Rover That Can Climb Steep Hills
 
Mars Walker Engineers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland and the Max Planck Institute in Germany built a small quadrupedal robot meant to leap around on the surface of the Moon, much like the Apollo astronauts did half a century ago. Now SpaceBok, named after the bounding springbok antelope, is getting a Mars upgrade — on the Red Planet, it will have to weather much stronger gravity than on the Moon
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Futurism
The Earth Suffers a Regular Cycle of Horrific Catastrophes, Scientists Say
 
Beating Heart Every 27.5 million years or so, the Earth’s heart “beats.” That’s according to a new study published in the journal Geoscience Frontiers , by a team of geologists who found that our planet goes through a cycle of severe geological events, much like the biological heartbeat that reverberates through a living organism. “Many geologists believe that geological events are random over ti
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Quanta Magazine
Secret Workings of Smell Receptors Revealed for First Time
 
Smell, rather than sight, reigns as the supreme sense for most animals. It allows them to find food, avoid danger and attract mates; it dominates their perceptions and guides their behavior; it dictates how they interpret and respond to the deluge of sensory information all around them. “How we as biological creatures interface with chemistry in the world is profoundly important for understanding
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Big Think
Heliogen: concentrated solar power plant produces temperatures of 2700° F
 
A new advance in concentrated solar power makes temperatures of 2700° F possible from nothing but sunlight. The heat produced can be used to produce electricity, make clean fuels, or power industrial processes. Founder Bill Gross sees these plants as part of a grand design to wean the world off oil. The need for clean, consistent, renewable energy sources has never been more pressing. Rising ener
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Science | The Guardian
UK Covid live: Hancock suggests ‘stress’ was factor in Boris Johnson calling him ‘totally useless’
 
Latest updates: health secretary refuses to say whether he and PM have spoken about issue, but says it feels like ‘ancient history’ UK reports 9,284 Covid cases on day before lockdown was due to end No increase in UK young adults living with parents after Covid – study Flu could be a ‘bigger problem than Covid in UK this winter’ Global coronavirus updates – live 10.28am BST A “do or die” meeting
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Science | The Guardian
Fossilised bones found in Israel could belong to mystery extinct humans
 
Remains with combination of Neanderthal and early human features date back 100,000 years Fossilised bones recovered from an ancient sinkhole in Israel may belong to a previously unknown group of extinct humans that lived in the Levant more than 100,000 years ago. Researchers unearthed the bones alongside stone tools and the remains of horses, fallow deer and wild ox during excavations at the Nesh
12h
Big Think
Genetics of unexplained sudden cardiac arrest
 
Soccer player Christian Eriksen of Denmark recently collapsed on the field from a cardiac arrest. Thankfully, he survived. A new study examined the genetics underlying unexplained sudden cardiac death. About 20 percent of these unexplained deaths are likely due to genetics. The football world was rocked recently when Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapsed while suffering from cardiac arrest on the
16h
The Atlantic
The Only Way We’ll Know When We Need COVID-19 Boosters
 
Midway through America’s first mass-immunization campaign against the coronavirus, experts are already girding themselves for the next. The speedy rollout of wildly effective shots in countries such as the United States, where more than half the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, has shown remarkable progress—finally, slowly, steadily beating the coronavirus back. Bu
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The Atlantic
The Democrats’ Dead End on Voting Rights
Senate Democrats Biden
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D emocrats have cast in dire terms their push to protect and expand voting rights before the next national elections. “Failure is not an option,” Senate Majority Chuck Schumer has repeatedly declared , making the oft-broken vow that leaders in both parties assign to their tippy-top priorities. This afternoon, Schumer brought up his party’s broad election-reform bill for an initial procedural vote
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Phys.org
Producing hydrogen using less energy
 
The way in which a compound inspired by nature produces hydrogen has now been described in detail for the first time by an international research team from the University of Jena, Germany and the University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy. These findings are the foundation for the energy-efficient production of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source.
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Science | The Guardian
Covid vaccine map: how are countries around the world doing?
 
More than 2bn Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide. Find out which countries are vaccinating the most Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Since the first Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 was injected into the arm of a British woman in December 2020, hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have been administered worldwide. Dozens of countries now have adva
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Science | The Guardian
Dozens of Hawaiian baby squid aboard space station for study
 
Squid used by researchers to study effects of spaceflight Tiny creatures will come back to Earth in July Dozens of baby squid from Hawaii are aboard the International Space Station, for a study which scientists hope can help bolster human health during long space missions. Related: SpaceX rocket heads to ISS with squid, toothpaste and avocados Continue reading…
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Phys.org
Physicists create platform to achieve ultra-strong photon-to-magnon coupling
 
A team of scientists from NUST MISIS and MIPT have developed and tested a new platform for realization of the ultra-strong photon-to-magnon coupling. The proposed system is on-chip and is based on thin-film hetero-structures with superconducting, ferromagnetic and insulating layers. This discovery solves a problem that has been on the agenda of research teams from different countries for the last
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Futurism
Scientist Says Early Chinese COVID Data Was Mysteriously Deleted
 
According to a new analysis by a Seattle-based researcher, early genetic sequences linked to the initial outbreaks of the coronavirus in Wuhan prior to December 2019 were mysteriously deleted, the New York Times reports . Roughly a year ago, genetic sequences from more than 200 samples disappeared from an online scientific database, raising questions about their abrupt disappearance. It “seems li
16h
Futurism
Professor Mocked for Claiming to Have Disproved Einstein
 
Watch the Throne Li Zifeng, a professor at China’s Yanshan University who specializes in oil drilling and engineering, says that he’s done the seemingly impossible: disproven Einstein’s ironclad theory of relativity . Li says that he’s been working on his theorem for two decades, but has faced institutional obstacles like the university not approving or recognizing his research, according to the
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The Atlantic
Joe Manchin Was Never a Mystery
Democrats Senate Manchin
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The failure of the For the People Act in the Senate yesterday evening didn’t provide much drama. All 50 Democrats backed the voting-rights bill, but with no Republican support, they didn’t have enough votes to break a filibuster. That Democrats didn’t have the votes was clear from the start of the Congress. But journalism requires drama, which means that over the past few months Senator Joe Manch
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MIT Technology Review
French spyware bosses indicted for their role in the torture of dissidents
 
Senior executives at a French spyware firm have been indicted for the company’s sale of surveillance software to authoritarian regimes in Libya and Egypt that resulted in the torture and disappearance of dissidents. While high-tech surveillance is a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide, it is rare for companies or individuals to face legal consequences for selling such technologies—even to noto
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The Atlantic
Photos: Turkey’s Sea-Snot Disaster
 
For more than six months now, parts of the Sea of Marmara along Turkey’s coast have been covered in a thick layer of glop known as mucilage, or “sea snot.” Pollution, warmer temperatures, and other environmental factors appear to have resulted in a proliferation of phytoplankton, which are releasing an “ overabundance of mucus .” Government workers have been trying to clean up some of the worst-h
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Science | The Guardian
Birthdays linked to spread of Covid in areas with high transmission
 
US study finds households with recent birthdays about 30% more likely to have positive diagnosis Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Households with recent birthdays were more likely to test positive with Covid in areas with high infection rates, according to an analysis of nearly 3m homes in the US. The study, which emanates from health insurance claims data collected i
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Big Think
"Laughing gas" may offer quick, long-lasting relief from depression
 
Standard antidepressant medications don't work for many people who need them. With ketamine showing potential as an antidepressant, researchers investigate another anesthetic: nitrous oxide, commonly called "laughing gas." Researchers observe that just a light mixture of nitrous oxide for an hour alleviates depression symptoms for two weeks. The usual antidepressants don't work for everyone. That
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Phys.org
PhD student obtains the Higgs mode via dimensional crossover in quantum magnets
 
In 2013, François Englert and Peter Higgs won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, which was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle by the A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) and the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments at The European Organization f
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The Atlantic
How Disney Mismanaged the Star Wars Universe
 
This article was published online on June 21, 2021. W hen I look out my window , a few floors up in New York City, I see Star Wars . Rooftop bouquets of dirty satellite dishes, jumbled architectural styles united by peeling paint, variously shaped (and largely face-masked) life-forms jostling on the sidewalk—each sign of shabby modernity feels like something I glimpsed in childhood while hypnotiz
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The Atlantic
Iran Stops Pretending
Iran Raisi Biden US
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T ipping points in the fortunes of opaque, authoritarian regimes are often predicted but never predictable. The rigged “election” of Ebrahim Raisi, an uncharismatic, 60-year-old hard-line cleric, as Iran’s next president has the potential to be such a moment, although its significance will be fully understood only in hindsight. Will Raisi’s anointment be remembered, as some historians have assert
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Futurism
Head of NASA Slams Congress’s Hypocrisy
 
Budget Battle Finally, after an exhausting amount of controversy and protest surrounding NASA’s decision to contract SpaceX to use its Starship spacecraft for the Artemis Moon missions, it seems like those projects can finally move forward. The main problem now is that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is still butting heads with members of Congress, Ars Technica reports , saying its high expectatio
14h
Big Think
The future of humanity: can we avert disaster?
 
Just by living our day-to-day lives, we are walking into a disaster. Can humanity wake up to avert disaster? Perhaps COVID was the wake-up call we all needed. Does humanity have a chance for a better future, or are we just unable to stop ourselves from driving off a cliff? This was the question that came to me as I participated in a conference entitled The Future of Humanity hosted by Marcelo's I
15h
The Atlantic
A Eulogy for the Free Press
Hong Kong Apple Daily
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On the morning of July 1, 2020, newsstands across Hong Kong had a conspicuously uniform appearance. At least eight major papers carried identical front-page advertisements: a cerulean-shaded photo of uniformed officials standing below the Chinese and Hong Kong flags with the city’s harbor in the background. The image was overlaid with lines of white text triumphantly welcoming the arrival of a sw
17h
Science | The Guardian
UK Covid live news: ministers set to announce additions to green list for international travel
Malta UK Green List
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Latest updates: no major opening up expected, with Malta and the Balearic Islands potential destinations that could be added to green list More than 2m adults in England have had long Covid for over 12 weeks Longest Covid: man who was infected for 10 months Row over Scotland non-essential travel ban to Manchester escalates Coronavirus global updates – live See all our coronavirus coverage 10.30am
22h
Phys.org
Cat-born parasite Toxoplasma induces fatally bold behavior in hyena cubs
 
Best known for its presence in house cats and a tendency to infect and alter the behaviors of rodents and humans, the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is also associated with bold behavior among wild hyena cubs and risk of death during interactions with lions, finds new research from the University of Colorado Boulder.
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Phys.org
Astronomers discover three new faint dwarf galaxies
 
By analyzing the data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), an international team of astronomers has conducted a search for nearby faint dwarf galaxies. In result, they detected three such objects around the Sculptor Galaxy. The finding is reported in a paper published June 16 on arXiv.org.
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Phys.org
Space telescopes could provide next-level images of black hole event horizons
 
Back in 2019, the world was treated to the first-ever image of a black hole, which was originally captured in 2017. The feat was widely heralded as a leap forward for astrophysics, supporting Einstein's theory of relativity. Now, a team led by the Radboud University proposes sending instruments into space to estimate black hole parameters more accurately by an order of magnitude. The newest paper,
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Science | The Guardian
Johnson loves science when he can crow about Britain. When it demands facts, he’s less keen | Rafael Behr
 
He claims he wanted to be a scientist. One shudders to think what his fraudulent character might have unleashed in a lab This time last year there was no Covid vaccine and none was imminent. Today, about 43 million Britons – 80% of the UK adult population – have had a dose. The ordeal is far from over, but this will be the crux of the story when future generations narrate Britain’s pandemic: the
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MIT Technology Review
LinkedIn’s job-matching AI was biased. The company’s solution? More AI.
 
Years ago, LinkedIn discovered that the recommendation algorithms it uses to match job candidates with opportunities were producing biased results. The algorithms were ranking candidates partly on the basis of how likely they were to apply for a position or respond to a recruiter. The system wound up referring more men than women for open roles simply because men are often more aggressive at seek
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Futurism
China Is Now Letting Scientists Study the Rocks It Took From the Moon Last Year
 
Rock Loans The China Academy of Space Technology is finally prepared to loan out the precious lunar samples it brought back from the Moon last year using its Chang’e-5 lander. The Moon rocks are a hot commodity for scientists, especially since these are the first samples brought back to Earth in the nearly 50 years since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 spacecraft did so in 1976. Now, applications from
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The Atlantic
A Major New Index Fund Should Unnerve Climate-Skeptical CEOs
 
Every week, our lead climate reporter brings you the big ideas, expert analysis, and vital guidance that will help you flourish on a changing planet. Sign up to get T he Weekly Planet , our guide to living through climate change, in your inbox . Last month, a tiny hedge fund called Engine No. 1 staged a coup of sorts at ExxonMobil —a shareholders’ revolt that unseated three members of the oil com
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NPR
A New Way To Understand Automation
 
We speak with one of the leading scholars of automation about its evolving impacts on society. (Image credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
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Science | The Guardian
I do love getting older. Here are five infuriating reasons why
 
A new scientific study has revealed what we all knew, deep down – you can’t stop the ageing process. But it does come with some serious benefits Apparently – brace yourselves – we can’t stop ageing. Time to pack up my crucible and robes and cancel my subscription to Practical Alchemy for Beginners. A newly published international study has concluded, in essence, that biological factors will conti
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Phys.org
Lead from leaded petrol persists in London air despite '90s ban
 
Lead levels in London's atmosphere have dropped drastically since lead additives in petrol were phased out, and currently meet UK air quality targets. However despite this drop, airborne particles in London are still highly lead-enriched compared to natural background levels, according to new Imperial research published today in PNAS.
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Futurism
Watch Israel’s Military Shoot Down Drones With a Laser
Israel Laser Defense
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Skeet Shooting The Israeli military just demonstrated a powerful new laser capable of shooting down drones in midair — a first for the country — and even released video of the system in action. The High-Power Laser Weapon System was equipped to a plane that could target drones while both traveled through the air, according to Insider . In video footage shared on Twitter by Israel’s Ministry of De
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MIT Technology Review
Scientists might have spotted tectonic activity inside Venus
 
Venus might be hell, but don’t call it a dead planet. Amid surface temperatures of up to 471 °C and surface pressures 100 times greater than those on Earth, new research suggests the planet might still be geologically active. That’s encouraging news to people who think it could once have hosted life ( or that it might still be able to ). Earth’s lithosphere (its crust and upper mantle) is made of
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Futurism
Watch What Happens When a Satellite Burns Up in Earth’s Atmosphere
 
Melting Satellites Scientists at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) simulated what happens when a satellite burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Inside a special test chamber called the LK3 plasma wind tunnel in Germany, scientists observed what would happen when a Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM), the bulkiest part of a satellite tasked with keeping its solar panels pointed at the Sun, burns up
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Phys.org
New model shows greater likelihood, frequency of urban extreme heat events
 
Extreme heat waves in urban areas are much more likely than previously thought, according to a new modeling approach designed by researchers including University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) assistant professor Lei Zhao and alumnus Zhonghua Zheng. Their paper with co-author Keith W. Oleson of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, "Large model struc
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Phys.org
Using starch and baking soda to harvest mechanical energy
 
Scientists have used a compound made from a starch derivative and baking soda to help convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. The approach, developed by scientists at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Technology (DGIST), with colleagues in Korea and India, is cost-effective and biocompatible, and can help charge low-energy electronics like calculators and watches. The details were published in
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The Atlantic
The Most Effective Way to Thank Your Significant Other
 
It’s so simple that it can be easy to overlook: In the commotion of daily life, people forget to thank their partner for the myriad things they do. During the pandemic, significant others have made even more sacrifices, picked up the slack, or gone outside their comfort zone, putting plenty of romantic relationships through the wringer. Now could be the ideal moment to step back and reassess how
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The Atlantic
The Real Problem With Corporate Landlords
 
Among tenant advocates like me, corporate landlords are notorious for squeezing renters in every imaginable way—and for setting up byzantine ownership and management structures that frustrate anyone who might complain. News that investment firms have been buying up single-family homes during the coronavirus pandemic has prompted alarms among progressive tenant advocates and conservative populists
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Futurism
A Startup Is Working on Gene Hacked Trees to Gobble Up Tons of Climate-Destroying Carbon Dioxide
 
Planting Supertrees The climate change emergency continues to worsen and threaten the survival of countless species — humans included. As a result, the list of possible solutions is growing increasingly creative, including ideas like harvesting carbon dioxide from the air or even dimming the Sun . But a startup called Living Carbon is taking a different approach, asking the bold question “what if
9h
Futurism
We’re Planning Moon Missions But We’ve Only Mapped 20 Percent of the Ocean Floor
 
Slow and Steady An international team of scientists funded by billionaire investor Victor Vescovo recently announced that it’s mapped about 20 percent of the ocean floor — and the fact that that’s a major improvement over how little had previously been explored reveals just how much of our planet remains shrouded in mystery . According to the team’s update , the Seabed 2030 project added an area
11h
Phys.org
Cosmic 'hand' hitting a wall
 
Motions of a remarkable cosmic structure have been measured for the first time, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The blast wave and debris from an exploded star are seen moving away from the explosion site and colliding with a wall of surrounding gas.
13h
The Atlantic
Biden Doesn’t Have an Answer to America’s Crime Spike
 
Joe Biden knows he needs to appear to be doing something about crime. Murder rates around the country rose precipitously in 2020, and in many cities the increases have continued into 2021. But the president has few levers to affect crime quickly, and faces political hazards in every direction. Biden has championed police reform, and many progressive Democrats have pushed for sharp reductions in p
14h
Science | The Guardian
Cosmic dawn: scientists hope to peer back in time to see birth of stars
 
Telescope may be able to observe event now calculated to have taken place 250-350m years after big bang It is often said that looking through a telescope is like peering back in time, because of the millions of years it takes light from distant cosmic objects to reach Earth. Now scientists have calculated that they may be able to see far enough back to observe the birth of the very first stars –
17h
Science | The Guardian
Rich countries ‘deliberately’ keeping Covid vaccines from Africa, says envoy
 
Questions raised over failure of Covax scheme to provide promised doses to the continent African Union special envoy Strive Masiyiwa has accused the world’s richest nations of deliberately failing to provide enough Covid-19 vaccines to the continent. Masiyiwa, the union’s special envoy to the African vaccine acquisition task team, said the Covax scheme had failed to keep its promise to secure pro
17h
The Atlantic
Plan Ahead. Don’t Post.
 
“ How to Build a Life ” is a weekly column by Arthur Brooks, tackling questions of meaning and happiness. “T he roots of vegetables … attach them fatally to the ground,” the philosopher George Santayana wrote in his 1964 essay “The Philosophy of Travel.” “They are condemned like leeches to suck up whatever sustenance may flow to them at the particular spot where they happen to be stuck.” I don’t
20h
MIT Technology Review
How YouTube’s rules are used to silence human rights activists
 
For over a week now, a corner of YouTube frequented by Kazakh dissidents and close observers of human rights in Xinjiang has been only intermittently available. On June 15, the YouTube channel Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights went dark, its feed of videos replaced by a vague statement that the channel had been “terminated for violating YouTube’s community guidelines.” A few days later, it was reinstat
20h
Futurism
Facebook Is Working on an Amazingly Hideous Augmented Reality Fedora
 
Please, for the love of god, brace yourselves for what you’re about to see. Facebook was just awarded a patent for, uh, stylish augmented reality (AR) headwear — and it’s a real doozy. First, some credit for poor old Facebook and its terrible AR hats. Current mixed reality headgear is bulky, cumbersome, and all-around not great . These new designs, Gizmodo notes , at least make an attempt to inco
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The Atlantic
The Pride Flag Has a Representation Problem
 
Since its first flight at 1978’s Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco, the rainbow flag has evolved multiple times. That earliest iteration included pink and turquoise stripes , symbolizing sex and art, respectively—parts of queer life that the designers thought were worth fighting for. Later that year, though, the flag lost its pink stripe because of fabric unavailability at the local manufac
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MIT Technology Review
Using machine learning to build maps that give smarter driving advice
 
If you drive in the United States, chances are you can’t remember the last time you bought a paper map, printed out a digital map, or even stopped to ask for directions. Thanks to Global Positioning System (GPS) and the mobile mapping apps on our smartphones and their real-time routing advice, navigation is a solved problem. But in developing or fast-growing parts of the world, not so much. If yo
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Singularity Hub
An ‘Uncrashable’ Car? Luminar Says Its Lidar Can Get There
 
As a recent New York Times article highlighted, self-driving cars are taking longer to come to market than many experts initially predicted. Automated vehicles where riders can sit back, relax, and be delivered to their destinations without having to watch the road are continuously relegated to the “not-too-distant future.” There’s not just debate on when this driverless future will arrive, there
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Big Think
Is it ethical to pay people to get vaccinated?
 
A financial shot in the arm could be just what is needed for Americans unsure about vaccination. On May 12, 2021, the Republican governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, announced five US$1 million lottery prizes for those who are vaccinated. Meanwhile, in West Virginia, younger citizens are being enticed to get the shot with $100 savings bonds, and a state university in North Carolina is offering students
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Science | The Guardian
US to miss 70% vaccination target by Fourth of July, White House admits
 
Biden wanted to administer at least one shot to 70% of adults About 56% of Americans are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows The White House admitted on Tuesday that it will miss an ambitious Covid-19 vaccination goal: administering at least one jab to 70% of US adults by the Independence Day holiday. Related: Anti-vax group mounts legal blitz to sow disinformation against vaccinations Continue read
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MIT Technology Review
Why China’s kicking out the crypto miners
Bitcoin China Chinese
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The news: China’s intensifying crackdown has sent cryptocurrency prices tumbling. China has been upping its regulatory squeeze on cryptocurrencies for some time, but it now looks likely that over 90% of Bitcoin mining capacity in the country will shut down, according to a report in the Global Times , which is published by the Chinese state. Last Friday, authorities in the southwestern province of
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Futurism
Watch Dudes Tow a Pickup With a Giant Mecha Suit
 
Mecha Tow Have you ever seen a giant mech suit pull a pickup truck in the desert? Neither did we. Back in 2019, the folks behind the startup Furrion Exo-Bionics took their fully-functioning, 9,000 pound mechanized suit , called Prosthesis, for a spin in the Mojave Desert in California. As seen in recently released footage, the massive suit was capable of pulling a pickup truck, along with a massi
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Quanta Magazine
Gas Giants’ Energy Crisis Solved After 50 Years
 
Living as they do in the distant, sun-forsaken reaches of the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, the gas giants, and Uranus and Neptune, the ice giants, were always expected to be frosty realms. But when NASA’s Voyager spacecraft sailed past them in the late 1970s and 1980s, scientists found that all four worlds were running planetary fevers — a revelation as jarring as finding a bonfire inside…
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Phys.org
Worrying insights into the chemicals in plastics
 
Plastic is practical, cheap and incredibly popular. Every year, more than 350 million tons are produced worldwide. These plastics contain a huge variety of chemicals that may be released during their lifecycles—including substances that pose a significant risk to people and the environment. However, only a small proportion of the chemicals contained in plastic are publicly known or have been exten
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The Atlantic
The Rich, Weird, and Frustrating World of Depression-Era Travel Guides
 
Imagine stopping someone on a Manhattan street and asking for directions to Times Square. If that person launched into a monologue beginning, “It is the district of glorified dancing girls and millionaire playboys and, on a different plane, of dime-a-dance hostesses and pleasure-seeking clerks. Here, too, in a permanent moralizing tableau, appear the extremes of success and failure characteristic
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Science | The Guardian
Why suggesting mandatory Covid vaccines is an ethical minefield | Melinda Mills
 
It’s not only the UK’s public sector that is mulling compulsory jabs. Often the carrot can be more powerful than the stick Last week we learned of a government consultation expected to announce mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for care home staff, and possibly NHS staff too. This sparked debate as to the ethics and legality of such a move, not to mention the strain it could put on an already belea
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Undark Magazine
When Done Right, Lighter Pavement Cools U.S. Cities
 
Research shows that building lighter-colored, more reflective roads could lower air temperatures by more than 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit and reduce the frequency of heat waves by 41 percent across U.S. cities. But reflective surfaces have to be used strategically, otherwise they may heat nearby buildings.
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Phys.org
Researchers trace dust grain's journey through newborn solar system
 
A research team led by the University of Arizona has reconstructed in unprecedented detail the history of a dust grain that formed during the birth of the solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. The findings provide insights into the fundamental processes underlying the formation of planetary systems, many of which are still shrouded in mystery.
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Science | The Guardian
Indonesia tightens restrictions as it confirms record new coronavirus infections
 
The country’s infections, the worst in south-east Asia, have passed two million See all our coronavirus coverage Indonesian health authorities are battling a new surge in coronavirus infections, as the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) reported the highest one-day total, with 14,535 cases confirmed in the 24 hours to Monday. Daily case totals are reaching levels last seen in January,
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The Atlantic
A Slimy Calamity Is Creeping Across the Sea
 
Divers who have seen the phenomenon firsthand describe many types of underwater sea snot. There are the “stringers,” which most resemble the sticky goo that might actually come out of your nose. But there are also floating “clouds,” white and ethereal, so delicate that they break apart in your fingers. Then there are the tiny flakes of “marine snow,” which begin as drops of mucus and accumulate o
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Singularity Hub
Why Flying Cars Could Be Here Within the Decade
 
Flying cars are almost a byword for the misplaced optimism of technologists, but recent news suggests their future may be on slightly firmer footing. The industry has seen a major influx of capital and big automakers seem to be piling in. What actually constitutes a flying car has changed many times over the decades since the cartoon, The Jetsons , introduced the idea to the popular imagination.
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Phys.org
New research into the spreading of infections reveals need for greater collaboration between biology and physics
 
Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, together with epidemiologist Lone Simonsen from Roskilde University form part of the panel advising the Danish government on how to tackle the different infection-spreading situations we have all seen unfold over the past year. Researchers have modeled the spread of infections under a variety of scenarios, and the Coronavirus has p
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MIT Technology Review
It took a pandemic, but the US finally has (some) centralized medical data
 
Throughout the pandemic, there has been serious tension between what the public wants to know and what scientists have been able to say for certain. Scientists have been able to learn more about covid, faster, than about any other disease in history—but at the same time, the public has been shocked when doctors can’t answer seemingly basic questions: What are the symptoms of covid-19? How does it
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Phys.org
Researchers develop new software for designing sustainable cities
 
New technology could help cities around the world improve people's lives while saving billions of dollars. The free, open-source software developed by the Stanford Natural Capital Project creates maps to visualize the links between nature and human wellbeing. City planners and developers can use the software to visualize where investments in nature, such as parks and marshlands, can maximize benef
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Science-Based Medicine
Ivermectin is the new hydroxychloroquine, take 2
 
A few months ago, Scott Gavura wrote about how the veterinary deworming drug ivermectin has become the new hydroxychloroquine in that it is being promoted as a highly effective treatment against COVID-19—and by many of the same people who previously promoted HCQ—despite evidence that is, at best very weak and at worst completely negative. Unfortunately, with the publication of two new and biased
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Big Think
Will AI replace mathematicians?
 
Most everyone fears that they will be replaced by robots or AI someday. A field like mathematics, which is governed solely by rules that computers thrive on, seems to be ripe for a robot revolution. AI may not replace mathematicians but will instead help us ask better questions. The following is an excerpt adapted from the book Shape . It is reprinted with permission of the author. Will machines
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences current issue
Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media [Psychological and Cognitive Sciences]
 
There has been growing concern about the role social media plays in political polarization. We investigated whether out-group animosity was particularly successful at generating engagement on two of the largest social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter. Analyzing posts from news media accounts and US congressional members (n = 2,730,215), we…
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The Atlantic
What It Means That Kickstarter Is Trying a 4-Day Workweek
 
Updated at 12:10 p.m. ET on June 22, 2021. Next year, Kickstarter, the 12-year-old crowdfunding platform, will experiment with a four-day workweek, a spokesperson for the company told The Atlantic . The unconventional move of reducing its employees’ hours without reducing their pay will be a valuable test of the theory that a shorter schedule can—on top of improving workers’ lives—be good, or at
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Phys.org
Common perovskite superfluoresces at high temperatures
 
A commonly studied perovskite can superfluoresce at temperatures that are practical to achieve and at timescales long enough to make it potentially useful in quantum computing applications. The finding from North Carolina State University researchers also indicates that superfluorescence may be a common characteristic for this entire class of materials.
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Big Think
Finally, a scientific cure for the hiccups
 
Hiccups are an occasional annoyance to most people, but some get them frequently. Others suffer from episodes that last days, months, or even years. A new "suction and swallow" tool stops hiccups 92% of the time by activating the same muscles and nerves that are involved during the hiccup reflex arc. Although the new tool may be convenient, you can probably mimic its function with a glass of wate
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Phys.org
First clear view of a boiling cauldron where stars are born
 
University of Maryland researchers created the first high-resolution image of an expanding bubble of hot plasma and ionized gas where stars are born. Previous low-resolution images did not clearly show the bubble or reveal how it expanded into the surrounding gas.
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MIT Technology Review
Navigating a surprising pandemic side effect: AI whiplash
 
Amid the many business disruptions caused by covid-19, here’s one largely overlooked: artificial intelligence (AI) whiplash. As the pandemic began to upend the world last year, businesses reached for every tool at their disposal—including AI—to solve challenges and serve customers safely and effectively. In a 2021 KPMG survey of US business executives conducted between January 3 and 16, half the
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Phys.org
MXenes; The future of nanotechnology
 
Artificial kidneys, powerful batteries and efficient water purification are some of the future applications of a group of ultrathin materials known as MXenes. This opinion is expressed in an article in the journal Science, whose authors include one from Linköping University.
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Science | The Guardian
Makeup fails to solve mystery of why jumping spiders have back stripes
 
Scientists were surprised by results of painting eyeliner on shells of jumping spiders to change their appearance Researchers have come up with an ingenious way to test the theory that male jumping spiders have evolved colourful stripes to ward off predators – they have put makeup on them. Unlike the females of the species, the male Habronattus pyrrithrix come in vivid hues to attract mates. But
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences current issue
Photovoltaic-driven microbial protein production can use land and sunlight more efficiently than conventional crops [Sustainability Science]
 
Population growth and changes in dietary patterns place an ever-growing pressure on the environment. Feeding the world within sustainable boundaries therefore requires revolutionizing the way we harness natural resources. Microbial biomass can be cultivated to yield protein-rich feed and food supplements, collectively termed single-cell protein (SCP). Yet, we still lack…
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The Atlantic
The Dos and Don’ts of Hot Vax Summer
 
If your wanderlust is coming on extra strong this summer, you may be wondering what to do with it. Being vaccinated may feel like a superpower, but what exactly is safe—or not? The CDC suggests, for example, that this may be the summer for road-tripping by RV. “If traveling in a RV, you may have to stop less often for food or bathroom breaks, but you could still be in close contact with others wh
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Phys.org
Multiple dinosaur species not only lived in the Arctic, they also nested there
 
In the 1950s, researchers made the first unexpected discoveries of dinosaur remains at frigid polar latitudes. Now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on June 24 have uncovered the first convincing evidence that several species of dinosaur not only lived in what's now Northern Alaska, but they also nested there.
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Science | The Guardian
Psychology is a powerful tool, but Britain’s Covid response has given it a bad name | Stephen Reicher
 
There is huge potential in an approach that tackles crises not by dominating or manipulating people, but by working with them For many years, psychology has largely been relegated to the “and finally …” section of the news, down there with dogs on surfboards and siblings reuniting after a lifetime apart. I recall, for instance, during the Scottish independence referendum, being asked to comment o
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Phys.org
Physicists use electric fields to induce oscillations in tiny particles
 
A challenging frontier in science and engineering is controlling matter outside of thermodynamic equilibrium to build material systems with capabilities that rival those of living organisms. Research on active colloids aims to create micro- and nanoscale "particles" that swim through viscous fluids like primitive microorganisms. When these self-propelled particles come together, they can organize
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Phys.org
Classic magic trick may enable quantum computing
 
Quantum computing could solve problems that are difficult for traditional computer systems. It may seem like magic. One step toward achieving quantum computing even resembles a magician's trick: levitation. A new project at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will attempt this trick by levitating a microscopic particle in a superconducting radiofrequency
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Phys.org
NASA balloon detects California earthquake—next stop, Venus?
 
Between July 4 and July 6, 2019, a sequence of powerful earthquakes rumbled near Ridgecrest, California, triggering more than 10,000 aftershocks over a six-week period. Seeing an opportunity, researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech flew instruments attached to high-altitude balloons over the region in hopes of making the first balloon-borne detection of a naturally occurring
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The Atlantic
I’m Scared of the Person TikTok Thinks I Am
 
Something is wrong with me, and TikTok knows it. I can tell because its recommendation algorithm keeps providing me with videos that only a horrible person would like. One morning last week, the app recommended a video of a girl in a red dress saying slowly, “I’m officially at the age where I can date you … or your dad.” In the next video, a “doctor” tried to sell me some kind of coffee-based wei
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Big Think
Beyond the two cultures: rethinking science and the humanities
 
There is a great disconnect between the sciences and the humanities. Solutions to most of our real-world problems need both ways of knowing. Moving beyond the two-culture divide is an essential step to ensure our project of civilization. For the past five years, I ran the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement at Dartmouth , an initiative sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation. Our missi
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MIT Technology Review
The next pandemic is already here. Covid can teach us how to fight it.
 
It was August 2017, and pleasant and breezy in the central mountains of Madagascar. The passengers loading their bags into the minibus leaving Ankazobe, a small town in the highlands, were grateful for the morning coolness. It would be warm and sticky on the trip they were taking to Antananarivo, the island’s million-person capital 100 kilometers to the south, and then to Toamasina on the coast,
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Phys.org
Pandemic air quality due to weather, not just lockdowns
 
Headlines proclaiming COVID lockdowns drastically reduced pollution were mostly referring to nitrogen dioxide, NO2, a reactive gas emitted from burning fuel. There had been less understanding of how lockdowns affected PM2.5, tiny particulate matter that can penetrate a person's lungs, leading to a host of health problems, including increased risk for heart attack and cancer.
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Phys.org
Researchers develop a model to better understand the forces that generate tsunamis
 
The word "tsunami" brings immediately to mind the havoc that can be wrought by these uniquely powerful waves. The tsunamis we hear about most often are caused by undersea earthquakes, and the waves they generate can travel at speeds of up to 250 miles per hour and reach tens of meters high when they make landfall and break. They can cause massive flooding and rapid widespread devastation in coasta
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Phys.org
Urban green space brings happiness when money can't buy it anymore
 
Urban green spaces, such as parks, backyards, riverbanks, and urban farmlands, are thought to contribute to citizen happiness by promoting physical and mental health. While a number of previous studies have reported the mental benefits of green space, most had been conducted in the affluent parts of the world like the United States and Europe, and only a few involved a multi-country setting.
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MIT Technology Review
What it will take to achieve affordable carbon removal
 
A pair of companies have begun designing what could become Europe’s largest direct-air-capture plant, capable of capturing as much as a million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and burying it deep beneath the floor of the North Sea. The sequestered climate pollution will be sold as carbon credits, reflecting the rising demand for carbon removal as a drove of nations and corporations lay out
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Biology News – Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology
Researchers discover how the intestinal epithelium folds and moves by measuring forces
 
An international team led by Xavier Trepat at IBEC measures the cellular forces in mini-intestines grown in the laboratory, deciphering how the inner wall of this vital organ folds and moves. The study, published in Nature Cell Biology, opens the doors to a better understanding of the bases of diseases such as celiac disease or cancer, and to the ability to find solutions for gut diseases through
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Phys.org
Quantum simulation: Measurement of entanglement made easier
 
University of Innsbruck researchers have developed a method to make previously hardly accessible properties in quantum systems measurable. The new method for determining the quantum state in quantum simulators reduces the number of necessary measurements and makes work with quantum simulators much more efficient.
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Phys.org
Less metal, more X-rays: New research unlocks key to high luminosity of black holes
 
A recent article published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, led by Dr. Kostas Kouroumpatzakis, of the Institute of Astrophysics at the Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas (IA-FORTH), and the University of Crete, provides new insights into the connection between the X-ray luminosity of accreting black holes and neutron stars and the composition of the stellar pop
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Phys.org
High-efficiency formamidinium-based perovskite solar cells with operation lifetime over 2000 hours
 
Solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity, have long been part of the global vision for renewable energy. Although individual cells are very small, when upscaled to modules, they can be used to charge batteries and power lights. If laid side-by-side, they could, one day, be the primary energy source for buildings. But the solar cells currently on the market utilize silicon, which makes th
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Phys.org
The fine nose of storks: Birds are drawn to scent of grass, leafy greens
 
The sharp eyes of an eagle, the extraordinary hearing of an owl—to successfully find food, the eyes and ears of birds have adapted optimally to their living conditions. Until now, the sense of smell has played a rather subordinate role. When meadows are freshly mowed, storks often appear there to search for snails and frogs. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Radolfzell
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The Atlantic
The Atlantic Daily: Joe Manchin Was Never a Mystery
 
Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox. Well, what now? Five months into the Biden presidency, Democrats’ signature voting-rights legislation—the bill they symbolically introduced as the first one of the 117th Congress—met an excruciati
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Science | The Guardian
Are we really ready to live with Covid-19? – podcast
 
Throughout the pandemic, but increasingly in recent weeks, some senior scientists and politicians have been saying that, at some point, we’re going to have to learn to live with coronavirus. On the other hand, just last week, there was a vote in the Commons to delay the easing of restrictions – a date dubbed by some as ‘freedom day’. Speaking to Prof Siân Griffiths and Prof David Salisbury, Ian S
19h
ScienceDaily
Twenty-year study links childhood depression to disrupted adult health and functioning
 
Depression in youth, between the ages of 10 and 24 years, is both a leading cause of stress and a possible risk factor for future diseases and impairment. Now, a study confirms that depression in childhood or adolescence is associated with higher levels of adult anxiety and substance use disorders, worse health and social functioning, less financial and educational achievement, and increased crimi
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Biology News – Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology
How do developing spinal cords choose 'heads' or 'tails'?
 
The progression from a round ball of cells to an embryo with a head and a tail is one of the most critical steps in an organism's development. But just how cells first start organizing themselves with directionality along this head-to-tail axis is hard to study because it happens in the earliest days of embryonic development, in the confines of a mammal's uterus.
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Phys.org
Scientists may need to rethink which genes control aging
 
To better understand the role of bacteria in health and disease, National Institutes of Health researchers fed fruit flies antibiotics and monitored the lifetime activity of hundreds of genes that scientists have traditionally thought control aging. To their surprise, the antibiotics not only extended the lives of the flies but also dramatically changed the activity of many of these genes. Their r
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Phys.org
Do bubble cascades form only in a glass of Guinness beer?
 
As far back as 1959, brewers at Guinness developed a system that fundamentally altered the texture of their draft beer. Now, researchers from Japan have solved the physics of Guinness' cascading flow, which will have widespread applications to technology in life and environmental sciences.
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Phys.org
Herbivore gut fungi found to produce unique building blocks of antibiotics
 
For the past several years, chemical engineer Michelle O'Malley has focused her research on the anaerobic fungi found in the guts of herbivores, which make it possible for those animals to fuel themselves with sugars and starches extracted from fibrous plants. O'Malley's work, reflected in multiple research awards and journal articles, has centered on how these powerful fungi might be used to extr
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Big Think
Ethical hacking: saving society with computer code
 
Hackers' motivations range from altruistic to nihilistic. Altruistic hackers expose injustices, while nihilistic ones make society more dangerous. The line between ethical and unethical hacking is not always clear. The following is an excerpt from Coding Democracy by Maureen Webb, which is publishing in paperback on July 21. Reprinted with Permission from The MIT PRESS. Copyright 2020. As people
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The Atlantic
When ‘the Aliens Are Us’
Aliens Earth 29 Planets
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For astronomers, a tiny blip in data can signal the existence of an entire world. It happens when a planet far beyond our solar system passes in front of its own star. The planet blocks a tiny bit of light, making the shining star appear fainter to us. Scientists have used these moments to discover thousands of exoplanets in the Milky Way—icy planets and lava planets, hot Jupiters and miniature N
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The Atlantic
America’s Alcohol Industry Needs a Drink
 
In the spring of 2020, as a brand-new disease spread rapidly across the United States, millions of Americans arrived at the same conclusion: They wanted a beer. This was, to be fair, the same conclusion that many of us were coming to before the pandemic began, but the ways we could satisfy that thirst had changed dramatically. As beer spoiled in kegs inside idle bars and restaurants, Americans se
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ScienceDaily
Some blood pressure-lowering meds linked to less memory decline in older adults, study finds
 
High blood pressure is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. Studies have shown that commonly prescribed high blood pressure medications, or antihypertensives, may have a positive, beneficial impact on cognitive function including memory. This meta-analysis compares the impact on memory over time associated with taking antihypertensives that cross the blood-brain barrie
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The Atlantic
The Unintended Consequences of Returning the National Parks to the Tribes
 
This article was published online on June 22, 2021. Return the National Parks to the Tribes The jewels of America’s landscape should belong to America’s original peoples, David Treuer argued in May. David Treuer suggests that the tribes deserve to have the parks under their management. As a former public servant on national-park and forest land, I believe his suggestion misses the National Park S
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Phys.org
Women who lose close elections are just as likely to run again as men
 
Women who lose local or state elections are just as likely to run for office again as men, suggesting the recent surge in women running for office may have a long-term impact on women's political representation, according to a new study by researchers from Harvard and the University of California, Davis.
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Phys.org
Scientists present new measurements of β-delayed two-proton decay of 27S
 
Two-proton decay is a quantum tunneling process. The tunneling probability depends on the available energy and the height of the Coulomb barrier, which in turn depends on the nuclear charge Z (number of protons). Two-proton emission is a typical three-body breakup process, including the daughter nucleus and two protons, in which pairing correlations play an important role. Therefore, a detailed st
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Phys.org
Using satellite data to warn people about volcanic eruptions
 
A team of researchers from the University of Manchester, Wairakei Research Center and National Isotope Center, GNS Science, has found that it is possible to use satellite data to detect the early stages of a volcanic eruption. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of satellite data that captured the early stages of the New Zealand, Whakaari, erup
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Phys.org
Observing a prethermal discrete time crystal
 
A framework of statistical physics can be extended to the nonequilibrium setting to discover previously unidentified phases of matter catalyzed by periodic driving. Scientists aim to reduce the runaway heating associated with driving a strongly interacting quantum system in order to investigate newly discovered phases.
16h
MIT Technology Review
How astronauts deal with the boring parts of being in space
 
Mundane tasks suddenly become extremely complex in space. I spoke with former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, who flew two missions to space, to learn about how astronauts handle the day-to-day. Here are a few of the highlights. When it comes to everyday, mundane tasks you needed to relearn to do in space, what are some of the things that first stood out to you? When you go up, all of your clothes
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Phys.org
The very venomous caterpillar
 
The venom of a caterpillar, native to South East Queensland, shows promise for use in medicines and pest control, Institute for Molecular Bioscience researchers say.
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Big Think
Are you following the rules of life?
 
Most parts of everyday life involve accepting and applying various rules, from the words we speak to the cultural norms we insist on. These rules are learned largely by observation of others and are very rarely taught explicitly. Saul Kripke asks us how it is that we can ever be sure that we're following the rules correctly? And does it matter? Imagine you're out with some friends and you have to
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Biochemistry News – Chemistry News
New molecules could be used to treat autoimmune diseases in the future
 
When something is awry with your immune system, your digestion or your endocrine systems, nuclear receptors, as they are called, may well be involved. If need be, the operation of these regulator proteins can be altered with medicinal drugs, but this carries the very real risk of unpleasant side effects. Doctoral candidate Femke Meijer looked for—and found—molecules that might well be used as medi
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences current issue
Evolutionary and phylogenetic insights from a nuclear genome sequence of the extinct, giant, “subfossil” koala lemur Megaladapis edwardsi [Anthropology]
 
No endemic Madagascar animal with body mass >10 kg survived a relatively recent wave of extinction on the island. From morphological and isotopic analyses of skeletal “subfossil” remains we can reconstruct some of the biology and behavioral ecology of giant lemurs (primates; up to ∼160 kg) and other extraordinary Malagasy…
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Science | The Guardian
Vladimir Shatalov obituary
 
Space race pioneer as the commander of Soviet-era rockets In 1941, the 13-year-old Vladimir Shatalov was working on the defences around Leningrad as the Soviet city faced annihilation at the hands of the Nazis. By 1969, from the Soviet base at Baikonur in Kazakhstan, he was soaring into orbit aboard the Soyuz 4 spacecraft. The world had turned. The aim that day – 14 January 1969 – was to dock with
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Phys.org
Lanthanide nanoparticles enable continuous-wave NIR STED microscopy
 
National University of Singapore researchers have developed a new generation of near infra-red (NIR)-emitting nanoprobes for super-resolution imaging in deep tissues. These nanoprobes are based on lanthanide-doped nanomaterials with rich energy levels, high photostability and programmable optical kinetics.
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ScienceDaily
Children's beat gestures predict the subsequent development of their oral skills
 
New research shows that the early production of beat gestures with the hands (i.e., gestures normally associated with emphasis that do not represent the semantic content of speech) by infants between 14 and 58 months of age in natural interactions with their carers predicts that in their later development, nearing the age of five, these children obtain better results insofar as their oral narrativ
11h
ScienceDaily
Starchy snacks may increase CVD risk; fruits and veggies at certain meals decreases risk
 
Eating fruits with lunch, vegetables at dinner and a dairy snack in the evening was associated with a reduced risk of early death by cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality, according to a study of U.S. adults. Eating a Western lunch (typically containing a high quantity of refined grains, cheese and cured meat) was associated with an elevated risk of CVD and all-cause mortalities in
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences current issue
GRINS: Genetic elements that recode assembly-line polyketide synthases and accelerate their diversification [Genetics]
 
Assembly-line polyketide synthases (PKSs) are large and complex enzymatic machineries with a multimodular architecture, typically encoded in bacterial genomes by biosynthetic gene clusters. Their modularity has led to an astounding diversity of biosynthesized molecules, many with medical relevance. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that drive PKS evolution is fundamental for both…
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ScienceDaily
In many cases, MS starts long before the diagnosis
 
Years before they are diagnosed, persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) make significantly more visits to doctors and hospitals than others. Specialists have recently discussed whether this might represent a preliminary phase of MS – known as a prodrome. A new study suggests that, in many cases, the complaints may relate to unrecognized early clinical MS events.
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Phys.org
New research unlocks the mystery of New England's beaches
 
Millions of Americans will visit New England's beaches this summer to cool off, play in the waves and soak up the sun. Until now, the factors governing which beaches slope gradually to the sea and which ones end abruptly in a steep drop-off have been largely unknown. However, new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals, with unprecedented detail, how the grain size of beach s
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The Atlantic
Hate-Crime Laws Don’t Work as Their Supporters Intended
 
The recent congressional vote to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was notably bipartisan. Sponsored by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Democratic Representative Grace Meng of New York, the bill was signed by President Joe Biden on May 20 after it passed a nearly unanimous Senate (with only Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, opposed ) and was approved 364–62 by the House. The
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Phys.org
Using visible light to efficiently decompose carbon dioxide
 
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human activities have risen drastically over the last century and a half and are seen as the primary cause of global warming and abnormal weather patterns. So, there has been considerable research focus, in a number of fields, on lowering our CO2 emissions and its atmospheric levels. One promising strategy is to chemically break down, or 'reduce,' CO2 using phot
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Phys.org
Quantum birds: Shedding light on the mechanism of magnetic sensing in birds
 
Humans perceive the world around them with five senses—vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Many other animals are also able to sense the Earth's magnetic field. For some time, a collaboration of biologists, chemists and physicists centered at the Universities of Oldenburg (Germany) and Oxford (UK) have been gathering evidence suggesting that the magnetic sense of migratory birds such as Europ
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Science | The Guardian
Russia and China team up to build a moon base
 
International Lunar Research Station is intended to be ready for crewed visits by 2036 Russia and China have presented a plan to build the joint International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The proposed lunar base is intended to be ready for crewed visits by 2036 and is unrelated to the American-led Artemis programme, which has pledged to land “the first woman and person of color” on the moon by
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Science | The Guardian
How the pandemic got us addicted to longing – and why it’s bad for us
 
I learned first-hand about longing through decades of celibacy – but why do we do it, and how can we stop? I was a 35-year-old virgin when I realized I was addicted to longing. I got off on the high of anticipating sex I knew I wasn’t going to have, and then masochistically wallowed when letdown inevitably followed. My crushes were the popular guys in high school, the elusive seat-mate on an airp
2h
Phys.org
Using nanoscale 3D printing to create high-resolution light field prints
 
Wouldn't it be amazing if printed images can look three-dimensional (3D)? Unfortunately, conventional prints like photographs display two-dimensional (2D) images with a fixed appearance as they contain only intensity and color information. These prints are unable to display a 3D image because they lack directional control of light rays, hence resulting in the loss of depth information.
2d
Phys.org
Researcher introduces new CRISPR 3.0 system for highly efficient gene activation in plants
 
In a study in Nature Plants, Yiping Qi, associate professor of Plant Science at the University of Maryland (UMD), introduces a new and improved CRISPR 3.0 system in plants, focusing on gene activation instead of traditional gene editing. This third generation CRISPR system focuses on multiplexed gene activation, meaning that it can boost the function of multiple genes simultaneously. According to
13h
Phys.org
Astrophysicists prepare for age of multi-messenger astronomy, build galaxy catalog to study black holes
 
Led by postdoctoral fellow researcher Maria Charisi, a team of international researchers known as the NANOGrav collaboration has created a catalog of 45,000 galaxies to detect gravitational waves created by pairs of black holes known as binaries. Using pulsars—the most precise clocks of the sky—a galactic scale detector dubbed a pulsar timing array and infrared data from across the sky, Charisi us
17h
Phys.org
Use of tobacco pipes by Native groups tells story of regional diversity
 
Nineteenth- and 20th-century archaeologists often made sweeping claims about Native cultures, suggesting that everyone who lived in a particular region at a given time shared the same attitudes and practices. A new study of pipes recovered from Hopewell sites in Illinois and Ohio challenges this assumption, revealing that the manufacture, import, export and use of pipestone pipes for smoking varie
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Biology News – Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology
Vegetation of planet Earth: Researchers publish unique database as open access
 
It's a treasure trove of data: The global geodatabase of vegetation plots "sPlotOpen" is now freely accessible. It contains data on vegetation from 114 countries and from all climate zones on Earth. The database was compiled by an international team of researchers led by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the French N
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Phys.org
Rearranging orchestral musicians to reduce disease-spreading aerosols
 
A team of researchers at the University of Utah Salt Lake City has found, via simulation, that it is possible to rearrange musicians playing wind instruments in an orchestra to reduce the spread of disease-laden aerosols. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes simulations they ran that showed airflow patterns during orchestral performances and what they found
15h
Phys.org
Major ocean-observing satellite starts providing science data
 
After six months of check-out and calibration in orbit, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite will make its first two data streams available to the public on June 22. It launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Nov. 21, 2020, and is a U.S.-European collaboration to measure sea surface height and other key ocean features, such as ocean surface wind speed and wave height.
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ScienceDaily
Sports: Men and women react differently to a missing audience
 
Without an audience, men run slower and women faster: The lack of spectators during the coronavirus pandemic appears to have had a noticeable effect on the performance of athletes at the 2020 Biathlon World Cup, a new study shows. According to the new analysis, women also performed better in complex tasks, such as shooting, when an audience was present while men did not.
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Phys.org
Research shows how carrion beetles turn death into life
 
It was Halloween and the discussion had inevitably turned to death – and flesh-eating zombies. I had just finished lunch at a "research away day" when I got caught up in a conversation about carrion beetles with a new colleague of mine, Sheena Cotter.
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Nature Communications – current – nature.com science feeds
Gut microbiota mediate the FGF21 adaptive stress response to chronic dietary protein-restriction in mice
 
Nature Communications, Published online: 22 June 2021; doi:10.1038/s41467-021-24074-z Dietary protein restriction induces a hepatic stress response mediated by the endocrine molecule FGF21, which triggers host adaptive pathways. Here the authors demonstrate that the gut microbiome is required to trigger the FGF21 response and can be manipulated through dietary fiber supplementation.
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ScienceDaily
Universal mechanism of regulation in plant cells discovered
 
All plant cells obtain their energy mainly from two organelles they contain – chloroplasts (responsible for photosynthesis) and mitochondria (responsible for the biochemical cycle of respiration that converts sugars into energy). However, a large number of a plant cell's genes in its mitochondria and chloroplasts can develop defects, jeopardising their function. Nevertheless, plant cells evolved a
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Biology News – Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology
There's more to genes than DNA: How Mum and Dad add something extra
 
Biologists at the Universities of Bath and Vienna have discovered 71 new 'imprinted' genes in the mouse genome, a finding that takes them a step closer to unraveling some of the mysteries of epigenetics—an area of science that describes how genes are switched on (and off) in different cells, at different stages in development and adulthood.
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ScienceDaily
Rising greenhouse gases pose continued threat to Arctic ozone layer
 
A new study shows that extremely low winter temperatures high in the atmosphere over the Arctic are becoming more frequent and more extreme because of climate patterns associated with global warming. The study also shows that those extreme low temperatures are causing reactions among chemicals humans pumped into the air decades ago, leading to greater ozone losses.
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Phys.org
A colorful look at fast-flying particles
 
The strong nuclear force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, along with the electromagnetic, gravitational and weak nuclear forces. The branch of particle physics that deals with the strong nuclear force is called quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The term "chromo" refers to the charge in the theory, which is called color (not related to the everyday meaning of the word in terms of visibl
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Phys.org
Artificial intelligence breakthrough gives longer advance warning of ozone issues
 
Ozone levels in the earth's troposphere (the lowest level of our atmosphere) can now be forecasted with accuracy up to two weeks in advance, a remarkable improvement over current systems that can accurately predict ozone levels only three days ahead. The new artificial intelligence system developed in the University of Houston's Air Quality Forecasting and Modeling Lab could lead to improved ways
10h
Phys.org
Light-harvesting nanoparticle catalysts show promise in quest for renewable carbon-based fuels
 
Researchers report that small quantities of useful molecules such as hydrocarbons are produced when carbon dioxide and water react in the presence of light and a silver nanoparticle catalyst. Their validation study—made possible through the use of a high-resolution analytical technique—could pave the way for CO2-reduction technologies that allow industrial-scale production of renewable carbon-base
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Futurity.org
Is ‘weaponized’ religion a threat to democracy?
 
While Americans seemed as politically divided as possible on January 6, 2021, the day that hundreds of insurgents stormed the Capitol, David Elcott believes many more threats to democracy are in the offing. On that day, a cluster of insurgents lifted a wooden cross with a banner that proclaimed “Jesus is My Savior, Trump is My President.” For Elcott , professor of practice in public service and l
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ScienceDaily
Running to music combats mental fatigue, study suggests
 
Listening to music while running might be the key to improving people's performance when they feel mentally fatigued a study suggests. The performance of runners who listened to a self-selected playlist after completing a demanding thinking task was at the same level as when they were not mentally fatigued, the research found. The study is the first to investigate the effect of listening to music
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ScienceDaily
A new type of Homo unknown to science
 
The bones of an early human, unknown to science, who lived in the Levant at least until 130,000 years ago, were discovered in excavations at the Nesher Ramla site, near the city of Ramla. Recognizing similarity to other archaic Homo specimens from 400,000 years ago, found in Israel and Eurasia, the researchers reached the conclusion that the Nesher Ramla fossils represent a unique Middle Pleistoce
11h
Phys.org
A high-resolution microscope built from LEGO and phone bits
 
Microscopy is an essential tool in many fields of science and medicine. However, many groups have limited access to this technology due to its cost and fragility. Now, researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Münster have succeeded in building a high-resolution microscope using nothing more than children's plastic building bricks and affordable parts from a mobile phone. They then went o
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EurekAlert! – Breaking News
Study shows potential dangers of sweeteners
 
New research has discovered that common artificial sweeteners can cause previously healthy gut bacteria to become diseased and invade the gut wall, potentially leading to serious health issues. The study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, is the first to show the pathogenic effects of some of the most widely used artificial sweeteners – saccharin, sucralose, and asparta
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ScienceDaily
Pandemic drives largest decrease in U.S. life expectancy since 1943
 
U.S. life expectancy decreased by 1.87 years between 2018 and 2020, according to new research. The numbers are worse for people of color. On average, whereas life expectancy among white Americans decreased by 1.36 years in 2020, it decreased by 3.25 years in Black Americans and 3.88 years in Hispanic Americans.
18h
ScienceDaily
Roadmap to HIV eradication via stem cell therapy
 
A groundbreaking study found that stem cells reduce the amount of virus causing AIDS, boost the body's antiviral immunity, and restore the gut's lymphoid follicles damaged by HIV. It provided a roadmap for multi-pronged HIV eradication strategies.
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Phys.org
What causes earthquake foreshocks?
 
On the morning of July 4, 2019, a series of very small earthquakes began to rumble in the Mojave Desert, not far from the southern California town of Ridgecrest.
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Phys.org
Precise dating technique shows Boltysh impact not involved in dinosaur extinction
 
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.K. has used an advanced dating technique to find out how long ago the Boltysh crater in Ukraine was formed. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes how they dated the crater, what they found and what their findings suggest about the events that led to the dinosaurs going extinct.
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Phys.org
Molecule layer aids chemoselective hydrogenation on solid palladium catalysts
 
Chemical reactions don't always go to plan. Unwanted by-products lead to extra costs and waste resources. Selective catalysts can help, but chemists have to test out large numbers before they find the right fit. Researchers have now investigated, on an atomic level, how to obtain a palladium catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of acrolein. The key appears to be a dense, convertible layer of l
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Phys.org
UN draft climate report: Impacts on nature
 
Climate change threats to life on Earth are systemic, interconnected and on a scale unprecedented in human history, the UN's climate science advisors have warned in a draft report seen exclusively by AFP.
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ScienceDaily
Scientists may need to rethink which genes control aging, study suggests
 
Researchers fed fruit flies antibiotics and monitored the lifetime activity of hundreds of genes that scientists have traditionally thought control aging. To their surprise, the antibiotics not only extended the lives of the flies but also dramatically changed the activity of many of these genes. Their results suggested that only about 30% of the genes traditionally associated with aging set an an
10h
The Atlantic
Preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
 
With less than a month left until the start of the Tokyo Olympics, organizers and athletes are making final preparations. Originally set to be held last year, the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were postponed until this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers in Tokyo have stated that the games will definitely be taking place, despite ongoing protests and public-health concerns. Wh
13h
EurekAlert! – Breaking News
COVID-linked multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children diagnosed more in Black and Latino child
 
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) significantly affected more Black and Latino children than white children, with Black children at the highest risk, according to a new observational study of 124 pediatric patients treated at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Researchers also found cardiac complications, including systolic myocardial dysfunction and valvular regu
2h
Dagens Medicin
Efter fire år fik Køge endelig sit geriatriske afsnit
 
Specialeansvarlig overlæge Ellen Holm kunne ikke slippe ideen om, at Sjællands Universitetshospital, Køge burde have en geriatrisk afdeling. Sådan havde den nye ledende overlæge på Medicinsk Afdeling det heldigvis også. Med opbakning fra hospitalsledelsen og sammen med tre yngre geriatere er Ellen Holm nu i fuld gang med at bygge op fra bunden.
2h
Dagens Medicin
Geriatrien breder sig
 
Med udsigt til flere og flere ældre bliver der særligt brug for det geriatriske speciale i fremtiden, men samtidig betyder den brede uddannelse, at andre specialer ’stjæler’ geriaterne.
2h
Dagens Medicin
Det dårlige liv efter kræft
 
Senfølgeklinikker efter kræft skyder op rundt omkring i landet, men de ligger spredt, har meget forskellige tilgange, og nogle hviler på et usikkert finansielt fundament. Patientforeninger efterlyser ensartethed, men regionerne foretrækker lokale løsninger.
2h
Dagens Medicin
Patienter får livet tilbage efter senfølger
 
Farvel til job. Farvel til sport og andre fritidsaktiviteter. Farvel til et normalt socialt liv. Patienter med sen­følger efter tarmkræft døjer med gener, som gør det ­vanskeligt eller ligefrem umuligt at leve et godt liv.
2h
Dagens Medicin
Der er brug for en ny politisk samtale om sundhed
 
Dansk sundhedspolitik er præget af for mange mavefornemmelser og fokus på de samme sygdomme igen og igen. Der er behov for nye samtalesteder, hvor vi som fagpersoner og sammen med patienter og pårørende kan debattere fremtidens sundhedsvæsen.
2h
Dagens Medicin
Fascineret af fortidens kulturelle skattekiste
 
KULTURKANYLEN Fertilitetslæge Peter Humaidan var i en ung alder tæt på at forlade lægefaget til fordel for antikvitets- og auktionsverdenen. Han beholdt dog den hvide kittel på, men passionen for kunsthåndværk lever stadig. For et par måneder siden bidrog Peter Humaidan selv til det kulturelle landskab med udgivelsen af sin nye bog ‘Supersæd – En effektiv guide til mænd, der vil booste deres sæd’
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Science | The Guardian
New album, Celestial Incantations, captures the 'sounds' of space – video
 
It's true that sound waves can't travel in space. However electromagnetic and gravitational waves can. Now, a new album, Celestial Incantations, has turned these signals such as the oscillations of a comet, radiation from a galactic pulsar and the merger of two black holes into musical tracks. The album is a collaboration between Kim Cunio, an associate professor and convenor of musicology at the
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cognitive science
Intan Recording System
 
Has anybody worked with s/Amps for any research? If you've used it for ECoG that would be cool, EEG would be cooler but I doubt anybody else does that. ​ We are using one (details are less important, just know that we need to use it and can't use alternatives) and I'm having a hard time finding external sensors that are compatible with the Intan itself. I very much want to have a photosensor on t
3h
ScienceDaily
Adolescent marijuana, alcohol use held steady during COVID-19 pandemic
 
Adolescent marijuana use and binge drinking did not significantly change during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite record decreases in the substances' perceived availability, according to a survey of 12th graders in the United States. The study's findings challenge the idea that reducing adolescent use of drugs can be achieved solely by limiting their supply.
6h
Science Magazine
The lysosomal Rag-Ragulator complex licenses RIPK1- and caspase-8-mediated pyroptosis by Yersinia
 
Host cells initiate cell death programs to limit pathogen infection. Inhibition of transforming growth factor–β–activated kinase 1 (TAK1) by pathogenic Yersinia in macrophages triggers receptor-interacting serine-threonine protein kinase 1 (RIPK1)–dependent caspase-8 cleavage of gasdermin D (GSDMD) and inflammatory cell death (pyroptosis). A genome-wide CRISPR screen to uncover mediators of caspa
7h
Science Magazine
mRNA vaccination boosts cross-variant neutralizing antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection
 
Emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants have raised concerns about resistance to neutralizing antibodies elicited by previous infection or vaccination. We examined whether sera from recovered and naïve donors, collected before and after immunizations with existing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, could neutralize the Wuhan-Hu-1 and B.1.351 variants. Prevaccin
7h
Science Magazine
Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection rescues B and T cell responses to variants after first vaccine dose
 
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine rollout has coincided with the spread of variants of concern. We investigated whether single-dose vaccination, with or without prior infection, confers cross-protective immunity to variants. We analyzed T and B cell responses after first-dose vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech messenger RNA vaccine BNT162b2 in health care work
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Science Magazine
A Middle Pleistocene Homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel
 
It has long been believed that Neanderthals originated and flourished on the European continent. However, recent morphological and genetic studies have suggested that they may have received a genetic contribution from a yet unknown non-European group. Here we report on the recent discovery of archaic Homo fossils from the site of Nesher Ramla, Israel, which we dated to 140,000 to 120,000 years ag
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Science Magazine
Middle Pleistocene Homo behavior and culture at 140,000 to 120,000 years ago and interactions with Homo sapiens
 
Fossils of a Middle Pleistocene (MP) Homo within a well-defined archaeological context at the open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel, shed light on MP Homo culture and behavior. Radiometric ages, along with cultural and stratigraphic considerations, suggest that the fossils are 140,000 to 120,000 years old, chronologically overlapping with H. sapiens in western Asia. Lithic analysis reveals that M
7h
Science Magazine
MBD5 and MBD6 couple DNA methylation to gene silencing through the J-domain protein SILENZIO
 
DNA methylation is associated with transcriptional repression of eukaryotic genes and transposons, but the downstream mechanism of gene silencing is largely unknown. Here, we describe two Arabidopsis thaliana methyl-CpG–binding domain proteins, MBD5 and MBD6, that are recruited to chromatin by recognition of CG methylation, and redundantly repress a subset of genes and transposons without affecti
7h
Science Magazine
Face masks effectively limit the probability of SARS-CoV-2 transmission
 
Airborne transmission by droplets and aerosols is important for the spread of viruses. Face masks are a well-established preventive measure, but their effectiveness for mitigating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission is still under debate. We show that variations in mask efficacy can be explained by different regimes of virus abundance and are related to popul
7h
Science Magazine
First-principles design of a single-atom-alloy propane dehydrogenation catalyst
 
The complexity of heterogeneous catalysts means that a priori design of new catalytic materials is difficult, but the well-defined nature of single-atom–alloy catalysts has made it feasible to perform unambiguous theoretical modeling and precise surface science experiments. Herein we report the theory-led discovery of a rhodium-copper (RhCu) single-atom–alloy catalyst for propane dehydrogenation
7h
Science Magazine
Discovery of a Cooper-pair density wave state in a transition-metal dichalcogenide
 
Pair density wave (PDW) states are defined by a spatially modulating superconductive order parameter. To search for such states in transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), we used high-speed atomic-resolution scanned Josephson-tunneling microscopy. We detected a PDW state whose electron-pair density and energy gap modulate spatially at the wave vectors of the preexisting charge density wave (CDW)
7h
Science Magazine
A tautomeric ligand enables directed C-H hydroxylation with molecular oxygen
 
Hydroxylation of aryl carbon–hydrogen bonds with transition metal catalysts has proven challenging when oxygen is used as the oxidant. Here, we report a palladium complex bearing a bidentate pyridine/pyridone ligand that efficiently catalyzes this reaction at ring positions adjacent to carboxylic acids. Infrared, x-ray, and computational analysis support a possible role of ligand tautomerization
7h
Science Magazine
Stacking-engineered ferroelectricity in bilayer boron nitride
 
Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectrics with robust polarization down to atomic thicknesses provide building blocks for functional heterostructures. Experimental realization remains challenging because of the requirement of a layered polar crystal. Here, we demonstrate a rational design approach to engineering 2D ferroelectrics from a nonferroelectric parent compound by using van der Waals assembly.
7h
Science Magazine
Interfacial ferroelectricity by van der Waals sliding
 
Despite their partial ionic nature, many-layered diatomic crystals avoid internal electric polarization by forming a centrosymmetric lattice at their optimal van der Waals stacking. Here, we report a stable ferroelectric order emerging at the interface between two naturally grown flakes of hexagonal boron nitride, which are stacked together in a metastable non-centrosymmetric parallel orientation
7h
Science Magazine
Pressure-driven fusion of amorphous particles into integrated monoliths
 
Biological organisms can use amorphous precursors to produce inorganic skeletons with continuous structures through complete particle fusion. Synthesizing monoliths is much more difficult because sintering techniques can destroy continuity and limit mechanical strength. We manufactured inorganic monoliths of amorphous calcium carbonate by the fusion of particles while regulating structurally boun
7h
Science Magazine
Ubiquitination is essential for recovery of cellular activities after heat shock
 
Eukaryotic cells respond to stress through adaptive programs that include reversible shutdown of key cellular processes, the formation of stress granules, and a global increase in ubiquitination. The primary function of this ubiquitination is thought to be for tagging damaged or misfolded proteins for degradation. Here, working in mammalian cultured cells, we found that different stresses elicite
7h
Science Magazine
MeCP2 is a microsatellite binding protein that protects CA repeats from nucleosome invasion
 
The Rett syndrome protein MeCP2 was described as a methyl-CpG-binding protein, but its exact function remains unknown. Here we show that mouse MeCP2 is a microsatellite binding protein that specifically recognizes hydroxymethylated CA repeats. Depletion of MeCP2 alters chromatin organization of CA repeats and lamina-associated domains and results in nucleosome accumulation on CA repeats and genom
7h
Science Magazine
Ubiquitination of G3BP1 mediates stress granule disassembly in a context-specific manner
 
Stress granules are dynamic, reversible condensates composed of RNA and protein that assemble in eukaryotic cells in response to a variety of stressors and are normally disassembled after stress is removed. The composition and assembly of stress granules is well understood, but little is known about the mechanisms that govern disassembly. Impaired disassembly has been implicated in some diseases
7h
Science Magazine
Transformative climate adaptation in the United States: Trends and prospects
 
As climate change intensifies, civil society is increasingly calling for transformative adaptation that redresses drivers of climate vulnerability. We review trends in how US federal government, private industry, and civil society are planning for climate adaptation. We find growing divergence in their approaches and impacts. This incoherence increases maladaptive investment in climate-blind infr
7h
The Atlantic
The Atlantic Daily: Why Are Ketchup Bottles So Hard to Use?
 
Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox. The world works in strange ways, and interesting design choices can often be found in the everyday objects we overlook. Here are two to think about just in time for summer. Ketchup bottles. If you
7h
ScienceDaily
When did the first COVID-19 case arise?
 
Using methods from conservation science, a new analysis suggests that the first case of COVID-19 arose between early October and mid-November, 2019 in China, with the most likely date of origin being November 17.
8h
ScienceDaily
Genetic study of liver cancer reveals new drug target
 
Drugs targeting the gene MAGEA3 may help block the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the country. That's one conclusion of a new study analyzing the genetics of HCC tumors.
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