Wednesday 31 August 2022

James Webb telescope photo shows a stunning Einstein Ring 12 billion light-years from Earth

James Webb telescope photo shows a stunning Einstein Ring 12 billion light-years from Earth

James Webb has captured a beautiful image of an Einstein Ring, which community members have translated to fully colorized images.

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Meteor crater: The hole from space that keeps on giving

Meteor crater: The hole from space that keeps on giving

Research payoffs from the out-of-this-world Meteor Crater are ongoing.

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Drinking tea may be linked to lower risk of death

Drinking tea may be linked to lower risk of death

The study, conducted by researchers at National Institutes of Health, found that those who consumed two or more cups of tea a day had between a nine per cent and 13 per cent lower risk of mortality.

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How mammals won the dinosaurs' world

How mammals won the dinosaurs' world

Sixty-six million years ago, our ancestors lived through the most violent event in the Earth's history. How did small, insignificant mammals survive a doomsday asteroid?

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You can even buy a holiday home in the first hotel in space

You can even buy a holiday home in the first hotel in space

Space tourism is no longer the stuff of science fiction — it’s just around the corner. Aside from private missions to space, like Inspiration4 and DearMoon, in which members of the general public will spend a few days in a SpaceX vehicle circling the Earth and moon, respectively, there are also a few space hotels...

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Tuesday 30 August 2022

New research suggests a basic cognitive mechanism underlies the normalization of thin female bodies

New research suggests a basic cognitive mechanism underlies the normalization of thin female bodies

New research provides evidence that an overrepresentation of thin bodies in the social environment can produce dramatic changes in what is considered a normal body weight among women. The findings, published in Psychological Science, indicate that a psychological phenomenon known as “prevalence-induced concept change” occurs in the domain of body judgments.

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NASA’s newest rocket is a colossal waste of money

NASA’s newest rocket is a colossal waste of money

In his new book, “The Crux”, Richard Rumelt, a professor of business strategy, writes about a conversation he once had with an air-force colonel. What, Mr Rumelt asked, is the perfect fighter jet? The colonel replied: “The perfect design would have contractors in each state and a part made in each congressional district.” The tale is told after Mr Rumelt has described the waste and incoherence of nasa’s Space Shuttle programme—something he blames squarely on Congress.

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50 years later, NASA is sending the most powerful rocket, Artemis I, back to the moon

50 years later, NASA is sending the most powerful rocket, Artemis I, back to the moon

Nearly 50 years after the final Apollo mission visited the lunar surface, NASA has launched a program that aims to put people back to the moon on the surface of Mars and other uncharted lunar regions: It all starts with rocket Artemis I.

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Counting from left to right feels ‘natural’ – but new research shows our brains count faster from bottom to top

Counting from left to right feels ‘natural’ – but new research shows our brains count faster from bottom to top

Horizontal number lines are often the default option – but our brains may process numbers more quickly in a vertical arrangement.

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Monday 29 August 2022

Universal Vaccine Would Offer Better Protection Against Seasonal Flu, Study Suggests

Universal Vaccine Would Offer Better Protection Against Seasonal Flu, Study Suggests

To date, seasonal flu vaccines have protected against only specific strains that scientists predict will be the most widespread each year.

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‘Look closely and there’s a tear in Armstrong’s eye’: the Apollo space missions as you’ve never seen them before

‘Look closely and there’s a tear in Armstrong’s eye’: the Apollo space missions as you’ve never seen them before

Nasa’s original moon mission photographs, kept locked in a freezer in Houston, are some of the most vital artefacts of human endeavour. Now, they have been remastered for a new century. Introduction by Tim Peake. Photographs restored by Andy Saunders.

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Psychedelic ‘Magic Mushroom’ Ingredient Could Help Treat Alcohol Addiction

Psychedelic ‘Magic Mushroom’ Ingredient Could Help Treat Alcohol Addiction

New research reveals that the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, in combination with talk therapy, could be a promising treatment for people with alcohol addiction. In a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, scientists found that patients taking this drug, called psilocybin, had an 83 percent decline in heavy drinking, while those who took a placebo experienced a 51 percent decline.

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P.E.I. school teacher stumbles upon fossil that may be 300 million years old

P.E.I. school teacher stumbles upon fossil that may be 300 million years old

A P.E.I. school teacher has made the discovery of a lifetime after stumbling upon a fossil that could be 300 million years old. Lisa Cormier was taking a stroll in Cape Egmont Monday afternoon when she spotted something unusual partially buried on the shore.

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Sunday 28 August 2022

Are octopuses too intelligent to eat?

Are octopuses too intelligent to eat?

Oil-crisped tentacles, paper-thin carpaccio and octopus meat plump from slow-cooking have been popping up on restaurant menus across the country, where the long-time Mediterranean ‘superfood’ is fast being adopted as the British gourmand’s dinner-plate darling. What was once an exotic holiday meal is now consumed to the tune of 1,300 tons per year in the UK, up 12-fold since 1990. In the decade to 2019, the global trade doubled to a value of more than £2 billion.

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Dogs can get dementia – but lots of walks may lower the risk

Dogs can get dementia – but lots of walks may lower the risk

You may dismiss many behaviour changes as just a normal part of ageing. But it may be doggy dementia, or canine cognitive dysfunction.

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'Synthetic' mouse embryo with brain and beating heart grown from stem cells

'Synthetic' mouse embryo with brain and beating heart grown from stem cells

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Caltech have created model mouse embryos from stem cells—the body's master cells, which can develop into almost any cell type in the body—that have beating hearts, as well as the foundations for a brain and all of the other organs in the mouse body.

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Why French Will Remain The 'Other' Global Language

Why French Will Remain The 'Other' Global Language

According to the projections of The International Organization of La Francophone, the language of Molière will retain its status in the next half-century thanks to the demographic growth of Africa.

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Scientists discover first substance that has memory like human brains

Scientists discover first substance that has memory like human brains

Scientists in Switzerland have discovered that a compound used in electronics is capable of “remembering” previous external stimuli in a similar way to neurons in the human brain. Mohammad Samizadeh Nikoo, a PhD student in electrical engineering at Polytechnic University of Lausanne’s POWERlab, made the chance discovery while conducting research on vanadium dioxide (VO2).

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Saturday 27 August 2022

Best astronomy apps for stargazing in 2022

Best astronomy apps for stargazing in 2022

In recent years, many amateur astronomers have added a new item to their toolkit: a smartphone. Here are one observer's favorite apps.

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‘I was doing it for fun’: man, 92, could be oldest Briton to pass GCSE exam

‘I was doing it for fun’: man, 92, could be oldest Briton to pass GCSE exam

A 92-year-old man could be the oldest person in Britain to ever pass a GCSE exam after receiving the highest possible grade in his maths paper. Derek Skipper, from Orwell in Cambridgeshire, sat a foundation level maths exam earlier this year, and found out on Thursday morning he had achieved a level 5 (equivalent to a lower B).

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Solar power is booming in Germany as Russia turns down the gas

Solar power is booming in Germany as Russia turns down the gas

People on the frontlines of Europe's gas crisis are scrambling to get solar panels for their homes and businesses as they confront a "perfect storm" that's sending energy prices to record levels.

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Friday 26 August 2022

Brand-new mini 'moon' found lurking in the outer solar system

Brand-new mini 'moon' found lurking in the outer solar system

The tiny natural satellite was found orbiting an asteroid.

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7-million-year-old limb fossils may be from the earliest known hominid

7-million-year-old limb fossils may be from the earliest known hominid

An earlier report on one of the bones of a 7-million-year-old creature that may have walked upright has triggered scientific misconduct charges.

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Sun's crazy active cycle could mess with NASA's Artemis moon mission

Sun's crazy active cycle could mess with NASA's Artemis moon mission

The sun is ramping up for Solar Cycle 25's solar maximum at a faster rate than previously expected, which could have knock-on effects on future space missions, experts say.

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As NASA nears return to the moon with Artemis program, lunar scientists' excitement reaches fever pitch

As NASA nears return to the moon with Artemis program, lunar scientists' excitement reaches fever pitch

Lunar science is set to be transformed by NASA's Artemis moon program, which will send astronauts to the moon's surface after an absence of over 50 years and launch nearly five dozen robotic missions over the next three years.

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Thursday 25 August 2022

AI scientists are studying the “emergent” abilities of large language models

AI scientists are studying the “emergent” abilities of large language models

Large language models (LLMs) have become the center of attention and hype because of their seemingly magical abilities to produce long stretches of coherent text, do things they weren’t trained on, and engage (to some extent) in topics of conversation that were thought to be off-limits for computers.

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What can orcas teach us about the menopause?

What can orcas teach us about the menopause?

The menopause is a puzzle for biologists. Why would the female of a species cease to reproduce half way through her life, when natural selection favours characteristics that help an individual's genes survive? A study of killer whales - one of only two mammals apart from humans to undergo the menopause - is providing clues.

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Universe's Most Massive Known Star Captured With Unprecedented Clarity

Universe's Most Massive Known Star Captured With Unprecedented Clarity

To put it simply, the universe's most massive known star is less massive than scientists once believed. But even docked a few levels, this staggering ball of gas is still the universe's most massive known star. That's how utterly huge it is.

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Wednesday 24 August 2022

ARPANET pioneer Jack Haverty says internet is unfinished

ARPANET pioneer Jack Haverty says internet is unfinished

When he retired with stuff left on his to-do list, he expected fixes would flow. They haven't

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Backyard mosquito spraying booms, but may be too deadly

Backyard mosquito spraying booms, but may be too deadly

It’s an increasingly familiar sight in U.S. cities and suburbs: A van pulls up to the curb. Workers wearing gloves, masks and other protective gear strap on backpack-type mechanisms with plastic hoses, similar to leaf blowers. Revving up the motors, they drench trees, bushes and even house walls with pesticides targeting an age-old menace: mosquitoes.

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63 years after John F. Kennedy's 'we choose to go to the moon' speech, NASA's Artemis program plans to put humans back on the lunar surface

63 years after John F. Kennedy's 'we choose to go to the moon' speech, NASA's Artemis program plans to put humans back on the lunar surface

On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy told 40,000 people in Rice University's football stadium that by the end of the decade, the United States would land astronauts on the moon. "But why, some say, the moon?" he posed to the crowd. "Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon.

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‘Incredible’ Jupiter images revealed by NASA’s James Webb telescope

‘Incredible’ Jupiter images revealed by NASA’s James Webb telescope

Stunning images taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope show Jupiter in new glory. Fifth in line from the sun, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system — more than twice as big as all the others combined. If Earth were the size of a grape, Jupiter would be the size of a basketball, NASA says.

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Understanding "longtermism": Why this suddenly influential philosophy is so toxic

Understanding "longtermism": Why this suddenly influential philosophy is so toxic

Perhaps you've seen the word "longtermism" in your social media feed. Or you've stumbled upon the New Yorker profile of William MacAskill, the public face of longtermism. Or read MacAskill's recent opinion essay in the New York Times. Or seen the cover story in TIME magazine: "How to Do More Good." Or noticed that Elon Musk retweeted a link to MacAskill's new book, "What We Owe the Future," with the comment, "Worth reading. This is a close match for my philosophy."

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Tuesday 23 August 2022

Astronauts could use plasma to make oxygen and fertiliser on Mars

Astronauts could use plasma to make oxygen and fertiliser on Mars

A form of matter called plasma, which contains charged particles, could help break up the Martian atmosphere into more useful components

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UBC researchers say they've found 'weak spot' in all COVID-19 variants that could lead to better treatment | CBC News

UBC researchers say they've found 'weak spot' in all COVID-19 variants that could lead to better treatment | CBC News

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered what they describe as a "weak spot" in all major variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 — a revelation they believe could open the door for treatments to fight current and future mutations.

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Myocarditis risk significantly higher after COVID-19 infection vs. after a COVID-19 vaccine

Myocarditis risk significantly higher after COVID-19 infection vs. after a COVID-19 vaccine

Among almost 43 million people in England who received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, the risk of myocarditis was substantially higher in the four weeks after COVID-19 infection than after a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to new study in Circulation.

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How 2 astrophotographers teamed up to capture a stellar image of the moon

How 2 astrophotographers teamed up to capture a stellar image of the moon

Two astrophotographers have teamed up to produce an out-of-this-world photo of the moon, capturing over 200,000 shots to create a single image. Andrew McCarthy and Connor Matherne collaborated last November to push their photography skills to the limit. Their finished product was posted online Saturday, and is currently gaining lots of attention on Reddit.

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Science opponents believe their knowledge ranks among the highest, but it is actually among the lowest

Science opponents believe their knowledge ranks among the highest, but it is actually among the lowest

People with the greatest opposition to the scientific consensus tend to have the lowest levels of objective science knowledge but the highest levels of self-rated knowledge, according to new research published in Science Advances. The findings are in line with the Dunning-Kruger effect, a well-documented phenomenon in which people who are lacking in skills or knowledge tend to overestimate their abilities.

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Monday 22 August 2022

Can you switch off and move on from your bad habits?

Can you switch off and move on from your bad habits?

Possessing bad habits in our hectic daily life is not new in the modern world. In our stressful and competitive energy, we often tend to attach ourselves to certain activities which eventually overpower us, blooming into bad habits from which we find challenging to drift away. Imagine one day consulting a doctor regarding switching off your bad habit of smoking.

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Engineers fabricate a chip-free, wireless electronic “skin”

Engineers fabricate a chip-free, wireless electronic “skin”

MIT engineers fabricated a chip-free, wireless electronic “skin.” The device senses and wirelessly transmits signals related to pulse, sweat, and ultraviolet exposure, without bulky chips or batteries.

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For half an hour on Friday, Australia was running on more solar power than coal

For half an hour on Friday, Australia was running on more solar power than coal

For about half an hour on Friday, the national energy market caught a glimpse of what a renewables-powered future might look like.

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It's not science fiction. Scientists think 'space bubbles' could possibly save the planet.

It's not science fiction. Scientists think 'space bubbles' could possibly save the planet.

Not everyone is into science or even cares how it works. But sometimes science is too cool to ignore. The scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are revisiting an old hypothesis from the late 1980s by astronomer Roger Angel on creating bubbles in space to make an umbrella of sorts to shade Earth. Yeah, they're suggesting space bubbles. Following advances in technology over the last 30 years, they now think they've figured out how to do it.

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Sunday 21 August 2022

Did Neanderthals Make Art?

Did Neanderthals Make Art?

AS A NEANDERTHAL RESEARCHER, I’m familiar with the stereotypes of Homo neanderthalensis: dull, unintelligent, lacking the imagination to do more than bash each other on the head. They just sat around, gnawing on mammoth, awaiting their inevitable extinction. So, in 2018, I was excited when I saw a headline announcing “It’s Official: Neanderthals Created Art.”

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In pictures: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope celebrated on World Photography Day

In pictures: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope celebrated on World Photography Day

World Photography Day arrived on Friday — but this year's global event comes in the wake of some beautiful images from beyond Earth. The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), NASA wrote on July 12, 2022.

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Saturday 20 August 2022

Study suggests threesomes tend to be positive experiences, especially when shared with a romantic partner

Study suggests threesomes tend to be positive experiences, especially when shared with a romantic partner

Threesomes appear to be gaining in popularity, and a study published in Archives of Sexual Behavior suggests that these arrangements are generally positive experiences for participants. The findings suggest that threesomes are particularly enjoyable for men (versus women) and for couples in committed relationships (versus casual partners).

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New psychology research indicates that cleaning oneself helps alleviate the anxiety from stress-inducing events

New psychology research indicates that cleaning oneself helps alleviate the anxiety from stress-inducing events

Washing yourself can attenuate the psychological consequences of stressful events, according to new research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. The new findings provide some of the first scientific evidence that cleaning oneself is related to reductions in anxiety.

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Water droplets can sometimes turn into bleach when hitting a surface

Water droplets can sometimes turn into bleach when hitting a surface

Some researchers have seen an unusual effect where microscopic water drops turn into hydrogen peroxide after hitting a surface. A series of experiments is now getting closer to uncovering why it might happen

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Friday 19 August 2022

Scientists are trying to bring back the Tasmanian tiger nearly a century after extinction

Scientists are trying to bring back the Tasmanian tiger nearly a century after extinction

Humans drove the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, to extinction last century. Now genetics researchers want to de-extinct the marsupial within a decade.

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Thursday 18 August 2022

New Evidence Points to the Moon Once Being Part of Earth

New Evidence Points to the Moon Once Being Part of Earth

Gases trapped in lunar meteorites hint that the moon was formed out of material displaced from Earth after a planetary collision.

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Loneliness before the age of twelve indirectly predicts alcohol-related problems in later life

Loneliness before the age of twelve indirectly predicts alcohol-related problems in later life

New research provides evidence that individuals who had lonely childhoods tend to be more reactive to stress, which in turn makes them more susceptible to alcohol-related problems. The findings have been published in Addictive Behaviors Reports.

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