- PhysOrg
- 20/5/1 22:49
Virgin Galactic's spaceship VSS Unity landed in the New Mexico desert on Friday, marking its first glide flight from Spaceport America as the company moves toward commercial operations.
174 articles from FRIDAY 1.5.2020
Virgin Galactic's spaceship VSS Unity landed in the New Mexico desert on Friday, marking its first glide flight from Spaceport America as the company moves toward commercial operations.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder that we move through a world shaped by unseen life. Bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic organisms regulate the Earth's vital functions and resources, from the air we breathe to all our food and most of our energy sources. An estimated one-third of the Earth's microbes are literally hidden, buried in sediments deep below the ocean floor. Now,...
More than a thousand years ago, people from across the Southeast regularly traveled to a small island on Florida's Gulf Coast to bond over oysters, likely as a means of coping with climate change and social upheaval.
Army researchers predict quantum computer circuits that will no longer need extremely cold temperatures to function could become a reality after about a decade.
If it were not for the fact that the Hubble Space Telescope was designed to be repaired and upgraded while in orbit, it would not have reached its 30th anniversary this month. But repair isn't possible with its $10 billion successor. Bob McDonald explains the implications in his...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA and SpaceX on Friday urged everyone to stay home for the first home launch of astronauts in nearly a decade because of the coronavirus pandemic. Top officials warned the public against traveling to Florida for the May 27 launch of two NASA astronauts aboard a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station. It will be the first launch of astronauts from...
Mars had a global magnetic field much earlier -- and much later -- than previously known. Analysis of new satellite data found clear evidence of a magnetic field coming from a lava flow that formed less than 3.7 billion years ago, half a billion years after many people thought the Martian dynamo had ceased. The researchers also detected low-intensity magnetic fields over the Borealis Basin,...
More than a thousand years ago, people from across the Southeast regularly traveled to a small island on Florida's Gulf Coast to bond over oysters, likely as a means of coping with climate change and social upheaval.
The mechanism underlying Parkinson's dyskinesia has been unknown, until now. An international collaboration has found a key cause, and with it, potentially, a new route to providing relief.
NASA and SpaceX on Friday urged spectators to stay home for the first home launch of astronauts in nearly a decade because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Plastic gives us a lightweight, strong and inexpensive material to use, but it has also caused the plastic apocalypse. Much of the unrecycled plastic waste ends up in the ocean, Earth's last sink. Broken down by waves, sunlight and marine animals, a single plastic bag can become 1.75 million microplastic fragments. Those microplastics might finally end up in our bodies through the fish we eat or...
Mars had a global magnetic field much earlier—and much later—in the planet's history than scientists have previously known.
The first step in many light-driven chemical reactions, like the ones that power photosynthesis and human vision, is a shift in the arrangement of a molecule's electrons as they absorb the light's energy. This subtle rearrangement paves the way for everything that follows and determines how the reaction proceeds.
Using the most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument NASA has ever flown in space, scientists have made precise, detailed measurements of how the elevation of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over 16 years.
Native bees that boost food crops are in decline but changing fire management policies could help them.
Birds, elephants and primates are among those missing guests, zoos around the world say.
The first step in many light-driven chemical reactions, like the ones that power photosynthesis and human vision, is a shift in the arrangement of a molecule's electrons as they absorb the light's energy. This subtle rearrangement paves the way for everything that follows and determines how the reaction proceeds. Now scientists have seen for the first time how the molecule's electron cloud...
This study sheds new light on the body's initial response to dengue virus infection, describing the molecular diversity and specificity of the antibody response. These results identify an unappreciated role for DENV-reactive IgA antibodies and set the stage for future work to fully characterize the body's immune response to DENV, understand risk factors to severe dengue and ultimately could be...
Certain genetic changes, termed 'pathogenic variants,' substantially increase risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer--the leading causes of death -- but testing to identify individual carriers is not part of current clinical practice.
NASA and SpaceX on Friday urged spectators to stay home for the first home launch of astronauts in nearly a decade because of the coronavirus pandemic. Top officials warned the public against traveling to Florida for the May 27 launch of two NASA astronauts aboard a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station. It will be the first launch of astronauts from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in...
Chronic exposure to inhaled nicotine alone increases blood pressure in both the body's general circulation and in the lungs that can lead to pulmonary hypertension, according to a new study.
A team of researchers has developed a portable, more environmentally friendly method to produce hydrogen peroxide. It could enable hospitals to make their own supply of the disinfectant on demand and at lower cost.
Native bees that boost food crops are in decline but changing fire management policies could help them. A new study finds these native bees are better able to survive harsh climate events, like drought, in areas where naturally occurring fires are allowed to burn.
A team of researchers has developed a portable, more environmentally friendly method to produce hydrogen peroxide. It could enable hospitals to make their own supply of the disinfectant on demand and at lower cost.
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has changed the way most of the world moves through daily life, with many businesses having to temporarily close and students of all levels forced to transition to online courses.
When Jamie Bolker started teaching composition at MacMurray College in January, she felt she'd won the lottery. After sending out more than 140 resumes, she had a tenure-track position in English.
Crystals can be made artificially but a lot of energy is used to melt the ingredients together, and this can make them expensive. This problem can be overcome by using appropriate solvents. Called the flux method, crystals are grown in a crucible that contains solvents that allow the crystal to form with less energy because dissolution will happen more easily. Imagine having table salt and wanting...
An 4.5-magnitude earthquake shook central Bulgaria on Friday but there were no reports of any injuries or damage.
When the master regulator of protein production malfunctions, it may contribute to the development of neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's.
Like people, neurons need to talk to one another. But instead of turning thoughts into words, these cells convert electrical signals into chemical ones. Scientists have new findings on how one protein triggers this crucial conversion.
Giant elliptical galaxies are not as likely as disk-shaped galaxies, such as our own Milky Way, to be cradles of technological civilizations, according to a recent article by a astrophysicist.
A new study adds to the evidence that people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at greater risk of a poor outcome should they become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. But there is some encouraging news: people with T2D whose blood sugar is well controlled fare much better than those with more poorly controlled blood sugar.
A study of deforestation in Colombia has revealed some valuable insights which could be used to help slow deforestation in areas around the globe.
From snowflakes to quartz, nature's crystalline structures form with a reliable, systemic symmetry. Researchers who study the formation of crystalline materials have shown that it's now possible to control how crystals grow - including interrupting the symmetrical growth of flat crystals and inducing them to form hollow crystal spheres. The discovery is part of a broader design effort focused on...
A new class of self-forming membrane has been developed. Capturing the carbon dioxide which can then be processed, the membrane dramatically reduced the demand for silver and the cost.
Germany’s leading Covid-19 expert warns against unlimited reopening of schoolsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists in Germany have said children with the coronavirus may be as infectious as adults, and urged caution as schools and playgrounds across Europe start to reopen.Researchers who analysed data on infected people found that the viral loads in children...
Researchers at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the University of Dundee and the Wellcome Sanger Institute analysed over 2700 genomes from C. elegans worms in order to better understand the causes of mutations. Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, characterise how DNA mutations result from the combined action of DNA damage and inaccurate DNA repair...
Scientists have been able to observe the universe and determine that about 80% of the its mass appears to be "dark matter," which exerts a gravitational pull but does not interact with light, and thus can't be seen with telescopes. Our current understanding of cosmology and nuclear physics suggests that dark matter could be made of axions, hypothetical particles with unusual symmetry properties.
Exclusive: test has potential to identify carriers before they become infectious Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists working for the US military have designed a new Covid-19 test that could potentially identify carriers before they become infectious and spread the disease, the Guardian has learned.In what could be a significant breakthrough, project...
A study of deforestation in Colombia by researchers from The University of Queensland has revealed some valuable insights which could be used to help slow deforestation in areas around the globe.