286 articles from WEDNESDAY 27.5.2020

SpaceX’s First Crewed Launch Was Scrubbed. Here’s the Next Possible Launch Window

(Cape Canaveral, Fla.) — The launch of a SpaceX rocket ship with two NASA astronauts on a history-making flight into orbit has been called off with 16 minutes to go in the countdown because of the danger of lightning. Liftoff is rescheduled for Saturday. The spacecraft was set to blast off Wednesday afternoon for the International Space Station, ushering in a new era in commercial...

Exchange of arms between chromosomes using molecular scissors

The CRISPR/Cas molecular scissors work like a fine surgical instrument and can be used to modify genetic information in plants. Research teams have now not only exchanged single genes, but recombined entire chromosomes with the CRISPR/Cas technology. In this way, desired properties can be combined in crops.

SpaceX launch cancelled due to bad weather – live

Thunder and lightening in the area may have contributed to the mission scrub which will have another opportunity on Saturday 9.40pm BST Nasa update:Propellant is offloading and @NASA_Astronauts @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug are preparing to exit the vehicle. pic.twitter.com/q4VAwK5o9Q 9.37pm BST Donald Trump is still at the Kennedy Space Center, having traveled there earlier from the White House....

Archaeologists discover pristine ancient Roman mosaic floor buried under piles of vines

Archaeologists have revisited an ancient Roman dig site that hasn't been touched in a century — and found something incredible underneath.In a vineyard outside the Italian city of Verona, under several feet of vines and dirt, researchers have uncovered what appears to be a perfectly preserved mosaic floor and pieces of a villa foundation dating back to the third century A.D. Surveyors in the...

Erosion of ozone layer responsible for mass extinction event

Researchers have shown that an extinction event 360 million years ago, that killed much of the Earth's plant and freshwater aquatic life, was caused by a brief breakdown of the ozone layer that shields the Earth from damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This is a newly discovered extinction mechanism with profound implications for our warming world today.

AI reveals mechanism for kin selection in a wild primate

More like mom or dad? Human babies always get this curious look in their faces combined with the question of whom the child resembles most. The answers vary depending on the degree of kinship, gender and the time of assessment. Mandrills, monkeys living in Equatorial Africa, may recognize facial features coding relatedness better than humans. Scientists showed by using up-to-date artificial...

Watch the countdown to SpaceX’s historic launch of NASA’s first Dragon riders

Nearly nine years after the last space shuttle flew, NASA and SpaceX are counting down to the next launch to put astronauts into orbit from Florida. The launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will mark the first-ever use of a privately owned spaceship for a crewed orbital launch, and a renaissance for U.S. spaceflight. "We are once again launching American...

Allosaurus dinosaur suspected to be scavenging cannibal

Dinosaur-on-dinosaur dining habit revealed by scrutiny of fossil bones from Colorado siteAbout nine metres long, with grasping claws and a skull it used like a hatchet, Allosaurus was among the most fearsome dinosaurs of the Jurassic period. Now, it seems, the animal could also have been a cannibal.Fossil researchers have revealed that bite marks found in a cache of dinosaur bones from the...

A potential explanation for urban smog: Aerosol particle growth higher in cold climates

The effect of nitric acid on aerosol particles in the atmosphere may offer an explanation for the smog seen engulfing cities on frosty days. Under laboratory conditions, researchers at CERN in Switzerland observed the formation of atmospheric aerosols and discovered new information on the link between nitrogen oxides originating in traffic and the energy industry, and the climate and air quality....

Artificial intelligence reveals mechanism for kin selection in a wild primate

More like mom or dad? Human babies always get this curious look on their face combined with the question whom the child resembles most. The answers vary depending on the degree of kinship, gender and the time of assessment. Mandrills, monkeys living in Equatorial Africa, may recognize facial features coding relatedness better than humans. Scientists at the German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute...

Exploring the use of 'stretchable' words in social media

An investigation of Twitter messages reveals new insights and tools for studying how people use stretched words, such as "duuuuude," "heyyyyy," or "noooooooo." Tyler Gray and colleagues at the University of Vermont in Burlington present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on May 27, 2020.