233 articles from FRIDAY 4.12.2020

Novel method to fine tune 'twistronics'

Researchers have revealed a breakthrough method that could lead to autonomous robotic control and therefore precise fine tuning of the 'twist' between atom-thin 2D materials layers stacked in a superlattice structure -- a pioneering device that could help transform technology and achieve superconductive electronics.

Hayabusa 2: Returning asteroid sample could help uncover the origins of life and the solar system

What is your idea of an asteroid? Many people think of them as potato-shaped, inert and perhaps rather dull, pock-marked objects—far away in deep space. But over the last ten years, two Japanese space missions – Hayabusa and now Hayabusa 2 – have dispatched that view to the history books. Asteroids are interesting bodies that may be able to explain how life on Earth came about.

Ames Sends Rodents, Cells, and Microbes to Space Station on SpaceX Mission

Portal origin URL: Ames Sends Rodents, Cells, and Microbes to Space Station on SpaceX MissionPortal origin nid: 466722Published: Friday, December 4, 2020 - 14:02Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Ames Sends Rodents, Cells, and Microbes to Space Station on SpaceX MissionPortal image: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at...

Hayabusa2 comes home: remarkable space probe could open another window into how life originated

The six-year round trip to an asteroid named Ryugu will end in the red sands of Woomera, AustraliaThe Japanese space agency’s remarkable Hayabusa2 mission will on Sunday deliver the second-ever artificially collected sample of asteroid material when a return capsule falls to Earth at the Woomera rocket range in South Australia.The Hayabusa2 probe has been on a 6bn km, ¥30bn ($388m) round trip...

Crystals may help reveal hidden Kilauea Volcano behavior

Scientists striving to understand how and when volcanoes might erupt face a challenge: many of the processes take place deep underground in lava tubes churning with dangerous molten Earth. Upon eruption, any subterranean markers that could have offered clues leading up to a blast are often destroyed.

How the US, UK and China are planning to roll out vaccines

The vaccines are coming. The UK became the first country in the West to approve a covid-19 vaccine for emergency use on December 2, specifically the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, which has completed Phase 3 trials. But the US, EU, and many other countries are expected to follow suit in the following days and weeks. The imminent arrival of vaccines not only means that countries face a huge...

Episode 25 - Lucy in the Sky with Asteroids

Asteroids are prehistoric treasures that hold the lost tales about the origin of our solar system. We are slowly starting to unfold this story and NASA’s Lucy mission will launch in about a year to venture on a 12-year tour studying diverse primordial worlds. Join mission experts on #NASAScience Live Thursday, Dec. 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET and learn about the first ever spacecraft to study the...

How do archaeologists know where to dig?

National Geographic magazines and Indiana Jones movies might have you picturing archaeologists excavating near Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu. And some of us do work at these famous places.

Satellite tag tracks activity levels of highly migratory species across the vast ocean

Scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and Wildlife Computers, Inc. today announced the release of a new activity data product application for marine animal tracking. The technology is designed to remotely track and transmit data gathered on an animal's activity levels over several months along with the temperatures and depths they...

The climate changed rapidly alongside sea ice decline in the north

Researchers have shown that abrupt climate change occurred as a result of widespread decrease of sea ice. This scientific breakthrough concludes a long-lasting debate on the mechanisms causing abrupt climate change during the glacial period. It also documents that the cause of the swiftness and extent of sudden climate change must be found in the oceans.