170 articles from FRIDAY 11.6.2021

Machine learning aids in materials design

A long-held goal by chemists across many industries, including energy, pharmaceuticals, energetics, food additives and organic semiconductors, is to imagine the chemical structure of a new molecule and be able to predict how it will function for a desired application. In practice, this vision is difficult, often requiring extensive laboratory work to synthesize, isolate, purify and characterize...

Scientists link intense exercise with MND risk in some people

Those with a certain genetic makeup more likely to develop motor neurone disease, study confirmsRegular strenuous exercise raises the risk of developing motor neurone disease (MND) in people who are genetically predisposed to the condition, researchers say.Scientists at the University of Sheffield found a causal relationship between high intensity physical activity and the disorder among those...

I study UFOs – and I don’t believe the alien hype. Here’s why | Mick West

This month the Pentagon will release its much-awaited UFO report. Extraterrestrial buffs think they’ll be vindicated - but they’ve gotten a bit ahead of themselvesThere is a tidal wave of interest building up around an imminent Pentagon report on the subject of UFOs, or, as they are often referred to now, UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). A sense of heady enthusiasm has swept over the UFO...

These creepy fake humans herald a new age in AI

You can see the faint stubble coming in on his upper lip, the wrinkles on his forehead, the blemishes on his skin. He isn’t a real person, but he’s meant to mimic one—as are the hundreds of thousands of others made by Datagen, a company that sells fake, simulated humans. These humans are not gaming avatars or animated characters for movies. They are synthetic data designed to feed the...

Queqiao: The bridge between Earth and the far side of the moon

China's Chang'e-4 probe marked the first soft-landing of a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, which always faces away from Earth. To communicate with ground stations, Chang'e-4 relies on Queqiao, a relay communication satellite that orbits a point behind the Moon and bridges Earth and Chang'e-4. In a recent review, researchers explain the design of Queqiao and depict the future of lunar relay...

ESA rover replica goes for test drive at Mars simulator in Italy

Operators of Rosalind Franklin rover practise controlling it in preparation for Martian landing in June 2023A precise replica of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover has begun a series of test drives at the Aerospace Logistics Technology Engineering Company’s Mars terrain simulator in Turin, Italy.Rover operators will practise controlling the rover in preparation for its...

Medieval fashion for pointy shoes linked to rise in bunions

Cambridge research suggests foot problem was more common after Blackadder-style shoe became popular From waist-squeezing corsets to crinoline skirts, fashion has rarely been about comfort – or safety. Now researchers have revealed that even in medieval times, men and women could become martyrs to fashion, linking a trend in pointy shoes to a rise in the prevalence of bunions.Bunions – or...

Astronomers find blinking giant star near heart of Milky Way

Huge star, 25,000 light years away, dims by 97% then slowly returns to former brightnessAstronomers have spotted a giant blinking star, 100 times the size of the sun, lurking near the heart of the Milky Way.Telescope observations revealed that over a few hundred days the enormous star, which lies more than 25,000 light years away, dimmed by 97% and then slowly returned to its former brightness....