42 articles from SATURDAY 16.10.2021

Figures of Babylon: oldest drawing of a ghost found in British Museum vault

A 3,500-year-old image tablet of a ‘miserable male ghost’ gives up its secretIts outlines are faint, only discernible at an angle, but the world’s oldest drawing of a ghost has been discovered in the darkened vaults of the British Museum.A lonely bearded spirit being led into the afterlife and eternal bliss by a lover has been identified on an ancient Babylonian clay tablet created about...

Well you would say that: the science behind our everyday biases

Covid has turned us into pandemic experts, all too ready to gainsay scientists and distorting our reasoning, but psychology can help us understand how our prejudices are formedAs I wasted an hour’s worth of petrol trying to find more petrol last month, Justin Webb poked at the chief secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke, on the Today programme, seeking a reason why much of the country is...

More power to Mark Billingham’s book-hurling elbow. I might join in | Rebecca Nicholson

Life’s too short for bad literature, so let’s follow the writer’s exampleDo you ditch a book if it does not immediately grab your attention or do you trudge through it joylessly, weighed down by some invisible obligation to complete it, no matter how arduous the task? The writer Mark Billingham got stuck into this endless debate at the Cheltenham literature festival last week, admitting that...

In unpredictable times, a data strategy is key

More than 18 months after the 2020 coronavirus pandemic struck, it’s clear that the ability to make quick decisions based on high-quality data has become essential for business success. In an increasingly competitive and constantly shifting landscape, companies must be agile enough to tackle persistent challenges, ranging from cost-cutting and supply chain issues to product development and...

NASA’s Asteroid Hunter Lucy Soars Into Sky With Diamonds

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft named Lucy rocketed into the sky with diamonds Saturday morning on a 12-year quest to explore eight asteroids. Seven of the mysterious space rocks are among swarms of asteroids sharing Jupiter’s orbit, thought to be the pristine leftovers of planetary formation. An Atlas V rocket blasted off before dawn, sending Lucy on a roundabout journey...

Viva la vulva: why we need to talk about women’s genitalia

Ignorance about the basic biology of vulvas is still shockingly high – yet there are huge health benefits, physical and emotional, to be won with better understandingIf you have a vulva between your legs, could you identify the seven separate structures in a mirror? If your partner has a vulva, can you identify theirs?For over half the population, the vulva is a significant part of their body;...

'Johnny'll love that': Ringo Starr wishes Nasa Lucy mission well – video

The Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr, was among those asked to add their messages to a Lucy mission plaque. The spacecraft has set off on a 12-year quest to explore eight asteroids, mostly around Jupiter's orbit. The mission was named after the 3.2m-year-old skeletal remains of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia nearly a half a century. Dr Donald Johanson discovered the remains while the Beatles song...

This NASA spacecraft is on its way to Jupiter’s mysterious asteroid swarms

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, named for an early human ancestor whose skeleton provided insights into our species’ muddled origins, has begun the first leg of its 12-year journey. Lifting off from Cape Canaveral early Saturday morning on an Atlas V rocket, Lucy is headed to study asteroids in an area around Jupiter that’s been relatively unchanged since the Big Bang. It will venture farther...

Nasa’s Lucy rockets into the sky with diamonds to explore asteroids

Spacecraft with name inspired by a skeleton and the Beatles, and with lab-grown gems, starts 12-year questA Nasa spacecraft named Lucy has rocketed into the sky with diamonds on a 12-year quest to explore eight asteroids.Seven of the mysterious space rocks are among swarms of asteroids sharing Jupiter’s orbit, thought to be the pristine leftovers of planetary formation. Continue...

How did Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin fail to dominate the billionaire space race?

The company employs the world’s top engineers and has access to unlimited money but is plagued by safety concerns and toxic workplace cultureThe billionaire space race is only a race by name. In actuality, there is SpaceX – and everyone else.Only the company founded by Elon Musk nearly two decades ago has sent a rocket booster into orbit and landed it safely again. Only SpaceX has landed a...

Chinese astronauts arrive at space station for longest mission

The Shenzhou-13 vessel docked at its space station to kick off a record-setting six-month stayThree astronauts successfully docked with China’s new space station, state media said, on what is set to be Beijing’s longest crewed mission to date and the latest landmark in its drive to become a major space power.The three blasted off shortly after midnight on Saturday (1600 GMT) from the Jiuquan...

Plankton head polewards

Ocean warming caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions will prompt many species of marine plankton to seek out new habitats, in some cases as a matter of survival. Researchers expect many organisms to head to the poles and form new communities -- with unforeseeable consequences for marine food webs.

A map of mouse brain metabolism in aging

Researchers have created an atlas of metabolites in the mouse brain. The dataset includes 1,547 different molecules across 10 brain regions in male and female laboratory mice from adolescence through adulthood and into advanced old age. The complete dataset is publicly available online.

Ultrafast magnetism: heating magnets, freezing time

Magnetic solids can be demagnetized quickly with a short laser pulse, and there are already so-called HAMR (Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording) memories on the market that function according to this principle. However, the microscopic mechanisms of ultrafast demagnetization remain unclear. Now, a team has developed a new method at BESSY II to quantify one of these mechanisms and applied it to the...

Behavior resembling human ADHD seen in dogs

A study involving some 11,000 dogs demonstrated that the gender, age and breed of the dog, as well as any behavioral problems and certain environmental factors, are connected to hyperactive and impulsive behavior and inattention (ADHD).

Flu and heart disease: The surprising connection that should convince you to schedule your shot

Patients who have cardiovascular disease are at increased risk of serious complications from the flu, according to a new study. The study found that not only are traditional flu-related outcomes worse among some patients with CVD, but infection in those patients also is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Getting the influenza vaccine, however, substantially reduces...