41 articles from MONDAY 4.7.2022
NASA says its plan to bring Mars samples back to Earth is safe, but some people are worried
Since September, the Perseverance rover has been picking along an ancient river delta on Mars, its robotic arms reaching out with whirling steel drill bits to core rocks, scoop soil and suck small amounts of the red planet's atmosphere into titanium tubes.
NASA explains the mission to bring samples of Mars soil, rock and atmosphere back to Earth
NASA's Mars Sample Return Mission aims to bring 30 samples of rock, soil and atmosphere now being collected by the Perseverance rover back to Earth sometime in the early 2030s. The goal is to look for signs of past life and also to find out more about the Red Planet before humans visit it.
Scaling the cost of government programs using a cost-per-person price tag improves comprehension by the general public
Government policies often are presented with hefty price tags, but people often zone out as more zeros are added to the total cost. A new study from Carnegie Mellon University suggests that rescaling the cost of programs can increase a person's understanding of funding choices, which may improve how people participate in the policy debate. The results are available in the July issue of the journal...
Spain, Portugal dryness 'unprecedented' in 1,200 years
Parts of Portugal and Spain are the driest they have been in a thousand years due to an atmospheric high-pressure system driven by climate change, according to research published Monday, warning of severe implications for wine and olive production.
Cern gears up for more discoveries 10 years after ‘God particle’ find
With the Higgs boson already in the bag, the Large Hadron Collider begins another period of data collectionIt’s 10 years to the day since evidence of the Higgs boson – the elusive particle associated with an invisible mass-giving field – was announced. But for Prof Daniela Bortoletto the memories are as fresh as ever.“I just remember joy. I remember that everybody was so happy. And what...
Study explores coevolution of mammals and their lice
According to a new study, the first louse to take up residence on a mammalian host likely started out as a parasite of birds. That host-jumping event tens of millions of years ago began the long association between mammals and lice, setting the stage for their coevolution and offering more opportunities for the lice to spread to other mammals.
Largest genetic atlas for zebrafish 'breakthrough' for biomedical research
Medical and life science researchers will benefit from the most comprehensive atlas yet of genetic data on zebrafish, newly published research suggests.
The Higgs boson, ten years after its discovery
Ten years ago, on July 4 2012, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) announced the discovery of a new particle with features consistent with those of the Higgs boson predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics. The discovery was a landmark in the history of science and captured the world's attention. One year later it won François Englert and Peter Higgs the...
Time-lapse of the world's largest waterlily species discovered at London's Kew Gardens – video
A giant waterlily grown at Kew Gardens has been named as a new species in the first discovery of its type in more than a century. Scientists at Kew suspected for decades there could be a third species of giant waterlilyNewly identified waterlily species is world’s largest Continue...
What are whale sharks up to?
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/4 15:42
Satellite-tracking of the largest fish in the ocean offered insight into their migratory and feeding behavior, but their breeding grounds are still a mystery.
Researchers develop rapid COVID-19 test to identify variants in hours
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/4 15:42
In just a few hours, scientists can tell which variant has infected a COVID-19 patient -- a critical task that can potentially influence treatment decisions but takes days or weeks at most medical centers.
Researchers use AI to detect new family of genes in gut bacteria
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/4 15:42
Using artificial intelligence, researchers have discovered a new family of sensing genes in enteric bacteria that are linked by structure and probably function, but not genetic sequence. The findings offer a new way of identifying the role of genes in unrelated species and could lead to new ways to fight intestinal bacterial infections.
Male dogs four times more likely to develop contagious cancer on nose or mouth than females
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/4 15:42
Sniffing or licking other dogs' genitalia -- the common site of Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumour -- can spread this unusual cancer to the nose and mouth.
Fast and facile synthesis of antibacterial amino acid Schiff base copper complexes
- ScienceDaily
- 22/7/4 15:41
Schiff base-metal complexes exhibit promising antibacterial and antioxidant properties. However, conventional methods for their preparation can be time-consuming. To reduce the reaction time and improve the quality and quantity of the products, researchers designed a new synthesis technique that uses microwave irradiation and methanol for the preparation of amino acid Schiff base copper complexes...
NASA satellite breaks from orbit around Earth, heads to moon
A satellite the size of a microwave oven successfully broke free from its orbit around Earth on Monday and is headed toward the moon, the latest step in NASA's plan to land astronauts on the lunar surface again.
The Download: China’s livestreaming crackdown, and a huge police data hack
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. China wants to control how its famous livestreamers act, speak, and even dress For Zeng, a young Chinese woman, an hour scrolling Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok, has become a daily ritual.…
The big idea: should we worry about sentient AI?
A Google employee raised the alarm about a chatbot he believes is conscious. A philosopher asks if he was right to do soThere’s a children’s toy, called the See ’n Say, which haunts the memories of many people born since 1965. It’s a bulky plastic disc with a central arrow that rotates around pictures of barnyard creatures, like a clock, if time were measured in roosters and pigs....
Will adaptability save the North Atlantic right whale?
Scientists and whale rescue experts are trying to figure out how to save the North Atlantic right whale population from decreasing further in light of climate change and changes in...
New screening technique could accelerate and improve mRNA therapies
Therapeutics based on messenger RNA, or mRNA, can potentially treat a wide range of maladies, including cancer, genetic diseases, and as the world has learned in recent years, deadly viruses.
ATLAS and CMS release results of most comprehensive studies yet of Higgs boson's properties
Today, exactly ten years after announcing the discovery of the Higgs boson, the international ATLAS and CMS collaborations at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) report the results of their most comprehensive studies yet of the properties of this unique particle. The independent studies, described in two papers published today in Nature, show that the particle's properties are remarkably consistent...
Ode to the Spring review – Chinese exploration of pandemic ground zero in Wuhan
Telling five Covid-related stories, this platitudinous urban-interconnection drama offers lectures on virtue and self-sacrifice and feels like state propagandaThis interminable anthology film about the pandemic feels like being force-fed lectures on altruism, family responsibility, self-sacrifice and neighbourly forbearance by the Chinese government (which produced it). Set almost entirely in...
Russian cosmonauts display flag of occupied Luhansk region on ISS
Cosmonauts praised in February for wearing yellow uniforms in apparent show of support for UkraineRussia-Ukraine war: live updatesThe Russian cosmonauts who were lauded at the outset of the war on Ukraine in February for appearing to show their support for their invaded neighbours with yellow and blue spacesuits have been pictured on the International Space Station (ISS) holding the flags of the...
'One of the botanical wonders of the world': Giant waterlily grown at Kew Gardens named new to science
A new paper, published today in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science, outlines a new botanical discovery in the genus Victoria, the famous giant waterlily genus named after Britain's Queen Victoria in 1852. Until now, there have only been two known species of giant waterlily, the new species makes it three. Specimens of the new species, Victoria boliviana, have been sitting in Kew's Herbarium...
Thousands evacuate from 'dangerous' Sydney floods
Rapidly rising rivers swamped swathes of rain-lashed Sydney on Monday, forcing thousands to flee "dangerous" floods as the city's largest dam spilled torrents of water.
Large Hadron Collider revs up to unprecedented energy level
Ten years after it discovered the Higgs boson, the Large Hadron Collider is about to start smashing protons together at unprecedented energy levels in its quest to reveal more secrets about how the universe works.
China wants to control how its famous livestreamers act, speak, and even dress
For Zeng, a young Chinese woman, an hour scrolling Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok, has become a daily ritual. Among its broad range of videos and livestreams, she particularly likes one creator: “Lawyer Longfei.” Every day, Longfei answers her 9 million followers’ legal inquiries live. Many deal with how women should approach tricky divorce cases.
But in May, Longfei’s account...
Male dogs four times more likely to develop contagious cancer on nose or mouth than females
A new study has found that male dogs are four to five times more likely than female dogs to be infected with the oro-nasal form of Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumor.
Knowing the Earth's energy imbalance is critical in preventing global warming, study finds
The imbalance of energy on Earth is the most important metric in order to gauge the size and effects of climate change, according to a new study published today in the first issue of Environmental Research: Climate.
Covid covid covid, everyone is getting covid covid covid | First Dog on the Moon
Apparently EVERYONE who is ANYONE is getting the new variant it is all the rageSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue...
Starwatch: Matariki appearance marks start of Māori new year
Pleiades star cluster in Taurus marks month-long time of remembrance and celebrationMidsummer is definitely not a time of the year that northern hemisphere observers think about looking for the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus; January and February are far more favourable.However, if you move to the southern hemisphere – New Zealand to be precise – the cluster, which is also known as Matariki,...
Third species of giant waterlily discovered at Kew Gardens
The new species is also the largest giant waterlily on the planet, with leaves growing up to three metres in the wildA giant waterlily grown at Kew Gardens has been named as new to science, in the first discovery of its type in more than a century.Scientists at the south-west London garden suspected for decades there could be a third species of giant waterlily and worked with researchers in its...
Do we need a new theory of evolution? – podcast
A new wave of scientists argues that mainstream evolutionary theory needs an urgent overhaul. Their opponents have dismissed them as misguided careerists – and the conflict may determine the future of biology Continue reading...
Scientists discover new giant water lily species
Scientists discover the first new species of giant water lily in more than a century.
World’s largest water lily is a species of its own
When 19th century European botanists came across majestic water lilies with leaves bigger than a pingpong table, they first thought these South American plants constituted just one species. Soon they realized the
Victoria
genus—named after the contemporaneous British monarch—comprised two species,
V. amazonica
and
V. cruziana
. Now,...
Using human hair to fight oil spills
A hairdresser in Wales is collecting her customers' hair and turning it into something useful.
Finding the Higgs: ‘Incredible’ moment in science
Cern physicist Dr Andre David describes the moment scientists found the ‘God particle’