NASA's Lunar Flashlight ready to search for the Moon's water ice
It's known that water ice exists below the lunar regolith (broken rock and dust), but scientists don't yet understand whether surface ice frost covers the floors inside these cold craters. To find out, NASA is sending Lunar Flashlight, a small satellite (or SmallSat) no larger than a briefcase. Swooping low over the lunar South Pole, it will use lasers to shed light on these dark craters—much...
NASA continues Psyche asteroid mission
NASA announced Friday the agency decided its Psyche mission will go forward, targeting a launch period opening on Oct. 10, 2023.
Artificial intelligence and molecule machine join forces to generalize automated chemistry
Artificial intelligence, "building-block" chemistry and a molecule-making machine teamed up to find the best general reaction conditions for synthesizing chemicals important to biomedical and materials research—a finding that could speed innovation and drug discovery as well as make complex chemistry automated and accessible.
Team develops new method to determine flaws in rubber
A new method to ensure consistency and quality in rubber manufacturing, developed by a research team from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Eastman, is likely to show real-world impact on material sustainability and durability for products such as car tires.
Haunting portrait: Webb reveals dust and structure in pillars of creation
Why does mid-infrared light evoke such a somber, chilling mood in Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) image? Interstellar dust cloaks the scene. And while mid-infrared light specializes in detailing where dust is, the stars aren't bright enough at these wavelengths to appear. Instead, these looming, leaden-hued pillars of gas and dust gleam at their edges, hinting at the activity within.
NASA and ESA agree on next steps to return Mars samples to Earth
The next step in the unprecedented campaign to return scientifically selected samples from Mars was made on Oct. 19 with a formal agreement between NASA and its partner ESA (European Space Agency). The two agencies will proceed with the creation of a sample tube depot on Mars. The sample depot, or cache, will be at "Three Forks," an area located near the base of an ancient river delta in Jezero...
Empathy for the pain of the conflicting group is altered across generations in the aftermath of a genocide
Feeling empathy for others is deeply engrained into our biology, as seeing another individual in pain triggers an empathic response in the brain of the observer, which allows us to understand and feel what other feels. However, our capacity to feel empathy for the suffering of others is unfortunately not equal towards all human beings.
Heat waves driven by climate change have cost global economy trillions since the 1990s
Massive economic losses due to sweltering temperatures brought on by human-caused climate change are not just a problem for the distant future. A study in the journal Science Advances has found that more severe heat waves resulting from global warming have already cost the world economy trillions of dollars since the early 1990s—with the world's poorest and lowest carbon-emitting nations...
Bacteria-based, fat-free whipped cream could be a food of the future
It's no secret that whipped cream is composed of 38% saturated fat, making it a not so fluffy caloric and climate issue as well. Therefore, a group of researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Food Science set out to develop a low-fat, more sustainable alternative.
Zombie worlds: Five spooky planets orbiting dead stars
All stars, including the sun, have a finite lifetime. Stars shine by the process of nuclear fusion in which lighter atoms, such as hydrogen, fuse together to create heavier ones. This process releases vast quantities of energy which counteracts the ever-present inward pull of the star's gravity. Ultimately, fusion helps stars to resist gravitational collapse.
Study examines how well-timed cover crops can suppress weeds in California orchards
California's commercial orchards are home to nearly 2.5 million acres of almonds, walnuts, stone fruit and similar crops. Growers focus their most intense weed management efforts on establishing a clear crop row so that weeds won't interfere with irrigation lines, compete with crops for water, or impede the use of sweepers and other harvesting equipment.
Dead crustaceans washing up on England's north-east coast may be victims of the green industrial revolution
Thousands of dead and dying crabs and lobsters washed up along a 50km stretch of England's north-east coast last autumn. Observers reported seeing the animals experience peculiar behaviors including convulsions, before suffering paralysis and death.
Scientists investigate using lunar soils to sustainably supply oxygen and fuels on the moon
Building up a lunar settlement has been the ultimate aim of lunar exploitation since humanity's first step on the moon. Yet, limited fuel and oxygen supplies restrict human survival on the moon.
How to improve microendoscopes? New probe design brings promises to improve biomedical imaging
Microendoscopes are the cornerstone of modern medical diagnostics—they allow us to see what we could not even describe two decades ago. The technology is constantly improving, with ICTER scientists contributing to the development of the probes.
NASA laser project benefits animal researchers, scientists show
Scientists researching forest carnivores such as martens, foxes and coyotes spend hours clambering through rugged terrain, sometimes in deep snow, placing and baiting camera traps to learn about animals' behavior in relation to their habitat.
Study finds that forest protection is key for reliable rainfall
There won't be many places in the world that have escaped the recent impacts of unusual droughts, floods and unseasonal temperatures. These are often ascribed to the role of greenhouse gases, leading to climate change. But there are additional causes. An international research team has found an additional threat: the impacts of changes in vegetation cover, especially forest loss.
A close look at melting below Antarctica's largest ice shelf
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest block of ice in the world. It covers an area four times the size of China and holds more than 60% of the world's fresh water. Where the ice sheet meets the ocean, it forms floating shelves that cool and freshen the salty waters below as they melt. Because of the Antarctic Ice Sheet's vast size and effects on the ocean, the rates at which its shelves melt play...
Researchers design soil-inspired multifunctional chemical system
Soil is a dynamic system of microbe-material interactions and environmental responsiveness. The soil-microbe complex is an integrated and adaptable system that can reshape its state according to the external environment.
A Hubbard-type Coulomb blockade effect discovered in the mirror twin boundary of MoSe₂
In a study of one-dimensional electron correlation states at the MTB of monolayer and bilayer MoSe2, a research team found that two types of correlated insulating states driven by a dubbed Hubbard-type Coulomb blockade effect could be switched by tip pulses.
Research team explores virtual romantic relationships
An international team of researchers has published a paper introducing the concept of romantic anthropomorphism, which involves giving a non-human agent human-like characteristics in a romantic context. Their work helps to improve researchers' understanding of virtual romance. While previous psychological research has examined how human needs can be met by anthropomorphized agents, this research...
Passenger car preheating produces as much particulate emissions as driving dozens of kilometers
A new study from Finland, conducted by the University of Eastern Finland and Tampere University, measured particulate emissions from passenger car preheating with an auxiliary heater in sub-zero conditions.
Coffin? Casket? Cremation? How to make your death more environmentally friendly
We can all agree humans need to reduce their impact on the environment. And while most of us think of this in terms of daily activities—such as eating less meat, or being water-wise—this responsibility actually extends beyond life and into death.
Current climate pledges have us heading for a world that is 2.4 to 2.6°C hotter
As intensifying climate impacts across the globe hammer home the message that greenhouse gas emissions must fall rapidly, a new UN Environment Program (UNEP) report finds that the international community is still falling far short of the Paris goals, with no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place.
Don't expect Colorado to have a good snow year. Here's why
Colorado can expect a warmer and drier winter, putting the state at greater risk of wildfire and lessening the chance of rebounding from the ongoing megadrought plaguing the West, climate scientists say.
California tree carnage: A decade of drought and fire killed a third of Sierra Nevada forests
Admirers of California's Sierra Nevada mountains are familiar with the swaths of blackened trees flanking its sprawling green forest ranges. A new University of California, Berkeley study quantifies that devastation, finding nearly a third of southern Sierra conifer forests have died in the last decade.