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7 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Exotic green comet not seen since stone age returns to skies above Earth

Comet C/2022 E3, which orbits the sun every 50,000 years, will be closest to us next Wednesday and ThursdayAn exotic green comet that has not passed Earth since the time of the Neanderthals has reappeared in the sky ready for its closest approach to the planet next week.Discovered last March by astronomers at the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in California, comet C/2022 E3...

‘No miracles needed’: Prof Mark Jacobson on how wind, sun and water can power the world

The influential academic says renewables alone can halt climate crisis, with technologies such as carbon capture expensive wastes of time“Combustion is the problem – when you’re continuing to burn something, that’s not solving the problem,” says Prof Mark Jacobson.The Stanford University academic has a compelling pitch: the world can rapidly get 100% of its energy from renewable sources...

Will Covid reinfections pose increased health risks? Experts aren’t sure

A study found that repeat infections increases the possibility of hospitalization or death, but some experts refute those findingsA recent study states that Covid-19 reinfections could pose additional risks to people’s long-term health – as compared to only getting Covid once – however some infectious disease experts in the US disagree that there is evidence showing repeat infections are...

Can you solve it? Prisoners and boxes

Using brain cells in prison cells Today’s puzzle involves two prisoners. Let’s call them Piper and Alex. You will be asked to find a strategy that wins them their freedom. Puzzles about prison escape strategies are a relatively new genre of mathematical challenge, only a few decades old. They emerged from computer science. A prison – a place where access to information is limited – is a...

Antidepressants can cause ‘emotional blunting’, study shows

Volunteers less responsive to positive and negative feedback after course of serotonin-controlling drugsWidely used antidepressants cause “emotional blunting”, according to research that offers new insights into how the drugs may work and their possible side-effects.The study found that healthy volunteers became less responsive to positive and negative feedback after taking a selective...

Starwatch: Mercury up before the sun – but only in the southern hemisphere

Northern latitudes will have to wait until March and April for better view of the inner planetThe inner planet Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation from the sun this week.This means that from the point of view of Earth, Mercury will be the furthest it can possibly be from the sun. For many around the world, especially the southern hemisphere, this means it will be at its easiest to pick...