28 articles from SATURDAY 20.5.2023
There’s no shame in waging war on old age – long live Martha Stewart | Martha Gill
Conquering diseases that appear among elderly people will eventually make life better for everyoneWhen members of the Hårga – Ari Aster’s Swedish cult in Midsommar – reach the age of 72, they are instructed to jump off a very high cliff. “They have reached the end of their life cycle,” the Hårga explain, Swedishly, to their dumbfounded American guests.As horror films go, it’s an...
Humans were using fire in Europe 50,000 years earlier than previously thought
Human history is intimately entwined with the use and control of fire. However, working out when our relationship with fire began and how it subsequently evolved has been notoriously difficult.
Covid-resistant bats could be key to fighting the next pandemic
The only mammals that fly are not affected by coronaviruses. Scientists are trying to work out whyWidely depicted as evil spirits or blood-sucking demons, bats have had a poor press over the years. No vampire film, from Dracula to Buffy, has been complete without an entrance of one of these harbingers of death.But these grim portrayals demean the bat. We have much to learn from them, insist...
Kuenssberg: Why 'boomer' Schwarzenegger won't wait to tackle climate change
The actor and ex-governor tells Laura Kuenssberg politicians must move faster to preserve the planet.
For the first time, astronomers have detected a radio signal from the massive explosion of a dying white dwarf
When stars like our sun die, they tend to go out with a whimper and not a bang—unless they happen to be part of a binary (two) star system that could give rise to a supernova explosion.
Trace DNA samples in the water, sand and air are enough to identify who you are, raising ethical questions about privacy
Human DNA can be sequenced from small amounts of water, sand and air in the environment to potentially extract identifiable information like genetic lineage, gender, and health risks, according to our new research.
Thriving in the face of adversity: Resilient gorillas reveal clues about overcoming childhood misfortune
In 1974, an infant mountain gorilla was born in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Researchers named him Titus. As is typical for young gorillas in the wild, Titus spent the first years of his life surrounded by his mother, father and siblings, as well as more distant relatives and unrelated gorillas that made up his social group.
Artificial intelligence holds huge promise – and peril. Let’s choose the right path | Michael Osborne
AI can fight the climate crisis and fuel a renewable-energy revolution. It could also kill countless jobs or incite nuclear warThe last few months have been by far the most exciting of my 17 years working on artificial intelligence. Among many other advances, OpenAI’s ChatGPT – a type of AI known as a large language model – smashed records in January to become the fastest-growing consumer...
After SpaceX, NASA taps Bezos's Blue Origin to build Moon lander
Two years after awarding Elon Musk's SpaceX a contract to ferry astronauts to the surface of the Moon, NASA on Friday announced it had chosen Blue Origin, a rival space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, to build a second lunar lander.
Atypical 'mad cow disease' case detected in US
US health officials have detected an atypical case of "mad cow disease" in a beef cow at a slaughter plant in the state of South Carolina, they announced Friday.
United States returns 'Earth Monster' Olmec sculpture to Mexico
Mexico announced Friday that a huge 2,500-year-old Olmec stone sculpture has been returned from the United States.
Researchers unveil key predictors of bitcoin returns
Blockchain technology, investor sentiment, and economic stress levels are significant predictors of bitcoin returns, according to a groundbreaking paper from Illinois Institute of Technology researchers that provides empirical evidence to help guide investors, economists, and academics.
Tough spring for allergies? Meet a man who's been doing pollen counts since 1968
Jim Anderson gathers pollen samples from the roof of the building where he works in London's SoHo neighbourhood. It's a labour of love for the aerobiologist who's been gathering samples since the late...
Drug for hot flushes will transform menopause treatment, doctors say
Experts predict US-approved fezolinetant can be a ‘blockbuster’ for thousands of women in the UKMenopause treatments will be revolutionised by a drug that acts directly on the brain to prevent hot flushes, leading doctors have predicted.Speaking after the US approved the first non-hormonal menopause drug, made by Astellas Pharma, experts said the treatment could be transformative for the...
Demystifying vortex rings in nuclear fusion, supernovae
- ScienceDaily
- 23/5/20 03:18
Better understanding the formation of swirling, ring-shaped disturbances -- known as vortex rings -- could help nuclear fusion researchers compress fuel more efficiently, bringing it closer to becoming a viable energy source. A mathematical model linking these vortices with more pedestrian types, like smoke rings, could help engineers control their behavior in power generation and more.