The experimental measurement of the fine-structure constant. © Pierre Cladé, Saïda Guellati-Khélifa and Tatsumi Aoyama The most precise measurement ever of the fine-structure constant has placed new constraints on theories that predict the existence of “dark sector” particles. The new value, which researchers in France measured using clouds of cold rubidium atoms, provides a stringent
admin
Scientists have found the genetic basis of ornaments in male swordtail fishes. Males of many species have striking and beautiful ornamentation, which are, aside from helping find female mates, otherwise impractical. Scientists mapped these ornaments’ genetic bases in fish. Nature has innumerable examples of ornaments from mostly the males of various species. Such examples include peacock tail feathers, male rhinoceros beetle
You can now play a video game called Quantum Odyssey, which teaches all you need to rigorously understand quantum computation. Understanding the logic (set of rules, laws) followed by the building blocks of our Universe is no trivial matter – even more, to use this very logic and create meaningful computation, such as solving a
Nature’s 10 is this journal’s annual list of ten people who helped to shape science in a given year. They might have been involved in making noteworthy discoveries, brought attention to crucial issues or gained notoriety for controversial actions. It is explicitly not an award or a ranking. Instead, it’s a way to highlight key
UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway remembers Peake’s Dec. 15, 2015 mission to the ISS as a turning point for British space exploration. Five years ago today, Maj. Tim Peake stepped off a gangway into a Soyuz rocket, fastened his seat belt and took to the skies from a remote desert in Kazakhstan. As he did
A range of innovations and ideas are changing the way construction projects are carried out. Jung Getty | Moment | Getty Images Infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty is to expand its deployment of technology that can manage power use at its sites and, it’s hoped, cut carbon emissions in the process. The system, dubbed EcoNet, has
European Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager. JOHANNA GERON | AFP | Getty Images LONDON — Tech giants could soon face hefty fines and stricter controls over their behavior as part of new wide-sweeping rules in the European Union. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on Tuesday presented two new pieces of legislation that
The Hayabusa2 capsule that landed in the desert in South Australia.Credit: AP/Shutterstock Japan’s mission to bring asteroid dust back to Earth has succeeded. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed on 14 December that a capsule from spacecraft Hayabusa2, which landed in the Australian desert last week, contained black grains from asteroid Ryugu. “The confirmation
Safe, but separate: The author’s daughter taking an exam at home during distance learning. (Courtesy: Amara Graps) Since 10 March 2020, when Latvia went into lockdown, my 11-year-old daughter Vija has attended only 16 in-school sessions. It’s an understatement to say that my work as a space entrepreneur and senior scientist at the Planetary Science
A team of scientists found 20 new species and recorded 1,204 plants and animals in the misty forests of Zongo Valley Bolivia in an expedition done in March 2017. The expedition was organized by an international conservation organization, Conservation International, and was called the Rapid Assessment Program of the organizations. [embedded content] Trond Larsen, the
WASHINGTON — NASA has selected three astronauts for a future SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station as it leaves open the possibility of exchanging seats with Russia. NASA and the European Space Agency jointly announced Dec. 14 they had assigned NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
Most environmentally oriented eyes on the Biden administration are focused — appropriately — on mitigating climate change, creating jobs and transitioning to a clean energy future. Count me among them. So, I’m not holding out hope for a federal circular economy policy any time soon (I’ll let the EU take the lead on that front).
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Saturday called on governments and businesses to implement stronger climate targets starting next year, during remarks at the United Nations’ Climate Ambition Summit. “We call on companies and governments around the world to do all we can to make 2021 the year we turn the corner for good,” Cook
Pedestrians cross a street decorated with Christmas lights in Orchard road shopping district in Singapore on December 8, 2020. Roslan Rahman | AFP via Getty Images SINGAPORE — The last three months of the year are typically synonymous with malls and stores teeming with customers who stand in long, snaking queues to pay for their
Making ready for the first Artemis mission around the Moon and back, the space station is getting a new doorway to space, and how to know when and where you can look up to spot the station … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA! Download Link: https://images.nasa.gov/details-Making%20Ready%20for%20the%20First%20Artemis%20Mission%20Around%20the%20Moon%20on%20This%20Week%20@NASA%20%E2%80%93%20November%2027,%202020
Just inside France’s border with Germany, enclosed between the Rhine River and the Grand Canal of Alsace, lies an island that is becoming a haven for biodiversity. The site, to the north of Basel, Switzerland, is being made into a conservation area in a joint project between the National Nature Reserve of the Petite Camargue
SAN FRANCISCO — BAE Systems is developing miniature spectrometers to provide high-resolution weather data from a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. The company is drawing on experience gained building the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument to develop miniature sensors with applications for weather and climate monitoring. In a six-month $376,000 study completed in
“More of the same, and a lot of it,” says CFRA Research energy analyst Stewart Glickman of a newly unveiled plan from Exxon Mobil to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. But Glickman, and others analysts even more critical of Exxon, say there is a logic and consistency to the oil giant’s position that was reiterated
Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks on stage during the annual Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, May 8, 2018. Stephen Lam | Reuters Google is delaying employees’ return to offices to September 1, and will expect employees to report to work in-person for at least three days a week thereafter, according to an
Taken from the December 2020 issue of Physics World. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app. Inside view Kellie Gerardi returning from a successful microgravity research flight. (CC BY 4.0 Kellie Gerardi) When the Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the Moon in 1969 the whole world
Human activities are damaging our marine environment, and ocean pollution threatens human health, a study revealed. The research was conducted by an international research team that published their results in the journal Annals of Global Health. They wrote about the widespread damage inflicted upon the oceans by the actions of humans, which in turn also cause damage to human health. The researchers
Living cells can harbour protein aggregates with the properties of soft glasses. Credit: EYE OF SCIENCE/SPL Biophysics 14 December 2020 Odd protein droplets that behave like liquids make a smooth shift to having the properties of a solid. Some living cells contain protein clusters that behave like liquid droplets. But these droplets gradually stiffen with
Under the new 10-year agreement, the Space Enterprise Consortium, known as SpEC, is projected to award up to $12 billion worth of projects. WASHINGTON — NSTXL, a company that helps commercial businesses compete for government contracts, has been selected to manage the U.S. Space Force’s Space Enterprise Consortium for the next 10 years. Based in
One of the world’s largest oil and gas companies is betting that the future of flying is carbon-neutral. That may seem an audacious notion from a company whose business model for well over a century has centered around bringing fossil fuels to market — and is banking on petroleum being a key, albeit declining, fuel
The Gmail email application is seen on a portable device in this photo illustration on December 6, 2017. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images Google appears to be suffering a worldwide outage that has taken several services including YouTube, Gmail and Google Drive offline. Several people on social
In-flight video still from BOBCAT during liquid helium transfer at an altitude of 130,000 feet. Credit: NASA Balloon-borne telescopes can observe a wealth of astrophysical phenomena that ground-based instruments cannot, but onerous cooling requirements limit how much equipment can be taken aloft. Researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center found a way to minimize this
Black vultures have been settling a town in southeastern Pennsylvania in astonishing numbers, settling on roofs and trees, defecating profusely, and causing substantial damage to properties in the tune of thousands of dollars. Resident John Enterline said the vultures were regular visitors in the previous years but this year the problem has become more extreme
JOHANNESBURG — The European Space Agency has finalized a €167 million ($200 million) contract with Thales Alenia Space Italy and Avio to deliver Space Rider — Europe’s first robotic orbital spaceplane — in time for a mid-to-late 2023 launch atop an expendable rocket. Under the contract signed Dec. 9 in Rome, Thales Alenia Space Italy
Empty Champs Elysees avenue is pictured on March 28, 2020 in Paris, France. The country has introduced fines for people caught violating its nationwide lockdown measures intended to stop the spread of COVID-19. Pascal Le Segretain | Getty Images Global greenhouse gas emissions plunged by roughly 2.4 billion tons this year, a 7% drop from
UK engineers will soon begin work on a comet-chasing spacecraft that will track down and map one of the celestial objects in three dimensions. Thales Alenia Space, with three sites in the UK, have won the contract to design and build the mother ship for the European Space Agency’s EUR 150 million (roughly Rs. 1,300 crores)
The Airbnb logo is displayed on the Nasdaq digital billboard in Times Square in New York on December 10, 2020. Kena Betancur | AFP | Getty Images After investors spent a decade pouring money into Silicon Valley start-ups so they could keep growing while staying private, the pendulum has completely swung around, and tech IPOs
WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new spacecraft for satellite radio company SiriusXM Dec. 13 as the company nears the end of a record-setting year. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. SpaceX scrubbed a previous launch attempt two days
Reconstructed vortex rings inside a magnetic micropillar. Credit: Claire Donnelly Researchers have observed three-dimensional magnetic vortex rings in a real-world magnetic material for the first time. Contrary to theoretical predictions, these rings – which are spin configurations within the material’s bulk – are remarkably stable and could move through the material like smoke rings move
The National Weather Service reminds everyone not to just think about tornadoes and severe storms but winter weather this holiday season. National Weather Service’s Krissy Hurley said that it is important to not let our guard down and make sure that we have winter weather safety kits. This important stuff maybe winter’s weather safety kits, battery-operated
Matthew Prince, co-founder and chief executive officer of Cloudflare Inc., speaks during the Wall Street Journal Tech Live global technology conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. The event brings together investors, founders, and executives to foster innovation and drive growth within the tech industry. Martina Albertazzi | Bloomberg | Getty
The bill is now headed to the president desk. Trump has said he will veto the NDAA because it does not repeal Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Act. WASHINGTON — The Senate on Dec. 11 voted 84-13 to pass the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, adopting the compromise defense policy bill by a large
An abandoned oil rig in the U.K. during Covid-19. “We’ve been talking about this for 20 years and some of the changes we saw this week were unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of sustainability nonprofit Ceres, speaking about action from investors on climate change. Jason Alden | Bloomberg via
This week, California residents started receiving push notifications on their smartphones prompting them to opt-in to CA Notify, a system that can anonymously alert users that they may have been exposed to the Covid-19 coronavirus. CA Notify, which officially launched on Thursday, is based on technology built by Apple and Google earlier this year called
A team led by investigators at MGH has developed a low-cost, compact, portable and low-power “head only” MRI scanner that could be mounted in an ambulance, wheeled into a patient’s room, or put in small clinics or doctors’ offices around the world. (Courtesy: Massachusetts General Hospital) MRI is the standard modality for assessing neurological disorders,
A special military-grade infrared camera has been utilized to visualize the risks of the airborne spread of the COVID-19 virus. Winter is approaching while the United States continues to deal with the huge surge in new infections of COVID-19. So far, over 288,000 people in the US have already succumbed to the viral infection which public health officials are now saying is
WASHINGTON — Three small launch vehicle developers won a combined $16.7 million in NASA contracts as part of an effort to support the development of new launch vehicles. Astra Space, Firefly Aerospace and Relativity Space won the contracts through NASA’s Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) 2 program, the agency announced Dec. 11. The companies will
Week in Review Stories discussed this week (5:30). Features What will Biden mean for the circular economy? (18:20) Don’t expect the incoming administration to use that nomenclature, but plastics pollution and recycling are far more likely to get national attention. Associate Editor Deonna Anderson chats with GreenBiz’s senior analyst for circular economy issues, Lauren Phipps. How
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is a member of the Artemis Team, a select group of astronauts charged with focusing on the development and training efforts for early Artemis missions. Through the Artemis program NASA and a coalition of international partners will return to the Moon to learn how to live on other worlds for the
Kuka robots work on Tesla Model X in the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Mason Trinca | The Washington Post | Getty Images Tesla informed employees in its Fremont, California, factory on Friday that its Model S and Model X electric vehicle production lines will close from December 24th to
Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here Xinhua/Shutterstock) China has successfully launched a twin-satellite mission to investigate the most-energetic events in the cosmos. The National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched its Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor
WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo aborted an attempted suborbital spaceflight Dec. 12 from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, carrying the SpaceShipTwo vehicle named VSS Unity by the company, took off from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico at 10:24 a.m. Eastern. Piloting SpaceShipTwo were Dave Mackay, the company’s chief test
Inside every smartphone and tablet lies a dense brick with a dark and complex history: its battery. The lithium that ferries charge back and forth likely started out in South American salt flats, where months of evaporation consumes millions of tons of water in some of the world’s driest regions. The cobalt that buffers the
Ultracold reactions: shadows of atoms trapped in layers of an optical lattice, before they are paired into ultracold potassium-rubidium molecules. (Courtesy: Ye Group/JILA) A new technique to cool reactive molecules to temperatures low enough to achieve quantum degeneracy – something not generally possible before – has been created by researchers in the US. In this
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 147
- Next Page »