Jin-Woo Han is Senior Scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Along with colleagues Meyya Meyyappan, Myeong-Lok Seol and Jungsik Kim, he has designed a nanoscale complementary vacuum field emission transistor (VFET). In this interview Han explains why his team is interested in VFETs and the challenges involved in creating the devices
Climate change is impacting the yields of the ‘red gold‘ saffron crop from Kashmir this year. The saffron fields that were once lush in bright purple now only have the bedraggled and thin flowers that farmers woefully harvest this year. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Pampore, south from Srinagar city, is
A Philippine pangolin pup nuzzles close to its mother, who is curled into a protective ball. Credit: Gregg Yan (CC BY-SA 4.0) Conservation biology 22 December 2020 The expertise of local people could help to protect an extremely rare Philippine species. The Philippine pangolin is a mammal of mystery: poorly understood, except that it is
WASHINGTON — An upgraded upper stage for the Space Launch System rocket has passed a major review, allowing its prime contractor, Boeing, to start producing hardware. Boeing announced Dec. 21 that the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) of the SLS completed a critical design review with NASA. That review confirmed the design of the EUS, allowing
Ever wondered which sports team has the most sustainable fans? From the perspective of a rights holder, this is becoming a critical question. The answers will drive business decisions for venue operations, fan engagement and brand partnership activation. For the green sports movement, the answers may be the key to solidifying the importance of integrating
CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk poses during a television interview after his company’s initial public offering at the NASDAQ market in New York, June 29, 2010. Brendan McDermid | Reuters LONDON —Tesla stock is too expensive and in bubble territory compared to its performance, according to Vitali Kalesnik, partner and head of research in
After winning the US presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden moved quickly to begin naming the experts who will advise him on a range of issues — including science. He immediately announced a task force of public-health specialists who will counsel him on a strategy to curtail the coronavirus pandemic, and he has since created a
HELSINKI — China successfully carried out a first launch of the new Long March 8 medium-lift rocket late Monday, marking a small step towards Chinese rocket reusability. The 50.3-meter-long, 356-ton Long March 8 lifted off at 11:37 p.m. Eastern Dec. 21 from the coastal Wenchang launch site carrying five satellites into Sun-synchronous orbits. Launch was delayed
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. In this article (originally published in Lateral Thoughts, Physics World’s regular column of humorous and offbeat essays, puzzles, crosswords, quizzes and comics, which appears on the back page of the
Scientists have seen how the Colorado potato beetle earns its reputation as a notorious pest because of its capability of resisting various kinds of pesticides. These beetles can overcome any poison thrown at them, including DDT, mercury, dieldrin, lead arsenate, and more than 50 other pesticide chemicals. They develop resistance against each of these within only several years. How can they
Winter Solstice this year will see a rare astronomical event – the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. True to the saying that ‘every cloud has a silver lining,’ the pandemic-ridden 2020 is bringing a year-end treat for all of us. Google is also celebrating the Winter Solstice and the Great Conjunction with its latest
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max LiDAR camera is unveiled. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images Two companies that make lidar sensors saw their stocks soar on Monday after Reuters reported on hat Apple is aiming to start production of an Apple-branded car for consumers as soon as 2024. Velodyne stock rose nearly 23%
As an emergency physician, Megan Ranney is used to dealing with hard questions about injury and illness. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, she has found herself scrambling for answers. “I kept getting asked by people whether it was safe to do certain activities,” says Ranney. “‘Is it safe to go to the beach, or to
The acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne will be the first test case of how the Biden administration views defense and aerospace industry consolidation. WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet said he expects the U.S. government to approve the company’s proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne despite concerns that it could reduce competition in the
Date/Time: January 25, 2021 (1-2PM ET / 10-11AM PT) Following the challenging, turbulent year that was 2020, what is the state of sustainable business in 2021? Join us for the release of the 14th annual edition of State of Green Business, GreenBiz Group’s award-winning annual report. Each year, the report looks at key trends and
A beam transformed: Optical transforms like tight focussing and total internal reflection, which gives rise to an evanescent field, can lead to out-of-plane polarization components and transverse spin, even for totally unpolarized input light. (Courtesy: Konstantin Bliokh/Diane Roth) It’s been almost a century since Wolfgang Pauli mooted the idea of “hidden rotation”: a new quantum
A new study has found evidence that exposure to metals may cause pre-term birth and low weight babies. Metals can change the concentrations of prenatal hormone composition during pregnancy, according to a study by Rutgers researchers and colleagues. Examples of such metals include arsenic, nickel, lead, and cobalt. They can disrupt the hormones of a pregnant woman while she is
Dutch scientists journeyed close to the North Pole to pursue a question that has baffled scientists for generations: Why is Rudolph’s nose red? Image Credit: Kia Krarup Hansen You may recall the most famous reindeer of all, though you might not have realized that a species of reindeer really does have a particularly rosy snout. In
On Sunday, Elle Magazine dropped a story about a journalist who had found love with controversial former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli. The story was an instant hit. But before long, one thing started to stand out among the story’s many juicy details: an ad featuring a woman in drop-seat pajamas exposing half of her derriere.
In March, with its doors closed, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, let its Rockhopper penguins explore the place. Nature media maestro Tom Houghton (who illuminates the Nature Briefing) was inspired to enrich your day by hiding a Rockhopper in a scientifically fascinating location. Thus was born the legend that is Leif Penguinson and the
For three decades, Paul Graziani never seriously considered selling Analytical Graphics Inc., the Exton, Pennsylvania-based company he co-founded and has led since 1989. “We felt like we got a pretty good gig on our own here,” Graziani said in an interview. In the last 18 months, though, Graziani and his executive team began considering strategies
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, some American politicians continue to deny that climate change exists, while others question the severity of its impact. And among the general public, climate change denial is higher in the U.S. today than almost anywhere else in the world. This is largely the result of the oil and
LONDON – Zoom is gearing up for what could end up being its busiest day ever: Christmas Day. Around the world, there are lockdowns in place that will make travelling to see friends and family on Christmas Day complicated, and for millions, illegal. Over 18 million people in the U.K. found out on Saturday that
Climate scientist Kim Cobb speaks at a women’s empowerment event in Atlanta, Georgia.Credit: Lorikay Stone As the world hopes for swift roll-outs of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, researchers’ ambitions are likely to still be constrained by the continuing pandemic and its effects. Amid shifting career priorities, Nature asked scientists for their advice to colleagues and
WASHINGTON — An independent investigation of a Vega launch failure in November confirmed that misconnected cables in the rocket’s upper stage doomed the mission and made recommendations to allow a return to flight in early 2021. The European Space Agency announced Dec. 18 it had completed an investigation, jointly conducted with Arianespace, into the Nov.
As the year comes to a (welcome) close, it’s worth taking a moment to consider how the circular economy concept has emerged and evolved during this very particular year. Here are three trends that defined the circular economy in 2020, and what they might mean for the year to come. 1. Reuse is on the
Dose and dose-rate distributions produced for multiple treatment beams using (left) intensity-modulated proton therapy and (right) simultaneous dose and dose-rate optimization (SSDRO) for a 10 Gy fraction. The plan quality was best for the SDDRO method using nine beams. (Courtesy: Med. Phys. 10.1002/mp.14531) The primary goal of radiotherapy is to deliver a large radiation dose
Two people, including a baby three months old, died in Cyclone Yasa, a category five storm that brought devastation in Vanua Levu, the second largest island of the nation Fiji, last Thursday evening. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by Yasa, causing damages amounting to hundreds of millions in dollars. The full damage report is yet to
Chinese ground crews are standing by for the return of a lunar probe bringing back the first fresh samples of rock and debris from the moon in more than 45 years. The Chang’e probe is expected to land in the Siziwang district of the vast Inner Mongolia region late Wednesday or early Thursday. It fired
Peter Endig | AFP | Getty Images Amazon has closed a warehouse in northern New Jersey until Dec. 26 after it saw an uptick in asymptomatic coronavirus cases. Employees at the Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, facility, known as PNE5, were informed Saturday that the site would temporarily close, according to a notice obtained by CNBC.
Regan will be the first Black man to lead the EPA.Credit: N.C. Department of Environmental Quality US president-elect Joe Biden has nominated Michael Regan, North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, to lead the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — and scientists and environmentalists are optimistic. Regan, who will now need to be confirmed by the US
James Taiclet, Lockheed Martin’s president and CEO, said the acquisition gives the company a larger footprint in space and hypersonic technology. WASHINGTON — The largest U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced Dec. 20 it has inked a deal to acquire rocket engine and missile manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.4 billion. James Taiclet, Lockheed Martin’s president
Richard Browning, CEO of JetPack Aviation demonstrates his JBPack suit JetPack Aviation It takes visionaries like venture capitalist Tim Draper to reimagine the future of transportation and back ideas many consider futuristic pipe dreams. But this renown Silicon Valley venture capitalist who was an early investor in Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX ventures has a
Radiation therapy providers in the US need to start preparing now for the introduction of the Radiation Oncology Alternative Payment Model (RO-APM) Alignment matters: Accuray is confident that its emphasis on hypofractionated and ultrahypofractionated radiotherapy will prove to be a good fit for the RO-APM. (Courtesy: Accuray) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
The world’s ugliest orchid has just been discovered by scientists, and its scientific name is Gastrodia agnicellus. It is a native of Madagascar. A new species of orchid (Photo : Burian, R. Curtis’s Bot. Mag., 2020)The flower of Gastrodia agnicellus, showing the stem and part of the rhizome.Ranomafana September 2019. British botanists from the UK
Courtesy of Matt Culbertson Gas-fueled motor scooters like Vespas and non-motorized scooters like Razors have been around for ages, but with the rise of companies like Lime and Bird, electric scooters have become a common sight on city streets. At the start of 2020, I found myself riding around on electric scooters instead of taking
Cemetery workers wear personal protective equipment to prepare graves for those who have died from COVID-19 in Juárez, Mexico.Credit: Mario Tama/Getty The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread — and Why They Stop Adam Kucharski Wellcome Collection (2020) COVID-19: The Pandemic that Never Should Have Happened and How to Stop the Next One Debora Mackenzie
New Long March 8 expected to be vehicle for testing state-owned vertical landing and reuse plans. HELSINKI — China has rolled out a Long March 8 to the pad for the first launch of a rocket that will later be adapted for vertical landing and reuse. The Long March 8 was vertically transferred to the
When scientists began seeking a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in early 2020, they were careful not to promise quick success. The fastest any vaccine had previously been developed, from viral sampling to approval, was four years, for mumps in the 1960s. To hope for one even by the summer of 2021 seemed highly optimistic.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 20: Apple CEO Tim Cook greets customers at the grand reopening of Apple’s flagship Apple Fifth Avenue retail store on September 20, 2019 in New York City. Taylor Hill | WireImage | Getty Images Apple has temporarily closed all 53 of its retail stores in California after the number
WASHINGTON — NASA is moving ahead with work on a pair of Mars sample return missions, although some in the planetary science community worry how the cost of that effort will affect other projects. NASA announced Dec. 17 that it approved moving the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program into Phase A of development, working on
Investors are increasingly interested in companies that are environmentally and socially conscious, and the world’s largest asset manager is no exception. In an annual letter to CEOs earlier this year, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said “climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects … But awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe
Through the looking glass: the ALICE detector at CERN is currently being upgraded and may soon provide further insights into hyperon interactions. (Image: Julien Ordan/CERN) Collisions between high-energy protons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN have given physicists a first glimpse at interactions involving exotic particles called hyperons. Researchers working on the ALICE
A friendly deer named Carrot has been making waves online after it was photographed by a wildlife photographer based in Ontario to have survived an arrow shot through the head. Wildlife photographer Lee-Anne Carver of Kenora, Ontario has known the deer named Carrot ever since he was a fawn that passed through her yard. The carrot was
An unmanned Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the Moon returned safely to Earth early Thursday in the first mission in four decades to collect lunar samples, the Xinhua news agency said. The return module of the space probe known as Chang’e-5 landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, Xinhua said, quoting the China
Taylor Engdahl’s motivation slumped after she ran a lonely marathon.Credit: Getty In 2020, I had one big personal goal: to run my first marathon, a Rock n’ Roll series race in Nashville, Tennessee. I had spent much of 2019 training. On long runs I would picture family, friends and strangers cheering me as I made
WASHINGTON — NASA will not repair a faulty electronics unit on the Orion spacecraft recently completed for the Artemis 1 mission after concluding there was sufficient redundancy in the overall system. In a Dec. 17 statement, NASA said it had decided to “use as is” one of eight power and data units (PDU) on the
A recent announcement by Europe’s largest iron ore producer, LKAB, may seem like a technical detail only relevant for metallurgists and steel nerds. However, the company’s plan to invest up to $46 billion over the next 15–20 years to expand into an emissions-free iron process being piloted in Northern Sweden is big news for Sweden, the
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