Science
The latest in science news, from the depths of space to the quantum realm.
James Webb Space Telescope reaches deep-space destination
January 24, 2022
After a 30-day journey, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has reached its destination at the Lagrange 2 point about one million miles from Earth. From this location the telescope can continually face interstellar space with the Sun and Earth behind it.
Energy
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Nuclear fusion milestone creates "burning plasma" for the first time
January 26, 2022For the prospect of limitless, clean energy produced through nuclear fusion to become a reality, scientists need the reactions at the heart of the technology to become self-sustaining, and newly published research has edged them closer to that goal. -
Thermoelectric device wraps around hot pipes to generate electricity
January 24, 2022We've already heard about hoses that get wrapped around existing hot water pipes, using heat radiated from the pipe to heat water inside the hose. A new wrap-around device, however, uses that same pipe-heat to generate electricity. -
Quantum dots make for stabler, more efficient perovskite solar cells
January 20, 2022Perovskite solar cells have come a long way in a short time, but there’s still room for improvement. Engineers have now added a layer of quantum dots to the recipe, resulting in a more stable solar cell with near-record efficiency.
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Medical
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"Goldilocks" sets of immune cells cause dramatic shrinkage of tumors
January 27, 2022A novel device developed at Northwestern can sort and multiply immune cells harvested from tumors with great efficiency, creating armies of personalized cancer-killing cells that have been deployed to induce dramatic tumor shrinkage in mice. -
Anti-aging vaccine clears out dysfunctional cells that cause disease
January 26, 2022Many symptoms of aging are attributed to senescent cells that have stopped dividing. In a new study, researchers developed a vaccine that targets a protein specific to these cells and clears them away, with tests on mice reducing the effects of aging. -
Hydrogel injected into fat stores fights obesity from within
January 26, 2022Next-generation therapies that fight obesity could come in many forms, but one example from Nanyang Technological University that uses a unique combination of light and metabolic function to break down fat has some unique advantages.
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Space
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Two new studies join debate over presence of liquid water lake on Mars
January 27, 2022Recent studies reported the discovery of lakes of liquid water below the polar ice caps on Mars, but others later refuted the find. Fueling the debate are two new independent studies, which have reached opposite conclusions. -
Innovative chemical heating system keeps lunar landers warm at night
January 27, 2022With temperatures as cold as to -232 °C, the lunar night is not a friendly place for electronics. Space technology company Masten has developed a more efficient, safer system that uses chemical reactions to keep lander electronics warm until dawn. -
Discarded SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the Moon
January 26, 2022Showing that space junk isn't a local problem, observations by amateur astronomers have determined that the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched in 2015 will impact the Moon on March 4 at 12:25 GMT.
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Materials
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New technique illuminates micro-cracks in ordinary concrete
January 28, 2022Although concrete can be altered in order to help tiny cracks show up before they become catastrophic, scientists have now discovered that regular concrete does the job pretty well itself. It just needs a coat of ordinary paint, and a light source. -
Upcycled adhesive is one of the toughest materials ever reported
January 24, 2022By carefully tinkering with the chemical structure of a common household plastic, scientists have managed to upcycle it into a reusable adhesive with unique properties, billing it as one of the toughest materials known to science. -
Eco-friendly plastics made from sugars boast "unprecedented" properties
January 17, 2022Researchers have produced a new form of plastic with "unprecedented" mechanical properties that are maintained throughout standard recycling processes, and managed to do so using sugar-derived materials as the starting point.
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Biology
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Scientists announce first known case of orcas killing an adult blue whale
January 27, 2022Along with eating fish and seals, killer whales (aka orcas) are also known to hunt some types of whales. For the first time ever, however, there has now been a documented case of them killing the largest animal in the world – an adult blue whale. -
Drug cocktail regrows frog legs in regenerative medicine breakthrough
January 26, 2022Animals like axolotls can regrow fully functional replacements for lost limbs. In a breakthrough new study, scientists have demonstrated how one dose of a drug cocktail can regrow lost limbs in frogs that don’t normally have regenerative abilities. -
Newly discovered "oral plug" keeps whales from drowning as they dine
January 20, 2022How do whales gulp down huge amounts of water and krill without drowning themselves with every mouthful? Researchers have now discovered an “oral plug” in the throats of some species that blocks either their airways or esophagus as needed.
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Environment
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Giant A-68 iceberg dumped 152 billion tonnes of freshwater into the sea
January 20, 2022The environmental impacts of iceberg A-68 are still being assessed. A new study has calculated that the largest chunk, A-68A, released billions of tonnes of freshwater into the sea near a marine nature reserve, with untold effects on the ecosystem. -
Study finds chemical pollution is now beyond safe boundary for the planet
January 18, 2022Manufacturing of chemicals has grown so rapidly that governments are now unable to assess, let alone control the risks to Earth's ecosystems, taking us beyond a safe "planetary boundary" and endangering the planet's stability. -
Liquid metal catalyst quickly converts carbon dioxide into solid carbon
January 18, 2022A new method quickly converts carbon dioxide into solid carbon, which can be stored indefinitely or turned into useful materials. The technology works by bubbling CO2 up through a tube of liquid metal, and could be used at the source of emissions.
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Physics
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"Quantum tornadoes" mark crossover from classical to quantum physics
January 06, 2022The universe is governed by two sets of seemingly incompatible laws of physics – classical and quantum physics. MIT physicists have now observed the moment atoms switch from one to the other, as they form intriguing “quantum tornadoes.” -
CERN experiments investigate whether antimatter falls up or down
January 05, 2022Physicists at CERN have discovered that antimatter falls down. It sounds obvious, but scientists hadn’t yet been able to confirm that it responds to gravity in the same way as regular matter does. A new experiment provides the best answer so far. -
Is the universe's dark matter hiding in primordial black holes?
January 04, 2022A new model by a team of scientists led by Yale University suggests that the ever elusive dark matter that has so far escaped the detection of scientists may be trapped inside primordial black holes left over after the Big Bang.
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Electronics
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Humidity sensor inspired by camel noses can trace moving fingers
January 20, 2022Scientists have developed an advanced new type of humidity sensor inspired by camel noses that is capable of detecting low levels of water molecules in the air, giving it the potential to help find water sources in extreme environments. -
Touchscreen tech swaps rare metal for graphene, with no performance drop
January 09, 2022Indium is one of the rarest metals on Earth, but it’s a key ingredient in ubiquitous electronic devices. Engineers have demonstrated a way to swap indium for graphene, which is made from common carbon, while retaining the same electronic properties. -
LG Display swaps hydrogen for deuterium for brighter OLED screens
December 29, 2021LG Display has announced the development of a new TV panel technology called OLED EX that's claimed to boost brightness by up to 30 percent compared to other OLED technologies for improved picture quality on big-screen TVs.
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Quantum Computing
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Silicon quantum computing surpasses 99% accuracy in three studies
January 19, 2022Three teams of scientists have achieved a major milestone in quantum computing. All three groups demonstrated better than 99 percent accuracy in silicon-based quantum devices, paving the way for practical, scalable, error-free quantum computers. -
IBM unleashes the Eagle, the world's most powerful quantum processor
November 16, 2021IBM has unveiled the Eagle, the world’s most powerful quantum processor. Boasting 127 quantum bits (qubits), the Eagle is a major step towards commercial quantum computers outperforming traditional machines. -
Quantum computing hits the desktop, no cryo-cooling required
September 27, 2021An Australian/German company is developing powerful quantum accelerators the size of graphics cards. They work at room temperature, undercutting and outperforming today's huge, cryo-cooled quantum supercomputers, promising industry-wide disruption.
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