technical updates

While some places remain mired in the third wave of the pandemic, others are taking their first tentative steps towards normality. Since April 21, Denmark has allowed indoor service at restaurants and cafes, and football fans are returning to the stands. In countries that have forged ahead with the rollout of vaccines, there is a palpable sense of optimism. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3nyzX3e

Musical instruments bring delight to players and listeners alike. Creating the voice—or characteristic style and tone—of an instrument is an exquisite balance of physics and craftsmanship. To date, there has been little analysis of the acoustics responsible for different plucked-string instruments' distinct voices. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xKnGh9

In February 2020, Rio (not his real name), a crab and sea snail processor in Langkat regency on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, found his business drying up. Normally at this time of year his business would have been booming from seafood exports to China and Hong Kong for the Lunar New Year festival. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vBsMKF

A collaboration between researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) and the Human Evolution Research Center (HERC) of the University of California at Berkeley has allowed a study to be published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, which reviews the traditional and more innovative methods for identifying unusual horizontal concentrations of archaeological materials at Paleolithic sites, verifying data both for caves and in the open air. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vzJFVM

There are many hypotheses about where the Indigenous ancestors first settled in Australia tens of thousands of years ago, but evidence is scarce. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aTYkn7

Many languages in the world allude to body parts to describe emotions and feelings, as in "broken-heart," for instance. While some have just a few expressions like this, Australian Indigenous languages tend use a lot of them, covering many parts of the body: from "flowing belly" for "feel good" to "burning throat" for "be angry" to "staggering liver" meaning "to mourn." from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2RdVfHz

Imagine constantly living with mice. Every time you open a cupboard to get linen, clothes or food, mice have been or are still there. When you go to sleep they run across your bed and, in the morning, your first job is to empty traps filled with dead mice. And the stench of dead mice fill the streets. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/32YYANg

OK, first things first. Wombats do cubed-shaped poos. Now you know. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2QKoC47

With job recruiting season in full swing, college students are busy seeking out business professionals who can help them explore potential career choices. As the candidates expand their networks, these informal exchanges can alter career expectations and choices. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3u9tONv

Scientists from several hospitals and research centers have shown what happens in individual cells of patients who died of COVID-19. In a study published in Nature, the researchers describe how infected cells from multiple organs exhibited a range of molecular and genomic changes. They also saw signs of multiple, unsuccessful attempts of the lungs to repair themselves in response to respiratory failure, which is the leading cause of death in COVID-19 patients. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aSdBoq

Nearly 10,000 acres of lush seagrass vanished from Florida Bay between 1987 and 1991, leading to massive ecological changes in the region near the Florida Keys. Abundance of the seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, more commonly known as turtlegrass, a foundation species of the Florida Bay ecosystem, decreased extensively during what is considered to be one of the largest declines in seagrass cover in recent history. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vJSjS3

Is it the key to a good work experience, or lazy management and abandonment? There are strong opinions both for and against self-management, but proper research has so far been rare. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3gWRXmV

The world's oceans could soak up less carbon or even beginning emitting carbon in the future, a new UNESCO report warns. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2QIKOvE

Having a cat (or several) can add companionship and warmth to any household. As you share each other's space, however, you may have noticed a few quirks that your cat exhibits, varying from adorable to plainly bizarre. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3u8Prxl

A mission to explore energy transport in space using a NASA suborbital sounding rocket is scheduled to be conducted the evening of May 7 from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3nLCDuN

Many industrial processes emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, however, current electrochemical separation methods are expensive and consume large amounts of power. They also require expensive and rare metals as catalysts. A study in the journal Angewandte Chemie describes a new aerogel electrocatalyst formed from an inexpensive metal alloy, which enables highly efficient electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide. The main product is formic acid, which is a nontoxic basic chemical. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3u90Z3E

The provenance of oxygen on Earth and other solar planetary bodies is a fundamental research issue. It is widely accepted that the prebiotic pathway of oxygen production in the Earth's primitive atmosphere was via vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photodissociation of CO2 and subsequent recombination of two O atoms. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3u6SZR1

What's the weather like on other worlds? Expect methane rain, global haboobs and a 10,000-mile-wide hurricane. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2SkaxuZ

Commander Musilova describes how the Selene IV crew uses lots of imagination, involving aliens and a heroic Space Force, to fight frustrations from their confinement inside the HI-SEAS habitat. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3aPek9M

The International Space Station will soon open its hatches to a continuous (virtual) flow of over 100 people, and you can join them in "The INFINITE: Living Among the Stars." from Space.com https://ift.tt/3xwCi3z

Former U.S. senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) was officially and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to be the agency's new administrator Thursday (April 29). from Space.com https://ift.tt/3aSQ8Dv

Heavy rains poured down on the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday, causing flooding and mudslides that damaged some homes and further battered areas already burdened by heavy ashfall from eruptions of La Soufriere volcano. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vze2vx

New research indicates that the computer-based models currently used to simulate how Earth's climate will change in the future underestimate the impact that forest fires and drying climate are having on the world's northernmost forests, which make up the largest forest biome on the planet. It's an important understanding because these northern forests absorb a significant amount of Earth's carbon dioxide. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aSPCW3

Scientists from Stony Brook University and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior have pieced together a timeline of how brain and body size evolved in mammals over the last 150 million years. The findings, published in Science Advances, show that brain size relative to body size—long considered an indicator of animal intelligence—has not followed a stable scale over evolutionary time. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3t3yPGf

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology developed a new strategy for producing a wide range of organotin compounds, which are the building blocks of many organic synthesis methods. Their approach is based on the photoexcitation of stannyl anions, which alters their electronic state and increases their selectivity and reactivity to form useful compounds. This protocol will be helpful for the efficient synthesis of many bioactive products, novel drugs, and functional materials. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3sXXSuh

Scientists use many proxies to reconstruct Earth's ancient climates. Pollen, diatoms, geochemical isotopes and fossils, for example, all contribute to piecing together past-climate puzzles. The ubiquity and wide geographic range of insects—like the nonbiting midge (Order Diptera, Family Chironomidae), a type of fly—have made them a useful tool to reconstruct palaeoclimates around the world during the recent geologic past. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xJib2a

In August of 2009, typhoon Morakot passed over Taiwan, triggering over 22,000 landslides and adding another chapter to the forced migration of indigenous settlements in the mountainous areas. A new study recently published in the journal Tectonophysics has analyzed how extreme weather such as that caused by Morakot, when coupled with local geological conditions, can trigger landslides that have caused two forced settlement relocations of one Paiwan group in southern Taiwan in the last 350 years. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3t9kB6M

Drugs and vaccines circulate through the vascular system reacting according to their chemical and structural nature. In some cases, they are intended to diffuse. In other cases, like cancer treatments, the intended target is highly localized. The effectiveness of a medicine —and how much is needed and the side effects it causes —are a function of how well it can reach its target. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3u66eBf

Researchers combined sightings data reported by members of the public and oceanographic modelling tools to show how lost ink cartridges reached their resting place. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3xz2RVG

After three successful test flights, NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity is ready to push the envelope in the skies of the Red Planet. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3u3MVZo

An AI-driven space debris-dodging system could soon replace expert teams dealing with growing numbers of orbital collision threats in the increasingly cluttered near-Earth environment. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2R9gKJo

Intelligent aliens will soon have a space here on Earth where they can share how they made it through their technological adolescence. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3u3Jl1o

With three crewed launches under its belt, SpaceX has now flown astronauts representing not only NASA, but also the European and Japanese space agencies. But there's a glaring absence: Russia. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3gM4nxN

Europe's Vega rocket took off overnight Wednesday from French Guiana with Earth observation satellites on board, six months after losing two satellites. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3eC9P3G

The launch of the first module of China's new space station—"Heavenly Palace"—on Thursday underlined how far the country has come in achieving its space dream. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vtftMd

Around 400 tonnes of oil spilt into the Yellow Sea after a tanker collided with another ship off China's largest crude-receiving port earlier this week, maritime authorities said Thursday. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/32XVPvx

Using experimental "cloud brightening" technology and introducing heat-tolerant corals could help slow the Great Barrier Reef's climate change-fuelled decline by up to 20 years, Australian scientists said Thursday. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3eDYzn9

China on Thursday launched the main module of its first permanent space station that will host astronauts long term, the latest success for a program that has realized a number of its growing ambitions in recent years. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3t4xtLf

Wasps deserve to be just as highly valued as other insects, like bees, due to their roles as predators, pollinators, and more, according to a new review paper led by UCL and University of East Anglia researchers. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2R6Ejmj

Levels of air pollutants in cities in India are on the rise, according to scientists using observations from instruments on satellites that scan the global skies every day. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vvnXTc

The report highlights planting urban trees, increasing community green spaces, utilising brownfield sites and building sustainable drainage systems as effective nature-based solutions in cities to improve wellbeing, bring economic benefit, increase biodiversity and fight climate change. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aNKtP6

A ship's container lost overboard in the North Atlantic has resulted in printer cartridges washing up everywhere from the coast of Florida to northern Norway, a new study has shown. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vrRih5

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a new batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit on Wednesday evening (April 28) and nailed a landing at sea to top off a successful mission. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3u2B4Lh

China launched a module called Tianhe to Earth orbit tonight (April 28), kicking off the construction of the nation's new space station. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3eIyPWX

Europe's Vega rocket returned to flight late Wednesday (April 28), delivering to orbit Europe's most advanced Earth observation satellite to date. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3u6o9rq

A new article used eye-tracking technology to record eye movements of readers and concluded that people with dyslexia have a profoundly different and much more difficult way of sampling visual information than normal readers. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3gNhAGE

A lack of in-person interactions is a primary driver for older people to use social media, which differs from how younger people use it to establish and maintain relationships, according to a first of its kind study of older users by a researcher at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vrpI3z

A group of astronomers has discovered eight millisecond pulsars located within the dense clusters of stars, known as "globular clusters," using South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3ezPvzW

Lilacs are famous for their intense fragrance and beautiful colors, attracting hummingbirds, butterflies and tourists. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3nrKNs1

Researchers at Yale and Princeton say the scientific community sorely needs a new way to compare the cascading effects of ecosystem loss due to human-induced environmental change to major crises of the past. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3gMscpg

Imagine trying to pick up a pebble or scrape microbes off a cave wall in a bulky spacesuit with puffy gloves on, under a time constraint because you don't want to run out of oxygen. That's what the analog astronauts do daily at the HI-SEAS moonbase habitat in Hawaii as they prepare for future missions to the moon and Mars, says Michaela Musilova of the International MoonBase Alliance (IMA) and director of HI-SEAS, the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3gKdtuN

Frequent use of exemptions may undermine public health protections of oil and gas setback policies, according to a new study led by researchers at the research institute PSE Healthy Energy, Harvard University, and Nicholas Institute for Environmental Solutions at Duke University. The study, published April 28, 2021 in Energy Policy, is the first to assess the effectiveness of distance-based setback regulations for unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) or "fracking." from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aJvpls

Today at the Microbiology Society's Annual Conference, Yang Liu, researcher at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, will discuss a new technique to trap and recover microplastics. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3ucM3lr

The space rock fragments originally came from Vesta, scientists concluded. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3t2vozk

Gravitational wave detectors could soon uncover hints of new physics from exotic compact objects. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3aKcSWn

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity managed to snap a photo of the Perseverance rover from the air on Sunday (April 25), providing an unprecedented view of a robotic explorer on the surface of another world. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2S5v71L

SpaceX will launch a new set of Starlink internet satellites into space on Wednesday (April 28) and you can watch it all live online. from Space.com https://ift.tt/32VzeQi

A Vega rocket is scheduled to launch a new Earth observation satellite and several other small payloads into orbit for a return-to-flight mission tonight (April 28), and you can watch it live online. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3aLzR30

Cloudy skies may have allowed water to flow on Mars long ago. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3vi4Pb4

China plans to launch the core module for its first permanent space station this week in the latest big step forward for the country's space exploration program. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/32UwK4H

Boasting azure waters and white sands, a Turkish lake that NASA thinks hides secrets about Mars threatens to become too popular for its own good. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3sZR3Ik

Native American lawmakers in Montana on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to help craft a plan to reintroduce wild bison to the landscape in and around Glacier National Park and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vouvCT

Studies of ancient beaches and fossilised coral reefs suggest sea levels have the potential to rise far more quickly than models currently predict, according to geologists who have been studying past periods of warming. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3eAyxkJ

Washington State University researchers have shown the fundamental mechanisms that allow tiny pieces of plastic bags and foam packaging at the nanoscale to move through the environment. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3eB85aD

Over recent decades, community-based environmental monitoring (often called "citizen science") has exploded in popularity, aided both by smartphones and rapid gains in computing power that make the analysis of large data sets far easier. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aNYa0i

A team has identified many genes that are important in fruit flies' neuron development, and that had never been described before in that context. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3xsgwOd

Researchers have identified a new protein implicated in cell death that provides a potential therapeutic target that could prevent or delay the progress of neurodegenerative diseases following a stroke. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2R88MQA

Researchers developed a machine-learning technique that uses an image to estimate the stresses and strains acting on a material. The advance could accelerate engineers' design process by eliminating the need to solve complex equations. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3vtZ0rd

Industrial fleets from countries around the world have been increasingly fishing in African waters, but with climate change and increasing pollution threatening Africa's fish stocks, there is a growing concern of the sustainability of these marine fisheries if they continue to be exploited. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3ntDf83

New research by UniSA suggests when workers are given control over shaping their own role and responsibilities, they not only enjoy their jobs more, but may also deliver better results. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dVcdDc

Arum Han, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, and his collaborators have designed an experimental system that shows exposure of SARS-CoV-2 to a very high temperature, even if applied for less than a second, can be sufficient to neutralize the virus so that it can no longer infect another human host. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2Qr3Gzf

An international, multidisciplinary team that includes faculty members from The University of Texas at Arlington has published a paper in the journal Philosophical Psychology that wades into the debate about whether fish feel pain. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3aFGa8A

Fixing traumatic injuries to the skin and bones of the face and skull is difficult because of the many layers of different types of tissues involved, but now, researchers have repaired such defects in a rat model using bioprinting during surgery, and their work may lead to faster and better methods of healing skin and bones. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/32RoBhh

The now-familiar sight of traditional propeller wind turbines could be replaced in the future with wind farms containing more compact and efficient vertical turbines. New research has found that the vertical turbine design is far more efficient than traditional turbines in large scale wind farms, and when set in pairs the vertical turbines increase each other's performance by up to 15%. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3dRzINz

New research has resolved a long-standing controversy about an extinct 'horned' crocodile that likely lived among humans in Madagascar. Based on ancient DNA, the study shows that the horned crocodile was closely related to 'true' crocodiles, including the famous Nile crocodile, but on a separate branch of the crocodile family tree. The study contradicts recent scientific thinking and also suggests that the ancestor of modern crocodiles likely originated in Africa. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/335xJiJ

NASA and SpaceX have delayed the splashdown of the Crew-1 astronaut mission due to bad weather at their Atlantic Ocean splashdown site. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3nBe2sx

Where have all the flowers gone? And why is their universal popularity not matched by a universal outcry about their continued decline? It's a question that exercises us on a regular basis at Fauna & Flora International (FFI), usually when some permutation of our name appears in the press. We have been called many things in our time, but Flora & Fauna International is a perennial favorite. The subliminal message, clearly, is that it's high time we put flora first. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xu3hMP

An unprecedented combination of strong easterly winds and low humidity coupled with prolonged drought conditions drove the spread of catastrophic wildfires in the Oregon Cascades last September, a new study has found. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3gH8cEh

Scientists from Wageningen, Utrecht and Nanjing University found a way to estimate income inequality from nighttime light emissions. So-far inequality could only be estimated reliably for a limited group of countries and at a very course spatial scale. The new method makes it possible for the first time to produce a global inequality map. The study appears in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dV9J8b

NASA's Scientific Balloon Program is kicking off an ambitious schedule of 18 flights in 2021 with their spring campaign from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, the program's first major flight campaign since the COVID-19 pandemic began. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xmsRnb

In 1994, physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed a radical technology that would allow faster than light travel. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3nnjgrE

Space is getting crowded. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3nqxuIe

The International Astronomical Union is calling for the pristine night sky to be protected by the United Nations as astronomers struggle with exposures ruined by trains of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3dUW1Sz

After six months in orbit, the four astronauts who make up the SpaceX Crew-1 mission are ready to head home. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2QslFFy

Ship movements on the world's oceans dropped in the first half of 2020 as COVID-19 restrictions came into force, a new study shows. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/334OXwF

The building of new homes continues in flood-prone parts of England and Wales, and losses from flooding remain high. A new study, which looked at a recent decade of house building, concluded that a disproportionate number of homes built in struggling or declining neighborhoods will end up in high flood-risk areas due to climate change. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xtwasv

A study led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History has resolved a long-standing controversy about an extinct "horned" crocodile that likely lived among humans in Madagascar. Based on ancient DNA, the research shows that the horned crocodile was closely related to "true" crocodiles, including the famous Nile crocodile, but on a separate branch of the crocodile family tree. The study, published today in the journal Communications Biology, contradicts the most recent scientific thinking about the horned crocodile's evolutionary relationships and also suggests that the ancestor of modern crocodiles likely originated in Africa. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3gI8Hhi

China will press ahead with its multi-billion-dollar financing of coal plants in developing countries, a top climate official said Tuesday, despite Beijing's stated aim of slashing carbon emissions. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3sUbp61

Blue Origin, the US space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, on Monday filed a protest against NASA's choice of rival SpaceX to build the module that will land the next US astronauts on the Moon. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3ezHTxd

Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels that possibly contain DDT dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to World War II has long been suspected. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/32QUYg9

A towering wall of sand rushed over factories and apartment blocks in northwestern China's Gansu province as seasonal sandstorms barrelled across the country, causing air pollution and traffic accidents. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dSAqu4

When the four-decades-old Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft entered interstellar space in 2012 and 2018, respectively, scientists celebrated. These plucky spacecraft had already traveled 120 times the distance from the Earth to the sun to reach the boundary of the heliosphere, the bubble encompassing our solar system that's affected by the solar wind. The Voyagers discovered the edge of the bubble but left scientists with many questions about how our Sun interacts with the local interstellar medium. The twin Voyagers' instruments provide limited data, leaving critical gaps in our understanding of this region. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xppiwv

On March 3, 2021, engineers completed a successful test deployment of the GOES-T solar array as part of a series of tests to prepare the satellite for a planned December 2021 launch. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3nobttn

In a decade filled by record-breaking events including raging wildfires, numerous hurricanes, unseasonal flooding and historically cold temperatures, NASA has continued to learn more about how the planet is changing and the effect it has on Earth's systems. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dNZ7rr

Few sites in the world preserve a continuous archaeological record spanning millions of years. Wonderwerk Cave, located in South Africa's Kalahari Desert, is one of those rare sites. Meaning "miracle" in Afrikaans, Wonderwerk Cave has been identified as potentially the earliest cave occupation in the world and the site of some of the earliest indications of fire use and tool making among prehistoric humans. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3gGpTUy

Extremist perpetrators of violence often quote verses from their religion's holy scriptures that authorize, or even prescribe, attacks on enemies of the faith. Abdullah H., the Syrian now on trial for stabbing a homosexual couple with a knife and killing a man in Dresden in October 2020, also testified that he had been inspired to commit the crime by a Quranic sura. However, whether the religious motivation that extremist perpetrators of violence emphasize is causally related to their actions is often doubted. Now, WZB researchers Ruud Koopmans and Eylem Kanol can prove for the first time that verses in religious scriptures that legitimize violence can increase support for killing enemies of the faith. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2PqwkzW

As an indicator and amplifier of global climate change, the Arctic's health and stability is the cornerstone of the stability of our climate system. It has far-reaching impacts on ecosystems, coastal resilience and human settlements in the middle and high latitudes. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vjqtLZ

Rewilding—a hands-off approach to restoring and protecting biodiversity—is increasingly employed around the globe to combat the environmental footprint of rapid urbanization and intensive farming. The recent reintroduction of gray wolves in Yellowstone, America's first national park, is regarded as one of the most successful rewilding efforts, having reinvigorated an ecosystem that had been destabilized by the removal of large predators. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3sPVxS4

Xenomorph eggs are delivered to Weyland-Yutani's Pala Station in acclaimed author Weston Ochse's new original novel, "Aliens: Infiltrator." from Space.com https://ift.tt/3dOSEwy

Researchers at Institut Néel-CNRS, University of Saint Louis and University of Rochester recently realized a two-qubit engine fueled by entanglement and local measurements. This engine's unique design, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, could open up exciting possibilities for thermodynamics research and inform the development of new quantum technologies. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/32LROtV

The first emergence and persistence of continental crust on Earth during the Archaean (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) has important implications for plate tectonics, ocean chemistry and biological evolution. This happened about a half-billion years earlier than previously thought, according to new research being presented at the EGU General Assembly 2021. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3sQyPZV

Researchers in Japan have established sustainable cell lines in a coral, according to a study published today in Marine Biotechnology. Seven out of eight cell cultures seeded from the stony coral Acropora tenuis have continuously proliferated for over 10 months, the scientists reported. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3nm3SeS

Scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) have described a way to determine the birth population of double neutron stars—some of the densest objects in the universe formed in collapsing massive stars. The recently published study observed different life stages of these neutron star systems. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3etBILe

Using the ARO 12-m telescope, astronomers have investigated a young starless core known as Lynds 1521E (or L1521E). The study resulted in the detection of complex organic molecules in this object. The finding is detailed in a paper April 15 on the arXiv pre-print repository. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2R3isfy

A study led by researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm shows that the last remaining populations of the Sumatran rhinoceros display surprisingly low levels of inbreeding. The researchers sequenced the genomes from 21 modern and historical rhinoceros' specimens, which enabled them to investigate the genetic health in rhinos living today as well as a population that recently became extinct. These findings are published today in the journal Nature Communications. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/32O2F6N

If you're an "Alien" fan and you've got several thousand dollars spare, this "Alien" Day auction of rare costumes and props is for you. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3aHTFEJ

The next era of our investigation of the cosmos is about to be kick-started by the Rubin Observatory, which is currently under construction in northern Chile. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3eAoP1V

Physicists have long been unable to describe what happened just after the Big Bang when a teensy blip ballooned into the universe, a process called inflation. We may know why. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2QVD5tS

If you have a clear sky tonight, look up! Today’s full moon will be bigger and brighter than usual as the Earth’s companion makes a close approach to the planet during its full moon phase. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3evDtYj

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity broke new ground during its latest Red Planet flight, as video of the sortie shows. from Space.com https://ift.tt/3nkatqr

At 03:34 local time on 27 February 2010, Chile was struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes in a century. The shock triggered a tsunami, which devastated coastal communities. The combined events killed more than 500 people. So powerful was the shaking that, by one NASA estimate, it shifted Earth's axis of spin by a full 8 cm. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3gz7AAG

A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far East on Monday carrying 36 UK telecommunications and internet satellites, the Roscosmos space agency said. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3vioAzd

For Tom Sanders, it's the void left by the death of a cousin and the man's wife, killed when a tornado mowed through a placid Alabama valley. To Markedia Wells, it's the stolen innocence of her sons, who still get nervous anytime it starts raining. Darryl Colburn laments a lost way of life in his hometown, which was all but leveled in seconds. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xlBz50

Researchers have developed the first LiDAR-based augmented reality head-up display for use in vehicles. Tests on a prototype version of the technology suggest that it could improve road safety by 'seeing through' objects to alert of potential hazards without distracting the driver. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3ev6Tpd

One of the evolutionary disadvantages for mammals, relative to other vertebrates like fish and chickens, is the inability to regenerate sensory hair cells. The inner hair cells in our ears are responsible for transforming sound vibrations and gravitational forces into electrical signals, which we need to detect sound and maintain balance and spatial orientation. Certain insults, such as exposure to noise, antibiotics, or age, cause inner ear hair cells to die off, which leads to hearing loss and vestibular defects, a condition reported by 15% of the US adult population. In addition, the ion composition of the fluid surrounding the hair cells needs to be tightly controlled, otherwise hair cell function is compromised as observed in Ménière's disease. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3tSVztH

NASA's mini helicopter Ingenuity on Sunday successfully completed its third flight on Mars, moving farther and faster than ever before, with a peak speed of 6.6 feet per second. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3az5Tzp

China will launch its next robot lunar lander in 2024, and it will carry equipment from France, Sweden, Russia and Italy, the official news agency reported. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2QUKCsT

Melting glaciers redistributed enough water to cause the direction of polar wander to turn and accelerate eastward during the mid-1990s, according to a new study. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3dPx9vF