technical updates

U.S. company Vast has unveiled Haven-2, its proposed commercial successor to the soon-to-be-retired International Space Station. from Space https://ift.tt/vqEeiTk

Alzheimer's disease may damage the brain in two distinct phases, based on new research using sophisticated brain mapping tools. According to researchers who discovered this new view, the first, early phase happens slowly and silently -- before people experience memory problems -- harming just a few vulnerable cell types. In contrast, the second, late phase causes damage that is more widely destructive and coincides with the appearance of symptoms and the rapid accumulation of plaques, tangles, and other Alzheimer's hallmarks. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/JoTKd8e

SpaceX launched two Starlink satellite missions just hours apart today (Oct. 15), one of which was the company's 100th liftoff of the year. from Space https://ift.tt/R3hgonM

NASA's Europa Clipper has embarked on its long voyage to Jupiter, where it will investigate Europa, a moon with an enormous subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life. The largest spacecraft NASA ever built for a mission headed to another planet, Europa Clipper also is the first NASA mission dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/D1IVayq

NASA has extended its CAPSTONE moon mission through December 2025, allowing the cubesat to continue its pioneering exploration work. from Space https://ift.tt/frqBRiw

NASA's $5 billion Europa Clipper probe overcame huge obstacles, including a switch to an entirely different rocket, to launch toward Jupiter. Here's how it happened. from Space https://ift.tt/hxRGzwt

Mentally healthy college students who felt connected to their university were more likely to binge drink than those who did not feel connected to their university, according to a new study. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/b90BudY

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, the second leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide, may be sending a significantly higher number of pregnant people to the emergency department. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/LHn2N6C

You've seen the Predator on the big screen, now here are the top ten Predator comics you must read. from Space https://ift.tt/8T1OAD6

Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau flew three times in space, conducting some tricky Canadarm robotic arm moves. On the 40th anniversary of his first flight, he celebrates how far Canada has come. from Space https://ift.tt/DXnml1w

SpaceX will launch its fifth Starship launch test, called Starship Flight 5, in what will be an audacious attempt to capture the giant rocket's booster at its launch site on Sunday, Oct. 13. from Space https://ift.tt/EzjtSGB

SpaceX's Crew-8 astronaut mission for NASA is scheduled to depart the International Space Station early Sunday morning (Oct. 13), and you can watch the action live. from Space https://ift.tt/WzFdnEe

A new study from The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill university, the University of Ottawa and the University of Zaragoza in Spain elaborates on bilingualism's role in cognition, showing increased efficiency of communication between brain regions. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/JmLpIA4

NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Matthew Dominick captured a supercharged, super-red aurora display from the International Space Station. from Space https://ift.tt/XFWxwdo

The James Webb Space Telescope has observed 'inside-out' star formation in a galaxy just 700 million years after the Big Bang, fleshing out our understanding of the early universe. from Space https://ift.tt/UNYXn0h

The vital ingredients for life on Earth may have been delivered by meteorites from larger bodies called "planetesimals" in the early solar system. The discovery could assist in the search for alien life. from Space https://ift.tt/GZ9J3qy

There's been talk of another spectacular comet putting on a show in our sky after Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't look like the newcomer will deliver. from Space https://ift.tt/2bqi4hF

The Europa Clipper probe rode out the arrival of Hurricane Milton Oct. 9 inside a SpaceX hangar, as NASA's Kennedy Space Center experienced strong winds. from Space https://ift.tt/NBiqZ61

New cameras aboard the International Space Station captured stunning 4k views of Hurricane Milton as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico. from Space https://ift.tt/ZSB1kYr

We often only realize how important our sense of smell is when it is no longer there: food is not as tasty as it once was, or we no longer react to dangers such as the smell of smoke. Researchers have investigated the neuronal mechanisms of human odor perception for the first time. Individual nerve cells in the brain recognize odors and react specifically to the smell, the image and the written word of an object, for example a banana. The results of this study close a long-standing knowledge gap between animal and human odor research. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/yX2lFtg

The Dominican Republic has signed the Artemis Accords, becoming the 44th nation to join the United States' moon-exploration coalition. from Space https://ift.tt/5bvloqU

A cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app has been found to significantly prevent increases in depression in young people who are at high risk -- and could be implemented as a cost effective public mental health measure. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/KRcnPZX

SpaceX is targeting as soon as Oct. 13 for the next launch of its Starship Super Heavy megarocket, but it all hinges on approval from the FAA, which says to expect the flight in "late November." from Space https://ift.tt/v61cuAC

Doctors have long believed the cancer drug 5-fluorouracil works by damaging the building blocks of DNA, but researchers have now found that in certain cancers, it kills cells by interfering with RNA synthesis. The findings could help researchers design better drug combinations for colon and gastrointestinal cancers. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/FyvmAa5

An exclusive interview with "The Ark" creators Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner from Space https://ift.tt/Si3ajtD

NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson reflected on her time in space during a post-flight press conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday (Oct. 4). from Space https://ift.tt/eyZirn8

The James Webb Space Telescope has taken an intricate look at how pancakes of gas and dust feed infant stars and help them grow before influencing the birth of planets. from Space https://ift.tt/dAvbOkj

SpaceX and NASA are standing down from the Oct. 10 launch of the Europa Clipper mission due to anticipated effects of Hurricane Milton. A new target date has not been announced. from Space https://ift.tt/NowR95d

A few hundred eclipse chasers flocked to Chile's Rapa Nui to see annularity from the home of the mysterious moai. from Space https://ift.tt/N9tI0yw

SpaceX will launch Europe's Hera spacecraft on Monday (Oct. 7) toward the asteroid Dimorphos for a post-impact evaluation, and you can watch the liftoff live. from Space https://ift.tt/YRiechP

From water recycling to carbon capture, there are a myriad ways in which space technologies can be applied to help us live in a more environmentally friendly way on Earth. from Space https://ift.tt/HEA4kbt

Researchers have found that exposing a certain class of particles -- micron-sized beads endowed with a special magnetic sensitivity -- to a rapidly alternating, rotating magnetic field causes them to organize into structures that are direction-dependent or anisotropic. The finding is significant because anisotropy can be manipulated to create new, tunable material structures and properties. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/tiYePEF

Researchers describe the mechanisms of how alterations in the CDK12 gene drive prostate cancer development and report on a promising degrader that targets CDK12 and a related gene to destroy tumors. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/hP63Rr4

Using NASA's exoplanet-hunting spacecraft, TESS, astronomers and citizen scientists have discovered a record-breaking system of three tightly bound stars that could fit between the sun and Mercury. from Space https://ift.tt/lIxKdUQ

Mindset and expectations, not just the external environment, shape the 'table of contents' into which our brains organize the day. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Nveg0Ui

The latest photo of Curiosity's wheels shows new — but not debilitating — damage. from Space https://ift.tt/1LrmITG

Exposure to megafire smoke can reduce yields of almond, walnut and pistachio trees. Study shows smoke reduces a tree's energy reserves long after a fire ends. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/JPRbXLS

Just when we thought the sun was taking a bit of a break, the sunspot AR3842 fired off two powerful solar flares, including a monster X7.1. from Space https://ift.tt/M1fl46x

Farming is a notoriously hard profession with long hours spent operating dangerous equipment and performing other arduous tasks. New research finds that indigenous farm employees -- many of whom have legal status in the U.S. after moving from Latin America -- may experience more physical pain on the job than undocumented workers. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/HP6tzMN

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is lighting up skies around the world. We take a look at some of the best photos taken from the ground and from space. from Space https://ift.tt/Fwd04Hb