This past weekend, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk promised to reveal photos of the space suit his company has been developing for NASA. Musk revealed the first of these photos on his Instagram earlier today, and promised to show “[m]ore in days to follow”. First announced in 2015, it’s taken SpaceX almost two years
Month: August 2017
A Babylonian clay tablet dating back 3,700 years has been identified as the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, suggesting the Babylonians beat the ancient Greeks to the invention of trigonometry by over 1,000 years. The tablet, known as Plimpton 322, was discovered in the early 1900s in what is now southern Iraq, but
Researchers have shown how astronaut urine, poop and even exhaled breath could be turned into 3D-printed plastics and nutrients, the kind of smart waste recycling we’re going to need if humans are to make the long trip to Mars – and beyond. The trick is in a yeast called Yarrowia lipolytica, which scientists have found
I’m sitting on a train when a group of football fans streams on. Fresh from the game – their team has clearly won – they occupy the empty seats around me. One picks up a discarded newspaper and chuckles derisively as she reads about the latest “alternative facts” peddled by Donald Trump. The others
Scientists at NASA have developed a hugely ambitious strategy to counter the looming threat of an apocalyptic supereruption from the Yellowstone Caldera. Yellowstone is one of about 20 known supervolcanoes around the world, and an eruption from any of these could produce so much fiery magma that the ensuing ash cloud might starve the Earth
Changes to the Turkish secondary school science curriculum that has been expected to take effect by 2019 will be in place next month, according to recent updates on the controversial measure. While the government sees this as the foundation for a simpler, “values-based” education system, for many in the politically-charged nation it’s a troubling sign
Extracting useful amounts of energy from the merging of atoms is tricky business, not least thanks to the challenges of controlling squirming clouds of ultra-hot plasma. Our clean power fusion goals could be a step closer now researchers have tweaked their fusion recipe to add a new ion to the mix. This allows researchers to
In an effort to improve the efficiency of natural photosynthesis, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, has created cyborg bacteria. These bacteria were trained to grow and cover their bodies with tiny semiconductor nanocrystals that act as efficient solar panels for harvesting sunlight. Although most life on Earth relies upon photosynthesis as
Electrons have been caught flowing through graphene like a liquid, reaching limits physicists thought were fundamentally impossible. This type of conductance is known as ‘superballistic’ flow, and this new experiment suggests it could revolutionise the way we conduct electricity. If that’s not crazy enough, the super-fast flows actually occur as a result of electrons
I watched the solar eclipse on my parents’ farm in Wisconsin and got a front row seat to wacky animal behaviour during the celestial event of the century. At the eclipse’s peak, when the moon was covering about 83 percent of the sun, chipmunks popped their heads out of their burrows, and a pheasant started
If you think the weather’s bad on our planet, consider the ice giants Neptune and Uranus, where intense pressures and super-hot temperatures are thought to cause cascading showers of diamonds. Now, researchers have recreated the effect here on Earth. Using high-powered optical lasers to rapidly heat polystyrene, researchers were able to produce and then study
Disney’s cuddly toys of the future could be smart enough to pick out the perfect bedtime story, thanks to a clever new artificial intelligence engine that’s been trained to judge short works of fiction. Using neural networks designed to mimic the learning processes of human brains, the AI was trained using sample stories to recognise
Scientists have re-analysed fragments of a Moon rock brought back in 1972, and say that its composition reveals our planet’s satellite really doesn’t have water inside. Figuring out the wetness of our Moon is highly important not just for future lunar missions, but also for better understanding of its composition and origins. And these new
Mars may seem to resemble a cold, dusty, and dry landscape, but it looks like the atmosphere can also produce violent, unexpected bouts of snowy weather – particularly after nightfall. When the Sun goes down and temperatures plunge, Mars experiences intense snowstorms generated by strong gusts of wind, according to a new study that shows
If you’re currently residing somewhere in the continental United States, chances are you were able to glimpse at least a partial solar eclipse today as the Moon passed in front of the Sun (and we hope you used eye protection, too). But while most of us were living in the moment and enjoying the view,
As the moon snuck in front of the sun during Monday’s total solar eclipse, a NASA photographer captured a once-in-a-lifetime sight. Joel Kowsky, one of the space agency’s photo editors, was in Banner, Wyoming, to watch the solar eclipse when he photographed the International Space Station zooming in front of a crescent sun. Below
Correlation and causation can be tricky to grasp – it’s not always clear how they fit together. Just because two things are linked doesn’t mean that one causes the other… except when sometimes it does. The basics of this rather complicated relationship are put very well in the video below, from MinutePhysics. It uses the
Is our non-stop photo-taking pulling us out of the moments that matter and causing us to forget what we’ve seen? Maybe not, according to new research looking at the relationship between snapping pictures and forming memories. During the study, 294 volunteers were asked to tour a museum exhibit listening to an audio guide – those
Correlation and causation can be tricky to grasp – it’s not always clear how they fit together. Just because two things are linked doesn’t mean that one causes the other… except when sometimes it does. The basics of this rather complicated relationship are put very well in the video below, from MinutePhysics. It uses
Elon Musk and more than 100 leaders and experts in artificial intelligence (AI) have come together urging the UN to commit to an outright ban on killer robot technology. An open letter signed by Musk, Google Deepmind’s Mustafa Suleyman, and 114 other AI and robotics specialists urges the UN to prevent “the third revolution in
The United States will see a total solar eclipse on August 21 for the first time in decades. Some people are travelling hundreds of miles to cities in the line of totality, like Nashville, Tennessee and Salem, Oregon. But there is one thing that could put a damper on the event: clouds. Esri, an international supplier of geographic
Cryonics is the practice of deep-freezing recently deceased bodies (or even just the brains of those who have recently died) in the hopes of one day reviving them. It has been the subject of serious scientific exploration and study – as well as a fair share of pseudoscience, lore, and myth. Fictional accounts like Batman’s Iceman, and the (untrue) rumours
We can hardly believe the latest season of Game of Thrones is already near its end, and we’ll be left hanging for another year to see how the fate of Westeros plays out. Over its seven seasons, the show has left a huge mark, and not just on pop culture. The mad popularity of Game
After more than 70 years, the lost wreck of a US Navy cruiser that played a pivotal role in the closing moments of World War II has been found. The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine on 30 July 1945, just days after delivering components for the atomic bomb dropped on
Many pets have brought home presents for their owners. Occasional mice or birds in the case of cats, and apparently nearly half a kilogram of black tar heroin if you’re this golden retriever. The 18-month-old golden retriever in question, named Kenyon, had a good dig through the family backyard in Yamhill County, Oregon in early
The great American total solar eclipse of 2017 is almost upon us. On Monday, August 21, the moon will slip in front of the sun and cast a dark shadow that will travel across the contiguous United States. A partial solar eclipse will be visible around the entire country, but totality – when the moon
We can hardly believe the latest season of Game of Thrones is already near its end, and we’ll be left hanging for another year to see how the fate of Westeros plays out. Over its seven seasons, the show has left a huge mark, and not just on pop culture. The mad popularity of Game
On 1 September, a mammoth 4.4 kilometre (2.7 mile) chunk of rock will pass within an astronomical whisker of our planet – the largest near-Earth object to come this close since NASA set up its Near Earth Observations program in 1998. Don’t bother unlocking the old bomb shelter, though. At 18 times the distance between
Hypothetically – if you threw a mouse, a dog, and an elephant off a skyscraper, what would happen? Well, if you’ve never thought about this before you’re in for a treat – as this new video from Kurzgesagt has all the weird and wonderful answers for you. To start with, the mouse would walk
After years of research, scientists have worked out how some bacteria are able to survive inside amoebae – by stabbing them with microscopic daggers to prevent digestion. This miniature game of biological swordplay was discovered through a new method where amoebae are frozen to minus 180°C (minus 292°F) and then gradually chiselled with a focussed
Scientists have developed a packaging-free, instantly dissolvable milk capsule that you can drop straight into your hot beverage, making them easier to use than the conventional little cartons we’re all used to, and reducing waste along the way. They’re essentially like sugar cubes but for milk, and the team behind them says they’re produced along
Scientists have unearthed a new class of chemical reaction which had been overlooked since it was first predicted to exist almost 100 years ago. It is thought this could open the possibility for new engine designs and even be used to understand a range of fundamental issues around climate change and the conditions that gave
One manufacturing company just made history by successfully using a special 3D printer in extreme, space-like conditions. The team printed polymer alloy parts in a super-high vacuum, and hope their new tech will allow the design and manufacture of much more ambitious spacecraft and space-based telescopes. “This is an important milestone, because it means
Make mine a Laphroaig Islay single malt, at least 18 years in the barrel. Oh, and a side of water. Science says you can wipe that condescending smirk from your face, while you’re at it. A lot of whisky drinkers (or whiskey if you prefer the Irish spelling) will tell you a dash of H2O
Devastating floods and landslides have hit India, Nepal, and Bangladesh over the past week, as the monsoon season has brought extremely heavy rains. Amidst reports of rising death tolls in the region, there’s one flicker of positivity – footage has emerged of trained elephants helping with the rescue efforts, as they carry people to safety
Forty years ago, the Voyager 1 and 2 missions began their journey from Earth to become the farthest-reaching missions in history. In the course of their missions, the two probes spent the next two decades sailing past the gas giants of Jupiter and Saturn. And while Voyager 1 then ventured into the outer Solar System, Voyager 2 swung by Uranus and Neptune, becoming the first and only probe in
Roughly 55 million light years away, in the galaxy NGC 5643, an exploding star sent a wave of gas and radiation crashing into a neighbouring sun. And it was just what astrophysicists had been waiting for. To the researchers who caught a glimpse of this cataclysmic event it was solid evidence that this type of
Darkness is coming. At least, partial darkness, depending on where you live. On Monday, August 21, people across the US will have the chance to see a total or partial eclipse. Only those in a 70 mile band will see the Sun fully blackened out by the Moon, but most of us will at least see some of
No one did tombs like the ancient Egyptians, and archaeologists have just discovered three new ones in northeast Egypt, all more than 2,000 years old. The finds are set to provide experts with a treasure trove of new artefacts, including bones, clay fragments, and even several sarcophagi of differing sizes that will shed more light on how
President Donald Trump’s vow to hit North Korea with ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’ is an unveiled threat to unleash America’s most potent weapons of mass destruction onto the Korean peninsula. According to many defence analysts, the risk of nuclear confrontation over Europe and the Indian subcontinent has also increased in
A closer look at data from NASA’s oldest functional Mars orbiter has thrown up a puzzling result scientists didn’t see coming: the Red Planet is hiding water ice where there shouldn’t be any. A reanalysis of readings sourced by the Mars Odyssey probe reveals substantial amounts of water ice buried just under the Martian surface
You know the drill. On Monday 21 August the contiguous United States will experience a total solar eclipse – the first time the path of the Moon’s shadow will travel across the entire country since 1918. There will be hype, there will be science, and there will be what we estimate to be about a
In the United States, the next total solar eclipse will happen on August 21, 2017 – the first time since 1979. Next week’s eclipse will be the first to cross the entire continental United States since 1918, however. According to NASA, the total solar eclipse on February 26, 1979 crossed through Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
For the first time, researchers have amazingly captured the offshore calls of Gentoo penguins as they forage in the freezing waters of the Antarctic Ocean. Using miniature GoPro-style ‘penguincams’ fastened to the backs of the seabirds, the team found that vocal communication amongst these penguins is linked to group formation rather than food gathering.
When you’re away from home, care packages matter. But nothing quite says ‘we care’ like fresh ice cream launched into Earth’s orbit by a SpaceX rocket. In the most ambitiously orchestrated snack delivery in human history, astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) have received a shipment of ice cream from home – and
Over half a billion years ago our planet experienced the mother of all ice ages. One that not only turned Earth into a giant snow ball, but, according to new research, probably gave complex life the kick in the pants it needed to flourish. Organic molecules found trapped inside sedimentary rocks from the Australian outback
On August 1, security footage revealed that a giant tortoise named Aboo had walked out the gates of an animal park in Japan and wandered off in an unknown direction. You’d think she wouldn’t get very far, but staff were unable to locate the tortoise for more than two weeks. Worried that she may have
For the first time in nearly 100 years, the shadow of a total solar eclipse is going to sweep across the United States. The umbra — the darkest shadow cast by the moon blocking the sun — will appear in the Pacific Ocean and slice through 12 US states on Monday, August 21. Starting