After more than seven years of drifting in space, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has finally achieved its primary mission of entering orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. Becoming the first ever mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet, mission controllers with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory received confirmation this morning that the small orbiter had finally reached its destination.
If you ever thought that you were alone in not understanding how light could both be a particle and a wave, you need not worry because you weren’t. In fact, for the better part of a century since Einstein theorized the dual nature of light, even researchers have had a tough time digesting the out-of-the-box quantum physics that this notion required to be true. Many researchers simply assumed that since the math checked out, and Einstein being the brilliant genius that he was, that the theory was right. But now, with some clever experimental design and a super-powered electron microscope, researchers are putting the doubts to rest and proving Einstein’s theory once and for all.
Add two more to the list. Not the species list, silly; the list of creatures to avoid when I’m visiting down-under. As it is, Australia has some pretty interesting, and sometimes terrifying, species unique to that region of the world. But with a new study recently published in the journal Peckhamia, researchers are adding two new arachnid species to the list. And they’re quite the colorful bunch.
As one of these few disciplines, quantum physics falls into a realm of science where well-documented and highly regarded theories take precedence. But explaining these theories requires a deep understanding of the underlying science, and devising lab experiments to illustrate them is a near impossible feat. One research team of American and Swiss physicists with the EPFL Labs in Switzerland, however, are doing just that. And equipped with some wire, a laser and quick-capturing electron microscope they’re proving what Einstein theorized was true — light can act as a particle and a wave.
Finding some interesting chemistry in the rocks of Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover decided to investigate on Telegraph Peak earlier this week, boring into the Martian surface in search of answers. Though the rock powder poses new questions to the chemical composition of the planet, the car-sized Curiosity rover is far from reaching its final destination.
When British researchers went diving in Bouldnor Cliff, a submarine archaeological site near the Isle of Wight in the UK, it would fit to assume that they hadn’t quite banked on finding evidence of wheat beneath the waters. But when the researcher analyzed a core sample obtained from sealed sediments, microfossils with sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) of wheat species revealed that there might be far more to the story of the cash crop and trade in ancient Britain—perhaps even 2,000 years more than what the current history predicts.
Should the vapors be cause for concern? Well it certainly has been a question that has crossed NASA and the astronauts’ aboard the International Space Station minds. Since the snafu on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when a routine spacewalk led to water leaking into space station flight engineer Terry Virts’ helmet, the team has been buzzing with news of whether or not they will be cleared to walk again this weekend.
To better answer Piazzi’s original questions, and some new ones that have arisen in the more than two centuries since it was first discovered, researchers with NASA developed the Dawn Spacecraft mission which was originally launched in 2007. After a successful 14-month-orbit around Vesta in the asteroid belt, Dawn is now moving onto the next dwarf planet and will arrive to Ceres within the next week. And the first question that the Dawn mission would like to answer is a glaring one, visible on the surface.
Though many believed that technology powerhouse Apple would prevail against what the company is calling a “patent troll”, this week Apple was ordered to pay $532.9 million in fines as a result of patent infringements. And while the petitioner, Smartflash won’t receive its full $852 million in damages, the ruling is setting a pretty hefty precedent for future lawsuits against the technological innovator.
Ever wonder what’s best: to feed your baby peanut butter or not, for fear of a deadly allergic reaction? Well while past guidelines suggested that parents steer clear of most allergens until an older age, a new study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that avoidance may no longer be the best method. In fact, the study researchers suggest that early exposure may even prevent your children from developing the allergy altogether.
When it comes to severe food-based allergies, be it citrus fruit or even nuts, doctors have long advised to steer clear for fear that consumption may cause the onset of allergies in children early on. But with a continued spike in the prevalence, and severity, of these allergies in recent years, researchers are now looking to change previously recommended guidelines.
Though the studies of space and the seas reveal many unknowns, the most interesting field of science may perhaps be the study of us—humans. Anthropologists and archaeologists excavate remains and remnants deep within the soils of our past, only to reveal what makes humans unique unto themselves. And in this quest for knowledge, researchers have often come to find that while tales of kings and ancient pharaohs may satiate the public, it’s the stories of religion and artifacts that really create the big picture.
If you were in the area of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii last week and thought that you were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of humpback whale, you were probably right. But the sighting wasn’t such as a rare sight, with the more than 25 ton mammal acting as a sitting duck along the Big Island’s Kona Coast.
Forget Ebola, Americans may have an even more viral threat, mutating close to home. Months ago we reported on the death of a Kansas man who had been bitten by ticks and died from complications with what appeared to be a virus—what researchers called the “Bourbon Virus”. Now, health officials say that the virus is not anything like which they have ever seen, and as a member of an entirely novel genus of viruses, it may pose significant health risks throughout the United States.
How’d you spend your weekend? Bet you didn’t have as great of a time as NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who clocked a couple of hours this Saturday, Feb. 21, in the void of space. While Virts and his colleague Barry Wilmore have been aboard the International Space Station for a couple of months now, the duo spent their weekend commemorating their first spacewalk with a collage of space selfies, posted on their Twitters.
While these little arachnids are not much to look at, ticks are the carriers of a myriad of diseases, which makes them of great importance to researchers. History has shown that they can cause sepsis, this past summer researchers discovered that the Lone Star tick can create a severe allergy to red meats, and now health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that a new tick-borne virus can even cause multiple organ failure.
Ever seen a snapshot of the universe and wondered just how and what makes the beautiful swirling shapes that modern telescopes now let us see? Imagery of the Horsehead Nebula, the Pillars of Creation, and even the Rose Galaxies have captivated researchers and the public for decades, but finding exactly what causes space dust, planets and stars to conform in such elegant forms has often eluded astronomers studying the infinite wonders of space. But a new study conducted by researchers with the Harvard University Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) reveals that the connection between collections of stars and the elliptical shapes of galaxies may have something to do with dark matter and the presence of black holes at the center of every galactic mass.
As Catholics around the world steer clear from the butcher aisles today, and every other Friday for the remainder of Lent, they’ll be pleased to know that a panel of experts are in support of their new dietary habits. In fact, they’re proposing that all Americans opt for more fruits and vegetables, rather than slowly killing themselves with poor food choices rich in cholesterol and fat.
While growing climate changes and ocean acidification pose particular threats to coral reef species around the world, it appears that researchers may have good news on the horizon. While many reefs have been well-documented and researched, a new study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports reveals that new reefs may be right under our noses, and they be far out of the tropics.
While other wearable tech may be ahead of the curve, Apple continues to miss the mark when it comes to the development of its upcoming watch. While other models offered by competitors boast the ability to monitor heart-rate, amongst a myriad of other important vitals, Apple has announced that they are scrapping the health-monitoring tech from its upcoming product on account of problems with sensors and their regulators.
While all may seem fine in endoscopic outpatient procedures, with an easy check-in and virtually no down-time at all, it turns out that an antibiotic-resistant superbug may be waiting in the OR. Health officials with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the California health department are on high alert this week as news of two deaths in a local Los Angeles hospital have researchers wondering whether the superbug will claim more lives in its wake.
If you’ve ever been pulled out to sea by a riptide you know the true power of the oceans. When a tide changes, waves can crash down on the shores with immense power, and if you’re destined to live on these shores you’d obviously have to endure a lot. And in a new study published this week in the journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers from the University of Portsmouth and the Queen Mary University of London are revealing just how much.
While many factors play into the development of a viral or bacterial outbreak, including herd immunity and preexisting healthcare practices, current outbreaks of the Ebola virus and the measles have many wondering exactly what’s causing the reemergence of such lethal diseases. Well, the obvious answers of vaccinations and poor sanitation conditions are readily available, but many may not consider an even more significant culprit—climate change.
While many factors play into the development of a viral or bacterial outbreak, including herd immunity and preexisting healthcare practices, current outbreaks of the Ebola virus and the measles have many wondering exactly what’s causing the reemergence of such lethal diseases. Well, the obvious answers of vaccinations and poor sanitation conditions are readily available, but many may not consider an even more significant culprit—climate change.
While many argue that the fight against greenhouse gases is long over, climatologists and ecologists continue to urge that the battle continues on. And while the culprits are all the same, the problems with these remnants of burning fossil fuels are taking on new problems. A topic of major research has developed from these changes and now researchers are quantify just how it will impact our world in the years to come.
Covered round-the-clock by rovers and orbiters, researchers know a lot about Mars and its vast desolate plains. Yet, some mysteries remain. Of course, researchers with major space agencies continue to look for evidence of life and of conditions hospitable to support possible manned missions, but even more so researchers are interested in the anomalies above the surface.
What could be worse than living on a frozen tundra, you ask? Experiencing the world in only two tastes has got to be pretty rough. And when you’re noshing down on fish day in and day out, only being able to taste things that are salty or sour has got to be a bummer too. But sadly, this is the life of the penguin.
During a visit to Bethlem and Maudsley School last week, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton recorded a call to action video released today to mark the start of Children’s Mental Health Week. The campaign, which seeks to combat stigma against mental health services, is led by the Place2Be children’s charity in the UK. And this year the message comes in light of new studies which reveal that a third of parents would feel embarrassed if their 15 to 18-year-olds sought mental health from counselors at their schools.
Beneath the glaring surface and choppy waves, many secrets are hidden here in the oceans of Earth. The vast depths hide species unknown to men, lost treasures at the seafloor and perhaps even a cryptid or two. And while terrestrial studies of planets may have been interesting in the 20th century, space agencies are looking to aquatic surveys which may one day reveal the origins of life even farther out in space.
Though advances in HIV research and treatment have come to find ways of mitigating the virus, the disease continues to affects millions worldwide. And when the virus moves quickly, so does fear. In light of the discovery of a new strain of HIV, many are left wondering—could you too be at risk for contracting the disease?