Most of the universe’s stars exist in pairs, sometimes after the more massive one completed its life cycle and became a white dwarf. This evolution changes the dance between the two, at least if they were fairly close to start off, as the dwarf’s powerful gravitational field draws the outer layers of the main sequence […]
Making Molecules Click: The 2022 Nobel Prize In Chemistry Explained
Creating new molecules underpins so much chemical research, plus many industrial fields from drug manufacturing to new materials. Improving these approaches has huge consequences – and the Nobel Prize committee recognized three people, among the many, that did just that. The winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry are Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and […]
Fat Bear Week Is Back And Chunkier Than Ever
It’s time to put your money where the bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve’s mouths are: Fat Bear Week is back for 2022. The annual competition celebrates the seasonal fattening of Alaska’s brown bears (Ursus arctos) as they prepare for their big winter sleep. The Alaska Peninsula is home to more bears than people, […]
Worm Drool Can Break Down Plastic Bags And Soda Bottles
Researchers have discovered that the drool of wax worms is capable of breaking down one of the world’s most common types of plastic. Although it might take some work to scale up, these wriggling larvae could offer a novel way to combat the planet’s plastic pollution problem. In a new study, scientists from the Spanish […]
Watch World-First Footage Of Orcas Making A Snack Out Of Great White Sharks
Earlier this year, researchers in South Africa observed killer whales hunting great white sharks for the first time, and new footage of the chase reveals that more orcas are involved than previously thought. Released as part of a new study describing the predation event, the gnarly video shows five killer whales getting in on the […]
Musk Backs Down And Agrees To Pay Original Offer Price For Twitter
In a reversal sharp enough to induce whiplash, Elon Musk has agreed to pay the full amount of $54.20 per share for the purchase of Twitter, fulfilling the offer he made prior to trying to exit the deal. The purchase was revealed in a letter to Twitter after the two have been engrossed in an ongoing […]
How Cold Is Outer Space?
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were in space without protection? Aside from the obvious lack of oxygen and slowly choking, you will also be subjected to extreme temperatures which might not kill you altogether, but might make your final seconds in the universe very unpleasant. There is an assumption that space […]
René Descartes Was A Victim Of Skull Blasting And The Skull In Paris Is A Fraud, Researchers Suggest
French philosopher René Descartes’ skull may have been filled with peas, in an old practice known as “skull blasting”, according to one group of researchers. Descartes, of “I think, therefore I am” fame, didn’t have the best of times shortly following his death. It’s not a great time for anyone, but when Descartes passed away […]
These Are The Winners Of The Nobel Prize In Chemistry
The winners of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry are Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and Barry Sharpless. The award was given “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.” The prize is worth 10 million Swedish kronor (about 896,000 US dollars) and it will be shared among the winners. Click chemistry is a very simple […]
The True Story Of “Cocaine Bear” Is Probably Even Stranger Than The Upcoming Movie
Step aside, Paddington. Your services are no longer required, Pooh. A new movie is in production and it makes both of you look like kid’s films. Which, to be entirely fair, you are. Nevertheless, the true story of Cocaine Bear – AKA Pablo EskoBear – is being released as a movie, with Elizabeth Banks directing. […]
One Evening In 1988, A College Student’s Prank Broke The Internet
On the evening of November 2, 1988, in a quiet computer lab at MIT, a student majorly screwed up. Robert Tappan Morris, a 23-year-old computer science student at Cornell University, had written 99 lines of code and launched the program onto the ARPANET, the early foundation of the Internet. Unbeknownst to him, he had just […]
Might This Winter See The Dreaded “Twindemic” Scientists Have Been Worried About?
There is renewed concern that this winter may see a “twindemic” of skyrocketing COVID-19 cases combined with a resurgence of influenza. On September 29, leaders from 10 health systems across the US met with officials in the White House to discuss strategies to deal with the possibility of a severe flu season coinciding with a […]
New Theory Of Consciousness Could Explain Why We Eat Huge Amounts Without Stopping
A new theory of consciousness (that is, how we perceive ourselves and the world around us) has been proposed, in which our brains aren’t actually actively aware of our surroundings, instead processing subconscious memories developed just half a second ago. A team of researchers from Boston University believe their new theory could explain why dieting […]
Exercise Affects Certain Stem Cells In A Way That Could Help Weight Loss, Mouse Study Finds
Getting those squats in, straining for those planks, and going on a stimulating jog (along with other exercises) help people lose weight. But what are the cellular mechanisms that underlie this process? Well, scientists were perplexed due to the number of cells and tissues involved – until now. Obesity is steadily growing around the world. […]
The Moon May Have Formed Instantly From An Unknown Mass Collision
In the most detailed supercomputer simulation yet, an alternative theory has been proposed surrounding how our Moon was first formed. Conducted by researchers from Durham University’s Institute for Computational Cosmology, the simulation suggests Earth’s collision with Theia 4.5 billion years ago may not have been the cause of the Moon’s formation. Previous simulations have suggested […]
First Evidence Chimpanzees And Gorillas Form Lasting Relationships In The Wild
Chimpanzees and gorillas can both recognize individuals of the other species and relate to them in the wild on an individual level, observers claim. Not all the interactions were positive, but generally, they appeared to be positive for both. One might say, Apes together strong. Last year, horrific accounts were released of chimpanzees killing gorilla […]
Ice Bucket Challenge Helped Fund The New ALS Drug Approved By FDA
The FDA recently approved a drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that partially owes its existence to the viral Ice Bucket Challenge from 2014. While this may be a rare bit of good news for social media campaigning – you remember Kony 2012, right? – some doubts hang over the effectiveness of the drug. Late […]
Current “Triple-Dip” La Niña May Have Been Egged On By Climate Change
You might have heard that forecasters are predicting this winter will see La Niña weather conditions peak for the third year in a row – something that’s only been reported two or three times since records began. In a new study, scientists suggest this unusual turn of events may have come about, at least in […]
DART’s Target Dimorphos Now Has A Comet-Like Tail
Last week, NASA’s DART successfully slammed into the surface of Dimorphos, the small body that orbits asteroid Didymos. The goal of the mission is to show that we can deflect an asteroid by changing its orbit – and while it is too early to confirm that, astronomers are getting all types of insight into the […]
Quantum Teleportation And Entanglement Leads To Nobel Prize Victory
Quantum mechanics is weird. And don’t take our word for it. Einstein was less than pleased with it. In particular, with the concept of entanglement, which the famous physicist called “spooky action at a distance”. He believed this spookiness could be explained away but the work of the three latest Nobel laureates and many others […]
