News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
A compact weapon that generates a beam of microwaves can knock out electronic devices without causing harm to people Technology 14 February 2022 By David Hambling Artist’s impression of drones carrying the Leonidas Pod Epirus A microwave weapon that can be carried by a drone is powerful enough to shoot down other drones and can … Read more
After I hit middle age, I noticed that printed words on a page didn’t look as crisp as they used to. Like many people, I’ve been wearing reading glasses ever since. But one day recently I squeezed a few drops of a new prescription drug into my eyes instead. A few minutes later, the text … Read more
Even though you might not be able to see it with the naked eye, photographing the Milky Way isn’t as difficult as it first seems. It’s easy to find remarkable pictures online of the Milky Way glistening brightly, fronted by a forest or other landmark, and become despondent… but it is easier to capture than … Read more
There are only two flowering plants native to Antarctica and both have seen an explosion in their numbers in the decade from 2009 to 2019 Environment 14 February 2022 By Alex Wilkins Deschampsia antarctica is one of two flowering plants native to Antarctica Nature/Getty Images Plants in Antarctica are growing more quickly due to climate … Read more
Feeling lonely after devouring “Leviathan Falls,” the final book in “The Expanse” series of space opera novels by Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham (writing as James S.A. Corey) that dropped this past November? Help is on the way! Acolytes of riveting military sci-fi combat should flock to “The Shattered Skies” (Del Rey, 2022), Australian author … Read more
By Leah Crane Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis Polaris Program SpaceX has announced a new project aiming to take its Dragon spacecraft higher than ever before. The first flight of this programme, called Polaris Dawn, is scheduled for the end of 2022. Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman who sponsored and flew … Read more
The DSLR – digital single reflex camera – was king until mirrorless digital cameras first began to appear in the late 2000s. Mirrorless models immediately shook up the scene, and while professional photographers continued to lean towards the familiarity of the DSLR, many casual and hobbyist users began to opt for the smaller, lightweight mirrorless … Read more
Synthetic human faces are so convincing they can fool even trained observers, and they may be highly effective for use in scams Technology 14 February 2022 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre A collage of fake faces generated by an AI Anatolii Babii / Alamy Artificial intelligence can create such realistic human faces that people can’t distinguish them … Read more
Lichens are important for stabilising soils and providing some animals with food, but the algae within them are adapting to climate change at a rate of just 1°C every million years Life 15 February 2022 By Jake Buehler Lichen (Folmannia orthoclada) on rock in Atacama Desert. This lichen contains Trebouxia algae Matthew Nelsen One of … Read more
Alzheimer’s is an insidious brain disease marked by a slow mental decline that can develop unnoticed for decades before symptoms arise, but hidden signs of the condition might exist much sooner. New research suggests that the thinning of a person’s retina – the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye – in … Read more