News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Rogue black holes are usually detected by the matter falling into them, but the first truly isolated black hole has been found because of the way it bends the light of a distant star Space 3 February 2022 By Alex Wilkins Artist’s illustration of a rogue black hole Shutterstock/Vadim Sadovski An isolated stellar-mass black hole … Read more
The new variant has been found mainly in the Netherlands and it is more infectious, but it can be detected with existing tests and responds to treatment Health 3 February 2022 By Clare Wilson A computer illustration of HIV infecting an immune system cell Science Photo Library / Alamy Stock Photo A more transmissible and … Read more
Images captured by satellite have been run through an algorithm to automatically detect the biggest plumes of methane streaming from oil and gas facilities worldwide Environment 3 February 2022 By Adam Vaughan Example of a methane plume detected over the United States in satellite images from 2019 Kayrros, Inc.; Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, … Read more
Astronomers have calculated the size of a ‘mega comet’ originating in the Oort Cloud, a cluster of icy bodies that surrounds our solar system Space 4 February 2022 By Jonathan O’Callaghan Illustration of the comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein as it might look in the outer solar system NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva Astronomers have confirmed that a “mega comet” … Read more
Moonfall is a disaster movie that starts slow, but when it gets going it is packed with action, incredible special effects and spooky tentacles emerging from a lunar crater. Despite the subject matter, the film succeeds in taking itself fairly seriously, says Leah Crane Space 4 February 2022 By Leah Crane Patrick Wilson in Moonfall … Read more
ASTRONOMY Telescope reveals plethora of mysterious Milky Way filaments One of the most detailed pictures yet of the center of the Milky Way has revealed nearly 1000 mysterious strands that slash across the plane of the galaxy, 10 times more than previously known. The image, released last week by South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope array, … Read more
Enamel enables teeth to take a stomping and keep on chomping. The hardest tissue in the human body is tough enough to resist dents, yet elastic enough not to crack during decades of jaw smashing. It’s so incredible that scientists haven’t created a substitute that can match it—until now. Researchers say they have designed an … Read more
For centuries, farmers have bred livestock and crops for desirable traits such as faster growth, better taste, and resistance to disease. Now, a new kind of rancher is following in their footsteps: mealworm breeders. Last week, France-based Ÿnsect announced it will spend nearly $5 million on the world’s first large-scale initiative to use state-of-the-art genetics … Read more
Three years ago, astronomers were reeling from the launch of the first 60 satellites of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which aims to provide broadband internet access worldwide. The satellites left bright traces on astronomical images, posing “an existential threat to observation from the ground,” said astronomer Debra Elmegreen, president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), at … Read more
Long before COVID-19 became a household word—in 1946, to be precise—veterinary researchers at Purdue University reported that something invading the guts of young pigs was causing diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss, ultimately killing most of them. The scientists did not know the cause of the sickness, which devastated U.S. pig farms, but they could trigger … Read more