Science

Omicron cases are exploding. Scientists still don’t know how bad the wave will be | Science

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As this year begins, the Omicron variant is smashing COVID-19 infection records across Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia. With massive numbers of people infected or in quarantine, tens of thousands of flights and trains have been canceled, and work and schools disrupted. Earlier in the pandemic, the frightful, near-vertical rise in cases would have … Read more

Russia’s new permafrost monitoring system could improve climate models, protect infrastructure | Science

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With the Arctic warming up to four times faster than the global average, temperatures in the frozen soil, or permafrost, under northern Siberia have been rising, turning firm ground unstable and weakening foundations. On 29 May 2020, the thaw may have helped lead to a disaster, when a diesel fuel depot near the town of … Read more

NASA’s New Flagship Telescope Fully Deploys Sunshield in Critical Mission Milestone

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The James Webb Space Telescope fully deployed its tennis-court sized sunshield Tuesday, a critical milestone for the success of its mission to study every phase of cosmic history, NASA said.   “All five layers of the sunshield are fully tensioned,” said an announcer at the observatory’s control center in Baltimore, where team members cheered, a … Read more

Goldfish are good drivers, new ‘fish-operated vehicle’ reveals | Science

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Exploding meteor ‘booms’ over Pennsylvania on New Year’s Day

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Observations from GOES-16 shows a flash that was later determined came from an exploding meteor on Jan. 1, 2022. (Image credit: Twitter/NWSPittsburgh) A meteor hurtling through Earth’s atmosphere exploded over Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1). Just before 11:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT) on Jan. 1, people in Pittsburgh heard what sounded like … Read more

With James Webb Space Telescope’s huge sunshield in place, focus shifts to big mirrors

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We can all take a deep breath before the James Webb Space Telescope’s next major deployment. On Tuesday (Jan. 4), Webb finished bringing its huge, five-layer sunshield up to the proper tension, wrapping up the most complex and tricky operation of the $10 billion observatory’s lengthy deployment phase.  The mission team can therefore now turn … Read more

Renowned paleoanthropologist, conservationist Richard Leakey dies | Science

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Paleoanthropologist, conservationist, and political leader Richard Leakey died at his home near Nairobi, Kenya, on 2 January. He was 77 years old. The son of Louis and Mary Leakey, whose fossil discoveries in East Africa helped prove that humans evolved in Africa, Richard Leakey added to their legacy with numerous important finds in Kenya, where … Read more

World Health Organization’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the actions that will change the pandemic

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What will it take to bring the pandemic under control? Vaccine equality, social measures and supporting the health workforce, says the head of the World Health Organization Health 4 January 2022 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is director general of the World Health Organization REUTERS/Alamy To change the course of the covid-19 pandemic, the international community must demonstrate a … Read more

Small study suggests pandemic may slow babies’ development | Science

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Babies born at two New York City hospitals in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic scored slightly lower on developmental tests at 6 months of age than did babies born before the pandemic, according to a new study. There were no significant differences between the groups in communication and problem-solving skills. The study, published in JAMA … Read more