News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
ESSEN, Germany — In a coal heartland of Germany stands a monument to the source of its economic might: a giant mine more than a half-mile deep that once produced the largest amount of coal in the world. Built at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the Zollverein mine cemented Germany’s place as a coal … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed all five layers of its tennis-court-sized sunshield, a prerequisite for the telescope’s science operations and the most nerve-wracking part of its risky deployment. The challenging procedure, which required careful tensioning of each of the five hair-thin layers of the elaborate sunshield structure was a seamless success today … Read more
As the world’s eyes turn to the deployment of a new space telescope, the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF) is shining light on the last astronauts to visit one. The foundation, which maintains the Space Mirror Memorial and operates the Center for Space Education, both at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, has revealed … Read more
Netflix has confirmed that the space-themed satire “Space Force” will return early this year — Friday, Feb. 18 to be precise. The streaming service hasn’t given any clues away yet, not even a trailer, but it’s more than likely to pick up from the ending of Season 1 with the threat of nuclear war hanging … Read more
In the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, expect more variants, lower death rates and some continuing restrictions Health 4 January 2022 By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson and Helen Thomson Theme park visitors show their covid passes in France, July 2021 SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AFP via Getty Images While the pandemic is unlikely to fully end in 2022, … Read more
The sun is just a little bit closer in Earth’s sky right now. Earth is at its closest to the sun Tuesday (Jan. 4) in its 365.25-day journey. This milestone, called perihelion, coincidentally happens near the start of the Gregorian calendar year observed by much of the world, including in North America. The exact moment … Read more
The massive space telescope, which launched on Christmas Day, is in the process of deploying its sunshield. If anything goes wrong, it could endanger the entire mission Space 4 January 2022 By Alex Wilkins A final glimpse of the James Webb Space Telescope Arianespace, ESA, NASA, CSA, CNES After a nail-biting launch on Christmas Day, … Read more
ASML Holding, which supplies a vital technology used in computer chips has reported a fire at a manufacturing plant, but the extent of the damage is not yet known Technology 4 January 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Photolithography systems are used to manufacture computer chips PaulRaats/ASML A fire at a factory owned by the sole provider … Read more
By Michael Le Page A BioNTech worker tests the procedures for making mRNA Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 2022 could be the year when we find out whether mRNA vaccine technology can be used for a lot more than just making vaccines. The hope is that it can also get our bodies to produce drugs that … Read more
By Matthew Sparkes Google’s Sycamore quantum processor is one of the most advanced Peter Kneffel/dpa/Alamy A POWERFUL quantum computer could crack encryption and solve problems that classical machines find impossible. Although no one has yet succeeded in building such a device, recently we have seen a gathering pace of progress – so could 2022 be … Read more