News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Christmas is almost here, and the night sky obliges by presenting a beautiful display of celestial sights, perfectly timed out to coincide with the holiday. In ancient times, Dec. 25 was the date of the lavish Roman festival of Saturnalia, a sort of bacchanalian Thanksgiving to the god of agriculture, for whom the slowest moving … Read more
Academics in Afghanistan were thriving before the shock takeover by the Taliban this year, which saw many researchers leave the country and universities closed Humans 24 December 2021
NASA and the astronomy community have poured $10 billion and more than two decades into just one piece of machinery. Now they are facing the moment of truth. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, also known as Webb or JWST, is finally in French Guiana, perched atop its rocket, ready to bid farewell to Earth and … Read more
By Clare Wilson Prescriptions of pills that can be taken at home could help prevent people developing severe covid-19 Backyard Productions / Alamy People in the UK who are at higher risk for covid-19 can now help trial the first antiviral pill for this infection that can be taken at home, while those who are … Read more
NASA is launching a huge observatory into space early Christmas morning (Dec. 25), but you don’t need to worry about it hitting Santa Claus. While St. Nick is wrapping up his annual world tour, presumably somewhere in Alaska, Hawaii or the other Pacific islands in the westernmost time zones, an Ariane 5 rocket will be … Read more
Editor’s Note (12/21/21): This article is being showcased in a special collection about equity in health care that was made possible by the support of Takeda. The article was published independently and without sponsorship. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately hurt members of minority communities in the U.S. As of July 2020, 73.7 Black people out … Read more
Sound engineers used custom-made artificial intelligence to strip out unwanted audio from footage of the band in the studio Technology 24 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes The Beatles’ rooftop performance from 1969 in The Beatles: Get Back Apple Corps Ltd. The Beatles: Get Back, Peter Jackson’s documentary about the making of the album Let It … Read more
Some people go home for the holidays hoping just to survive, burying their attention in their phones or football to avoid conflict with relatives. Yet research now suggests that is the wrong idea. Family rituals—of any form—can save a holiday, making it well worth the effort of getting everyone in the same room. In a … Read more
William of Ockham was tried for heresy before the Pope, only to make a daring escape. His big idea, known as Occam’s razor, remains the keenest tool for honing our understanding of the world Humans 15 December 2021 By Johnjoe McFadden Kiki ljung ON MY daily drive into work at the University of Surrey, I … Read more
The movement of seawater in a tsunami generates a magnetic field that travels ahead of changes in sea level, which could help us predict and prepare for it Earth 24 December 2021 By Leah Crane The aftermath of a 2010 tsunami in Chile, which was analysed in the new study International Federation of Red Cross … Read more