News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
If you want to be dazzled by a spectacular northern lights display, your best bet is to skywatch near the North Pole. But that wasn’t the case 41,000 years ago, when a disruption of Earth’s magnetic field sent auroras wandering toward the equator. During this geomagnetic disturbance, known as the Laschamp event or the Laschamp … Read more
James Webb (Image credit: NASA) The James Webb Space Telescope is named for James Webb, who was NASA’s second administrator, in office from 1961 until 1968. Although he is most commonly associated with the Apollo program that sent humans to the moon for the first time just after his tenure ended, Webb also supported the … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope will rest in space at Lagrange Point 2, a spot directly behind Earth from the sun’s perspective. There, the instrument will make powerful observations of far-off celestial bodies; the telescope’s infrared view will be able to penetrate interstellar dust. (Image credit: Northrop Grumman) The James Webb Space Telescope could help … Read more
In Liverpool, England, at a February 2020 conference on the rather unglamorous topic of government purchasing, attendees circulated through exhibitor and vendor displays, lingering at some, bypassing others. They were being closely watched. Around the floor, 24 discreetly positioned cameras tracked each person’s movements and cataloged subtle contractions in individuals’ facial muscles at five to … Read more
Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images “A YEAR of tackling great challenges.” In the title of our review of the year, “tackling” is the operative word. Two great challenges have dominated the past 12 months: the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, and efforts to address climate change, as embodied by the COP26 summit held in Glasgow, UK, … Read more
A flurry of short flights aboard privately funded craft saw space tourism begin with a bang for billionaires in 2021. Perhaps by the end of the decade, mere millionaires will be able to join them Space 15 December 2021 By Leah Crane New Shepard’s first crew and capsule Joe Raedle/Getty Images THIS year, the extraordinarily … Read more
In a year dominated by covid and climate change, we also brought you plenty of weird and wonderful science coverage. Test your knowledge of some of the most intriguing nuggets, if you dare
By Annalee Newitz Michelle D’urbano IN THE waning days of this year, a meme has been making its way across Twitter that goes something like this: “If cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were actually a reliable form of money, the porn industry would already be using them.” Pornography may not be your cup of tea, but adult … Read more
In July, the University of Science and Technology of China announced it had surpassed Google’s claimed quantum supremacy achievement. China’s ambitious quantum computing efforts are all under the oversight of one man, Jian-Wei Pan Technology 15 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes Xinhua/Alamy GOVERNMENTS and companies around the world are racing to build a useful quantum … Read more
In September, GABA-enriched tomatoes in Japan became the first foods modified by CRISPR gene editing to go on sale to the public Technology 15 December 2021 By Michael Le Page Courtesy of Sanatech Seed They may look ordinary, but in September these tomatoes became the first CRISPR-edited food to go on sale to the public. … Read more