Science

Shepard vs New Shepard: How astronaut daughter’s Blue Origin launch stacks up

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Laura Shepard Churchley is now the 372nd American to fly into space. Her dad was the first. Separated by 60 years, 7 months and 6 days, Churchley followed in her father’s footsteps — and suborbital flight trajectory — by launching on board Blue Origin‘s New Shepard on Saturday (Dec. 11).  The rocket, named after Alan … Read more

What a Warming World Means for Deadly Tornadoes

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The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. The deadly tornado outbreak that tore through communities from Arkansas to Illinois on the night of Dec. 10-11, 2021, was so unusual in its duration and strength, particularly for December, that a lot of people including the U.S. … Read more

Quad-State Tornado May Be Longest-Lasting Ever

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The monster tornado that destroyed the town of Mayfield, Ky., during last weekend’s deadly outbreak in the Midwest and Southeast may have traversed four states without ever lifting off the ground. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Paducah, Ky., confirmed to the Weather Channel this week that the “Quad-State Tornado” carved a continuous path … Read more

Did scientists solve the mystery of the super-bright exploding ‘cow’ in space?

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An artistic visualization of AT2018cow. (Image credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan) Science studying a mysterious star explosion known as “the Cow” think the blast could have created a black hole or neutron star. In 2018, scientists spotted the super-bright stellar explosion known as AT2018co, and nicknamed “the Cow”, in a galaxy called CGCG 137-068 … Read more

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa delivers first Uber Eats in space

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Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa just checked another thing off of his to-do list in space: delivering Uber Eats. Yusaku Maezawa carried an Uber Eats bag filled with ready-to-eat canned Japanese dishes somewhere in the Soyuz spacecraft that he blasted off aboard to orbit last Wednesday (Dec. 8) for a 12-day mission aboard the International Space … Read more

Satellites see devastating tornado damage in US from space (photos)

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Satellite images show the destruction caused by the deadly tornadoes that tore through six states last week.  Powerful tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee late Friday night (Dec. 10). Satellites operated by the companies Maxar Technologies and Planet have captured striking views of the tornado damage from space.  A Maxar satellite … Read more

Top Ten Emerging Tech of 2021

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Bernie Meyerson: That isn’t just one technology, but it’s a host of technologies that need to come together to solve a really a global crisis. Robin Pomeroy: Welcome to a special episode of Radio Davos brought to you jointly by the World Economic Forum and Scientific American to look at the most promising technologies that could change … Read more

Dangerous blood condition may guard against Alzheimer’s disease | Science

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Medicine so far has nothing to offer that clearly prevents Alzheimer’s disease, although keeping your weight down, exercising regularly, and inheriting certain protective genes can lower your risk. Now, a study has identified another, unexpected source of protection: clonal hematopoiesis, a blood cell imbalance best known as a risk factor for cancer and heart disease. … Read more