News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Pansexual Twitch streamer Cameron Bess fulfilled a lifelong dream to go to space on Saturday (Dec. 11), framing the opportunity as an important representation moment for the LGBTQ+ community. Bess launched on a suborbital trip with Blue Origin as one of six space tourists on the company’s New Shepard rocket. They flew with their father, … Read more
A year ago today, Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech covid-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial. 12 months and billions of shots later, several countries are already on a third round of coronavirus vaccinations Health 8 December 2021 By Clare Wilson Margaret Keenan was vaccinated at University … Read more
The European Space Agency’s Mars Express collected data from China’s Zhurong Mars rover and successfully sent it to Earth following a series of experimental communications tests. The Zhurong rover was designed only to communicate with its companion orbiter, Tianwen 1; however, the rover has long outlived its planned mission and the orbiter is no longer … Read more
In warm weather, zebra finches sing heat calls to their unborn offspring, and this programs the nestlings to produce less heat inside their cells Life 8 December 2021 By Carissa Wong A zebra finch in the wild HenrikNorway/Getty Images Zebra finches sing a special song to their eggs to warn them about hot weather, and … Read more
With tiny footballs, cheers and wide smiles, Blue Origin’s biggest crew of space tourists yet clearly had a blast on their trip to space this weekend. Blue Origin launched the six space tourists — a team that included former NFL star and “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan — on a New Shepard rocket from … Read more
By Chris Stokel-Walker Settle in for a lengthy read Anna Berkut Almost no one reads the long and complicated terms and conditions (T&C) agreements found on websites and apps, but now an artificial intelligence (AI) can pick out the important bits for you. These legal documents are famously impenetrable – a 2019 study of 500 … Read more
Baby stars create cosmic shockwaves, a dying star emits halos of different ages and a spiral galaxy can help refine physicists’ understanding of the universe’s expansion. These are some of the top photos this week from Space.com. Halos of different ages (Image credit: NASA, ESA, A. Hajian (University of Waterloo), H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University), … Read more
The proportion of drivers in New South Wales illegally using their mobile phones has dropped fivefold since AI cameras began catching offenders Technology 8 December 2021 By Alice Klein A driver using their phone in a photo captured by a mobile phone detection camera in New South Wales, Australia Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock World-first cameras in Australia that … Read more
Baby stars create cosmic shockwaves, a dying star emits halos of different ages and a spiral galaxy can help refine physicists’ understanding of the universe’s expansion. These are some of the top photos this week from Space.com. Halos of different ages (Image credit: NASA, ESA, A. Hajian (University of Waterloo), H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University), … Read more
The most anticipated space telescope ever is about to launch. It will give us a clear picture of the first stars and reveal the atmospheres of exoplanets too – if it unfolds without a hitch Space 8 December 2021 By Colin Stuart NASA, ESA, V. Ksoll and D. Gouliermis (Universität Heidelberg), et al.; Processing: Gladys … Read more