News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Making new molecules to treat disease has relied upon the painstaking art of synthetic chemistry, but now we’re developing robots that could do it all for us Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter Perhaps the most storied aspect of modern chemistry is total synthesis. This is the craft of taking simple molecules … Read more
Scientists discovered remnants of an Old Stone Age culture, less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Beijing, where ancient hominins used a reddish pigment called ochre and crafted tiny, blade-like tools from stone. The archaeological site, called Xiamabei, offers a rare glimpse into the life of Homo sapiens and now-extinct human relatives who inhabited the region some … Read more
Converting sunlight into liquid fuel through artificial photosynthesis would be a huge environmental victory – and the latest prototypes look surprisingly effective Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter Our insatiable appetite for energy has got us into a mess, with the burning of fossil fuels releasing greenhouse gases that are heating the … Read more
Machines made of atoms are being used to sew together new materials molecule by molecule, which could open the floodgates to all manner of innovation Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter Simple molecular machines have existed for about two decades. Early examples include molecular wheels that could move along an axle, … Read more
Sauropods, a group that includes diplodocus, were assumed to walk like elephants, but a new way to analyse footprints shows their gait was most similar to a hippopotamus Life 2 March 2022 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre Giant long-necked dinosaurs walked with a gait that was different from that of any living animal, according to a new … Read more
UK officials refused to sell shares in satellite firm OneWeb in response to demands by Russia, and the company says it is focusing on staff safety at the launchpad in Kazakhstan Space 2 March 2022 By Jonathan O’Callaghan A Soyuz rocket carrying OneWeb satellites at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Roscosmos Press OfficeTASS via Getty Images The … Read more
Thousands of brooding octopus mothers gather at a spot 3200 metres deep off the coast of California because warmer water there dramatically reduces hatching times Life 2 March 2022 By Michael Le Page A cluster of octopuses at Davidson Seamount off the coast of California Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA Thousands of octopus mothers lay and tend … Read more
A wayward rocket stage is poised to bombard the moon on Friday (March 4), and the coming impact has earned some scientific attention. Reportedly, the Goldstone Solar System Radar near Barstow, California, is set to observe the object a few days before impact. And NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will look for changes in the … Read more
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Shortly after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, both governments said that the Russian military had taken over the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. In a tweet, the Ukrainian Ministry of … Read more