Science

Russian military could target satellites in Ukraine conflict, NRO chief warns: report

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Various satellites could be targets of the Russian military as it invades Ukraine, said the head of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which operates the nation’s fleet of spy satellites. “I think we’re seeing pretty clearly that Russia is committed to doing what they want to do in Ukraine, and they want to win,” … Read more

Chewing Gum with GMO Could Reduce the Spread of COVID

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A type of chewing gum mixed with a protein that is a gateway for infections with the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, could serve as a low-cost way to help prevent its spread, a recent study suggests. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein, which is present on the surface of many human cells, can be mixed … Read more

Cosmic detectives investigate the origins of Milky Way material

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By studying light from hundreds of thousands of stars in the Milky Way, scientists have revealed where the pieces that make up our galaxy came from.  In a new study, scientists broke the light coming from 600,000 stars into spectra that determine the stars’ chemical composition. In doing this, they were able to reveal which … Read more

A giant Mars dust pile is sculpted by the wind in this photo by a European probe

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The Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars.  (Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) An enormous dust deposit on Mars shows the power of Martian wind in a new image snapped from orbit.  Standing on the surface of Mars is possibly the largest single dust source on the Red Planet: the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). … Read more

Colossal Shock Wave Rippling Across Space Is Bigger Than Our Entire Galaxy

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A billion years ago, an absolutely monstrous collision of two clusters of galaxies produced a pair of shock waves of absolutely epic proportions. Today, the structures gleam brightly in radio wavelengths, so huge they could easily engulf the Milky Way galaxy’s estimated 100,000 light-year diameter, stretching up to 6.5 million light-years through intergalactic space.   … Read more

Common Over-The-Counter Painkillers Can Be an Unexpected Source of Too Much Sodium

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Dissolvable painkillers might bring rapid relief, but researchers are warning many of them also come with a hidden and hearty dose of salt. For each half a gram of paracetamol, or acetaminophen, that comes in a dissolvable tablet, you may also swallow around 0.4 grams of sodium, one of the main components of salt.   … Read more

Scientists Built a Coronavirus From Scratch, Then Saw It Trying to Hide

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If you want to truly understand what makes a machine tick, you need to tinker. Swap gears, lock a lever, loosen a spring, and watch how it goes. When the machine is a deadly virus, you can’t afford to be so cavalier with its molecular clockwork. But researchers are getting around this problem by making … Read more

Optical illusions: Guppy fish can see visual effects – but not in the same way we do

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The way guppy fish behave suggests they can be tricked into believing holes are larger or smaller than they really are – but they don’t always interpret the optical illusions in the same way humans do Life 23 February 2022 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre Two male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) BIOSPHOTO / Alamy Guppies can be fooled … Read more