News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Precision measurements have long suggested that particles called muons, closely related to the electron, are misbehaving. Now, it seems their shenanigans might be pointing to the presence of new particles Physics 9 February 2022 By New Scientist Jennie Edwards FOR decades, physicists have been aware of a gnawing anomaly in the behaviour of a mysterious … Read more
Astronomers say a “hyperburst” nuclear explosion within a neutron star could explain its strange behaviour – but the conditions required to create the explosion are so rare that we will probably never see one again Space 11 February 2022 By Jonathan O’Callaghan An artist’s illustration of an explosion in space Shutterstock/mik ulyannikov Astronomers think they … Read more
As tensions rise in Ukraine with Russian troops arriving at the border in increasing numbers, a small army of amateur engineers is monitoring events using homemade drones equipped with sensors and old Soviet missiles Technology 11 February 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Members of the Aerorozvidka organisation use custom-built drones to monitor the Ukrainian border Aerorozvidka … Read more
Iceland’s glaciers are melting as a consequence of climate change, but the rate of loss has fallen in the past decade, perhaps because a blob of cold water in the Atlantic is cooling the island Environment 11 February 2022 By Jason Arunn Murugesu Skaftafellsjökull glacier in Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland Guitar photographer/Shutterstock Iceland’s glaciers are … Read more
NASA engineers working to align the 18 hexagonal mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope have released its first pictures. One shows the same star appearing 18 times, while a camera also took a ‘selfie’ of the mirrors Space 11 February 2022 By Leah Crane A selfie taken by a camera onboard the James Webb … Read more
The bridge spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) uses its web to detect the sounds made by insects flying nearby and prepare itself for a potential meal Life 11 February 2022 By Carissa Wong A female bridge spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) Shutterstock/Dan Olsen Some spiders can pick up sounds in the air using their webs as acoustic antennae, and because … Read more
Marie Maynard Daly became the first African American woman to gain a doctorate in chemistry in the United States, in 1947. Later, as a biochemist, she helped to discover the link between high cholesterol and clogged arteries, essential for our understanding of heart disease. Daly was born in Queens, New York, on 16 April 1921, … Read more
Long before Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, once-trusty proteins start to knot together in the brain in a process that may be hastened by poor sleep. Now, scientists have uncovered a possible mechanism linking disruptions in circadian rhythms and the build-up of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, by studying the rhythmic operation of immune cells and … Read more
Goffin’s cockatoos have edged parrots closer to corvids in the battle of the brainiest birds, by revealing their extraordinary ability to use composite tools. Using more than one tool simultaneously played a huge role in humanity’s technological development, but it’s a skill that’s rarely been observed in other animals. Chimps are a rare example, using … Read more
The Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet, identified in 2021, is officially the biggest comet ever observed. The new record, reported on the preprint website arXiv and now accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, bumps the Hale-Bopp comet from the top spot. Hale-Bopp was discovered in 1995 and became visible to the naked eye in 1996; it … Read more