GOES-T set to launch in March with instrument fix

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The next Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite is set for launch, with improvements to avoid an instrument problem that caused issues in a predecessor mission. The powerful weather satellite from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is set to launch March 1 at 4:38 p.m. EST (2138 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. … Read more

DeepMind has made software-writing AI that rivals average human coder

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AI company DeepMind has built a tool that can create working code to solve complex software challenges Technology 2 February 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Artist’s impression of data Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images DeepMind, a UK-based AI company, has taught some of its machines to write computer software – and it performs almost as well as an … Read more

Watch live as SpaceX launches more than four dozen Starlink satellites on Thursday

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SpaceX is ready to send another batch of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and you can watch the action live. A Falcon 9 rocket is poised to launch 49 Starlink spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 1:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT). You can watch it here at Space.com, courtesy of … Read more

North America Could Expect Over 1 Million More Opioid Deaths by 2029

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A new analysis from researchers at Stanford University and the scientific journal, The Lancet, has revealed a large number of Americans and Canadians are still becoming addicted to prescription opioids each year.   Without “urgent interventions“, the members of the Stanford-Lancet Commission estimate this deepening disaster could claim the lives of up to 1.2 million people … Read more

There’s a Bunch of Bacteria Having ‘Sex’ in Your Gut, And It’s Wilder Than We Thought

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The human gut is the host of a rampant microscopic orgy. To survive, the microbes in our digestive tract are having ‘sex’ with each other on a regular basis, all in the name of swapping secrets on how to survive deadly doses of antibiotics.   A team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign … Read more

Rare Breed of Ancient Trees With Incredible Lifespans Help Keep Their Forests Alive

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The venerable elders of a forest are hugely important to the diversity, fitness, and survival of the woodland as a whole, new research shows – and they bring with them a hardiness and experience in dealing with change, as well as a lifetime of ecological interactions preserved in their immediate surrounds..   Scientists used models … Read more

World-First Experiment That Infected People With Coronavirus Shares Early Results

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Scientists deliberately infected young, healthy volunteers with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – and now, they’ve shared their first results from that experiment.      The new study, published Tuesday (Feb. 1) in Springer Nature’s preprint database, In Review, has not yet been peer-reviewed, but it could provide insight into how mild COVID-19 unfolds, from the moment … Read more

Lung cancer: Cheap blood test detects tumours at an early and treatable stage

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Lung cancer screening has always been expensive, but a simple blood test that detects lipids associated with tumours may offer a cheaper alternative Health 2 February 2022 By Alice Klein Blood samples can now be used to search for early signs of lung cancer Medicimage/Alamy A blood test that can detect lung cancer before people … Read more

Wound healing: Dressing works like duct tape to seal internal wounds

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Wounds in the gut can cause dangerous infections, but a sticky medical dressing can patch them up and allow them to heal Technology 2 February 2022 By Alex Wilkins A duct tape-inspired bandage bioadhesive patch Xuanhe Zhao et al. A transparent dressing inspired by duct tape has been shown to quickly heal internal injuries in … Read more