News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
The simultaneous occurence of extreme levels of ozone and particulate matter have increased significantly in the past decade due to wildfires in the western US Environment 5 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles during the wildfire season in September 2020 Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Shutterstock The area of the western … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope achieved another major milestone today, successfully extending its secondary mirror as it continues to sail seamlessly through its never-before-conducted deployment sequence on the way to its destination. The 2.4-foot-wide (0.74 meters) secondary mirror sits attached to a tripod opposite the main mirror. Its task is to concentrate the light collected … Read more
NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity is poised to make its first flight of 2022. The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity’s next Red Planet sortie — its 19th overall — will take place as early as Friday (Jan. 7), mission team members said in a blog post on Tuesday (Jan. 4). Ingenuity will cover 207 feet (63 meters) … Read more
An alliance of experts in space, sports and the entertainment industry are designing and developing original games exclusively for low or microgravity playing fields. The group, known as the Space Games Federation, has already identified a number of prospective game concepts, from guiding a magnetic ball through hoops in space to space dodgeball, as well … Read more
The Flame Nebula rings in the New Year from the constellation Orion in a blazing new photo from the European Southern Observatory (ESO). In the new telescope view, the nebula, nicknamed “Orion’s fireplace,” looks like an inferno, but it’s actually a colorful cloud of interstellar dust and gas and a nursery for new star formation. … Read more
A dense, magnetic star violently erupted and spat out as much energy as a billion suns — and it happened in a fraction of a second, scientists recently reported. This type of star, known as a magnetar, is a neutron star with an exceptionally strong magnetic field, and magnetars often flare spectacularly and without warning. But even though … Read more
New Scientist once described Isaac Newton as “the supreme genius and most enigmatic character in the history of science.” His three greatest discoveries — the theory of universal gravitation, the nature of white light and calculus — are the reasons why he is considered such an important figure in the history of science. Newton’s theory … Read more
Up to 8% of pregnant people develop high blood pressure that can damage their organs or even kill their babies. Often there’s no sign of the condition, known as preeclampsia, until late in pregnancy. Now, by analyzing patterns of gene activity through RNA markers in a pregnant woman’s blood, researchers have come up with a … Read more
A strain of the antibiotic-resistant bacterium MRSA seems to have colonised the skin of hedgehogs more than 200 years ago – and many other similarly evasive bugs might exist in nature Life 5 January 2022 By Jessica Hamzelou A European hedgehog Coatesy/Shutterstock A strain of the antibiotic-resistant bacterium MRSA seems to have evolved in hedgehogs … Read more
An accidental slingshot hit on a Cecropia tree in Panama has led to a surprising discovery: the Azteca alfari ants that live inside these trees are often ready to fix damage to their living homes. When high schooler Alex Wcislo fired the 9 mm (0.35 inch) clay ball through the tree, leaving clean entry and exit … Read more