News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Researchers have imagined a lightweight, flying saucer-style rover that can float across the surface of the Moon and other airless planetary surfaces such as asteroids. The ‘flying saucer’ would be powered by the electric field that builds up due to direct exposure to the Sun and its surrounding plasma. In the absence of an atmosphere, this … Read more
The mummy of ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep I was so exquisitely wrapped – decorated with flower garlands and buried with a lifelike face mask – scientists have been hesitant to open up the remains. That is, until now. Some 3,000 years after Amenhotep’s burial, a team of researchers used CT scans to digitally unwrap his body for the first … Read more
The streaming service begins airing its newest Star Wars series, “The Book of Boba Fett,” on Wednesday (Dec. 29). The show will follow the title character (played by Temura Morrison) and mercenary Fennec Shand (played by Ming-Na Wen) in an adventure through the galaxy’s underworld. Boba Fett ties old Star Wars with the new. Now … Read more
Last week, Harvard University chemist Charles Lieber became the first academic scientist targeted by the U.S. government’s controversial 3-year-old China Initiative to be found guilty by a jury. He may also be one of the last, says Andrew Lelling, the former U.S. attorney who charged Lieber nearly 2 years ago with lying about his research … Read more
China’s Shenzhou 13 astronauts ventured outside the orbiting Tianhe module on Sunday and installed a new panoramic camera for monitoring the space station. Rookie astronaut Ye Guangfu opened the hatch of the Tianhe airlock on Dec. 26 at 5:44 a.m. EST (1044 GMT, 6:44 p.m. Beijing time) and reported feeling well shortly after exiting. He … Read more
China launched the Ziyuan 1 (02E) Earth resources observation satellite and a small amateur radio satellite on Saturday, marking the country’s 53rd orbital launch of the year. The China National Space Administration mission’s Long March 4C rocket lifted off from Taiyuan, north China, at 10:11 p.m. Dec. 25 (0311 GMT, 11:11 a.m. local time Dec. … Read more
This weekend saw the deaths of two of the world’s strongest advocates of protecting the world’s flora and fauna. Edward O. Wilson, 92, an ant researcher at Harvard University who also introduced controversial theories about how societies evolve and function, became a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and, later in life, a powerful conservation advocate, died on … Read more
NASA’s massive new space observatory has entered its most perilous phase yet as it begins the careful process of unfurling its delicate sunshield. The James Webb Space Telescope launched on Sunday (Dec. 25) and will be a revolutionary new observatory focused on studying the universe in infrared light. But first, it has to survive a … Read more
An online spirits merchant is commemorating the past and future of NASA missions to the moon with limited scotch whisky offerings for 2022. Scotland-based The Whisky Barrel is marking the new year with the release of the first bottling of its Artemis whisky series commemorating the upcoming first flight of NASA’s new lunar program. The … Read more
Editor’s Note (12/21/21): This article is being showcased in a special collection about equity in health care that was made possible by the support of Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The article was published independently and without sponsorship. Rarely a day goes by without national news stories about vaccine hesitancy: how many people say they definitely will or … Read more