News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
A solar storm that erupted from the sun on Monday (Dec. 20) may boost northern lights displays around the north pole just ahead of Santa’s trip this weekend, the U.K. Met Office space weather forecasting center said today (Dec. 22). The solar storm was caused by a coronal mass ejection, or CME, a powerful eruption … Read more
Earth and Mars likely arose from collisions between giant moon-size rocks instead of the clumping together of tiny pebbles over time, a new study found. Previous research suggested there may be two primary ways in which rocky planets such as Earth are built. The classic model proposes that moon-to-Mars-size rocks dubbed planetary embryos once regularly … Read more
In the 30 years since New York City adopted its first official waterfront plan, hundreds of miles of shoreline have been revitalized with parks and greenways, retail businesses, high-rise condominiums and office towers. Now comes the hard part: protecting billions of dollars of shoreline property and infrastructure across all of New York’s boroughs from the … Read more
The evolutionary fitness of Atlantic salmon is being damaged by genetic contamination as wild fish breed with escapees from fish farms Life 22 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan A salmon farm in Norway Marius Dobilas/Shutterstock When wild Atlantic salmon breed with escaped farmed salmon, their descendants grow faster and mature at a younger age, undermining … Read more
In 1900, at the Paris Conference of the International Congress of Mathematicians at the Sorbonne, David Hilbert enumerated 23 open mathematical questions and set an agenda for a broad range of studies that continue to influence modern mathematics today. Since then, scientists in other disciplines, such as astrophysics and biology, have followed Hilbert’s example: They … Read more
NASA’s much-awaited next-generation space telescope is finally ready to launch—just as soon as the weather cooperates. The James Webb Space Telescope, also known as JWST or Webb, has been in the works for decades. During a news conference held on Tuesday (Dec. 21), project officials confirmed that the observatory is ready to launch. However, within hours, … Read more
For the first time, grafting has been made to work in monocots, a type of plant including oats, wheats and bananas – and it might improve disease tolerance among these important crops Environment 22 December 2021 By Alex Wilkins A date palm two-and-a-half years after grafting. Inset shows a region at the base of the … Read more
Although the jungles of southern Mexico seem like an ideal spot for fieldwork, the region’s sulfur springs are far from a tropical getaway. In addition to the area’s stifling heat, the pools reek of rotten eggs. Their milky, turquoise water is even more inhospitable: it is laced with toxic levels of hydrogen sulfide and contains … Read more
Understanding why plant-eating mammals like antelopes and sheep are far less likely to die of cancer than carnivores may help protect us from cancer too Life 22 December 2021 By Alice Klein The kowari, a carnivorous marsupial, is particularly prone to cancer D. Parer & E. Parer-Cook/ Minden Pictures/Alamy Mammals that live on meat are … Read more
As a NASA photographer, Chris Gunn has been documenting the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) from its early days. Since 2009 he has captured every milestone and witnessed nearly all the pieces of the spacecraft being put together and tested. The telescope is scheduled to reach space in December, and in the months that follow … Read more