Majorana particles: Weird form of light can be made by ‘splitting’ photons

Physicists have shown that ‘splitting’ particles of light into so-called Majorana bosons, a feat long thought to be mathematically impossible, may be achievable Physics 15 December 2021 By Leah Crane Artistic illustration of a photon split in two Trustees of Dartmouth College A type of light that was previously thought to be impossible may be … Read more

Covid-19 news: Myocarditis more common after infection than vaccines

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool Latest coronavirus news as of 1pm on 15 December Huge study finds myocarditis is at least four times more likely to occur after a covid-19 infection than after a vaccination Heart inflammation is … Read more

Rapid COVID Tests Could Help Curb Infections–Especially During the Holidays

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. As winter begins and the holidays are in full swing, the COVID-19 pandemic has entered another worrying phase. Emergence of the omicron variant, along with increasing rates of infections, have left many people unsure about their holiday plans. On Dec. … Read more

NASA astronaut Christina Koch is breaking records and inspiring the next generation

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Record-setting NASA astronaut Christina Koch is continuing her mission to inspire the next generation of explorers.  As part of a long-duration mission, Christina Koch spent 328 days in space, marking the longest single spaceflight by a woman, and the second-longest after fellow NASA astronaut, Scott Kelly. While aboard the International Space … Read more

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope secured atop rocket ahead of Dec. 24 launch (photos)

NASA’s next big space telescope just took another step toward its highly anticipated launch this month. On Saturday (Dec. 11), the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope was secured atop the Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket that will send it into the final frontier from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.  “After its arrival in the final … Read more

NASA greenlights Axiom Space’s 2nd private mission to International Space Station

NASA has given the go-ahead to another private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The agency will work with Axiom Space to find a window for the Houston-based company’s second ISS mission, NASA officials said in an update Monday (Dec. 13). That flight, known as Ax-2, is currently scheduled to launch from NASA’s … Read more

Parker Solar Probe: NASA spacecraft is the first to ‘touch’ the sun

By Leah Crane An illustration of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Joy Ng NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has reached out to our star and touched its atmosphere. On 28 April, it became the first spacecraft to enter the upper atmosphere of the sun, called the corona. This milestone was announced on 14 … Read more

AI that writes stories works better when it starts with the ending

AI can write a story where each sentence flows from the next in a grammatically correct, statistically likely way, but often the plot will quickly descend into incoherence. Starting with a good ending and working backwards results in better stories Technology 15 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes A still from the film Memento, which showcased … Read more