News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
The recipe for a great scientific dance video is a lot like that for a delicious loaf of bread. It takes a lot of planning, some pulling and stretching, and a heaping of yeast. That was the formula for Povilas Šimonis, at least. The Lithuanian scientist’s colorful and clever interpretation of the electric stimulation of … Read more
What happens inside a black hole — and how does whatever goes on inside relate to the universe outside it? It’s a mystery that has evaded scientists for decades. It’s also a mystery that could also redefine how we think about the nature of the universe. In a paper published in the journal PRX Quantum … Read more
Various satellites could be targets of the Russian military as it invades Ukraine, said the head of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which operates the nation’s fleet of spy satellites. “I think we’re seeing pretty clearly that Russia is committed to doing what they want to do in Ukraine, and they want to win,” … Read more
A type of chewing gum mixed with a protein that is a gateway for infections with the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, could serve as a low-cost way to help prevent its spread, a recent study suggests. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein, which is present on the surface of many human cells, can be mixed … Read more
Rocket Lab has a new launch pad, and it’s about to get its first workout. The California-based company announced Wednesday (Feb. 23) that it has finished work on the second pad at its New Zealand launch complex, which lies on the North Island’s Mahia Peninsula. And this newly built Pad B is set to host … Read more
By studying light from hundreds of thousands of stars in the Milky Way, scientists have revealed where the pieces that make up our galaxy came from. In a new study, scientists broke the light coming from 600,000 stars into spectra that determine the stars’ chemical composition. In doing this, they were able to reveal which … Read more
The Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars. (Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) An enormous dust deposit on Mars shows the power of Martian wind in a new image snapped from orbit. Standing on the surface of Mars is possibly the largest single dust source on the Red Planet: the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). … Read more
A billion years ago, an absolutely monstrous collision of two clusters of galaxies produced a pair of shock waves of absolutely epic proportions. Today, the structures gleam brightly in radio wavelengths, so huge they could easily engulf the Milky Way galaxy’s estimated 100,000 light-year diameter, stretching up to 6.5 million light-years through intergalactic space. … Read more
Dissolvable painkillers might bring rapid relief, but researchers are warning many of them also come with a hidden and hearty dose of salt. For each half a gram of paracetamol, or acetaminophen, that comes in a dissolvable tablet, you may also swallow around 0.4 grams of sodium, one of the main components of salt. … Read more
If you want to truly understand what makes a machine tick, you need to tinker. Swap gears, lock a lever, loosen a spring, and watch how it goes. When the machine is a deadly virus, you can’t afford to be so cavalier with its molecular clockwork. But researchers are getting around this problem by making … Read more