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The U.S. just created a big new biomedical research agency. But questions remain | Science

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President Joe Biden last week got his wish for a new agency to fund high-risk, cutting-edge biomedical research when Congress created the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and gave it a $1 billion startup investment. That’s a fraction of the $6.5 billion Biden had proposed, but advocates say it’s plenty to launch ARPA-H. … Read more

How did CBS’ Big Bang Theory send Howard Wolowitz to space?

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As seen on the popular CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” (now in syndication), the fictional Wolowitz (Helberg) was shown floating on board the International Space Station (ISS), serving as a member of the station’s Expedition 31 crew, during the first four episodes of the show’s sixth season. Of course, Wolowitz was not really on … Read more

Big asteroid slammed into Greenland just a few million years after the dinosaurs died out

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Hidden under Greenland’s thick ice sheet, scientists found what they thought was the scar of an asteroid impact perhaps just thousands of years old, fresh enough that humans were already on the scene. But after several years of additional research, two separate teams of scientists have determined its age to be far older: 58 million … Read more

Biodiversity: How a rodent’s fear of big cats shapes a Central American rainforest

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As rodents called agoutis avoid areas where ocelots prowl, they spread fewer of the palm seeds they eat, which could lead to a cascade of changes in biodiversity throughout Panama’s forests Life 8 March 2022 By Jake Buehler An agouti gnawing on a palm seed Steven Paton A game of cat and mouse is playing … Read more

This long-lost asteroid impact was so big its debris left more than 30 craters

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Ricochet from a meteorite impact on Earth created a huge ‘field’ of craters that so far, we have only seen examples of on other planets. The unique site in southeast Wyoming has more than 30 craters that were formed about 280 million years ago, researchers said in a new study. The craters were created after … Read more

Net zero: The UK is building its last big gas power plant

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By Adam Vaughan The Keadby 2 gas power station in Lincolnshire, UK david soulsby/Alamy Climb the stairs to the roof of the cooling tower at Keadby 2, a new gas power plant in the east of England, and you are rewarded with a story of the UK’s energy past, present and possible future. Straight ahead … Read more

Jupiter’s big moon Ganymede casts giant shadow in stunning Juno photo by citizen scientist

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A powerful new picture of Jupiter posted by a citizen scientist shows the planet looming large with the shadow of its biggest moon Ganymede blanketing its clouds. The image comes from Kevin M. Gill, who posted copies on Twitter and Flickr  after analyzing data from the Juno spacecraft’s 20th close flyby of May 2019. Like … Read more

Watery graves: Should we be ditching big spacecraft over Earth’s oceans?

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With increasing regularity, Earth’s oceans are the drop zones for incoming leftovers from space.  For decades, Russian Progress resupply spacecraft loaded with tons of waste from the International Space Station (ISS) have been intentionally steered to reentries over the Pacific Ocean’s “spacecraft cemetery.” Similarly, Northop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo vehicles are filled with rubbish from the … Read more

This Anti-Inflammatory Molecule Could Be The Next Big Thing in Asthma Treatments

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A new class of immunotherapy drugs – used to treat arthritis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease – might also work for those with severe asthma. The pharmaceuticals are known as ‘jakinibs‘ because they inhibit the protein JAK1. This protein plays an essential role in the body’s immune response by activating cytokines, which can then lead … Read more