News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
As people in the US prepare to turn their clocks ahead one hour in mid-March, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About a third of Americans say they don’t look forward to these … Read more
On Feb. 4, 2022, SpaceX launched 49 satellites as part of Elon Musk‘s Starlink internet project, most of which burned up in the atmosphere days later. The cause of this more than US$50 million failure was a geomagnetic storm caused by the Sun. Geomagnetic storms occur when space weather hits and interacts with the … Read more
People typically think of food as calories, energy, and sustenance. However, the latest evidence suggests that food also “talks” to our genome, which is the genetic blueprint that directs the way the body functions down to the cellular level. This communication between food and genes may affect your health, physiology, and longevity. The idea … Read more
Whenever you get around to doing dishes, how easily water slides down a dirty plate depends on how uneven and crusty the plate’s surface is. At the nanoscale, however, where surface features can be hundreds of thousands of times smaller than the average width of a human hair, water can experience friction even on surfaces … Read more
Large galaxies may steal dark matter from smaller galaxies they nearly collide with, new research suggests. Scientists from the University of California, Irvine and Pomona College used computer models to simulate the evolution of a corner of the universe about 60 million light-years across. The new computer models, which weren’t designed to do so, created … Read more
The Omicron coronavirus variant is likely the fastest-spreading virus in human history, according to experts. While one person with the measles virus—a standout among infectious microbes—might infect 15 others within 12 days, Omicron jumps from person to person so quickly that a single case can give rise to six cases after four days, 36 cases … Read more
Cow’s milk is an excellent source of calcium which, along with vitamin D, is needed to build strong, dense bones. Milk also contains protein, the minerals phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and iodine, and vitamins A, B2 (riboflavin), and B12 (cobalamin). As a child I drank a lot of milk. It was delivered in pint bottles … Read more
Water flows mysteriously well through narrow carbon nanotubes, but now there is an explanation: it may all be due to quantum friction Physics 2 February 2022 By Chen Ly Narrow carbon nanotubes behave in an unusual way Shutterstock / ustas7777777 Water flows more easily through narrower carbon nanotubes than larger ones and we have struggled … Read more
A bomb cyclone is a large, intense midlatitude storm that has low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation. It becomes a bomb when its central pressure decreases very quickly – by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours. Two famed … Read more
Sex has many beneficial physical and psychological effects, including reducing high blood pressure, improving the immune system and aiding better sleep. The physical act of sex and orgasm releases the hormone oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which is important in building trust and bonding between people. But there’s a dark side: people sometimes die … Read more