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Eco-friendly straws: Edible straws made by bacteria are better than paper or plastic ones

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Plastic straws are increasingly being avoided for both health and environmental reasons, but the alternatives all have their downsides – until now Technology 17 January 2022 By Leah Crane Paper straws are not ideal Benjamin John/Alamy When it comes to drinking with a straw, there is no perfect option – plastic straws can release microplastics … Read more

A Weird Paper Tests The Limits of Science by Claiming Octopuses Came From Space

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A summary of decades of research on a rather ‘out-there’ idea involving viruses from space raises questions on just how scientific we can be when it comes to speculating on the history of life on Earth.   It’s easy to throw around words like crackpot, rogue, and maverick in describing the scientific fringe, but then … Read more

Early Studies Out of UK Indicate Omicron Has a Lower Hospitalization Rate Than Delta

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Two studies from Britain published Wednesday showed COVID infections with Omicron are less likely to result in hospitalization compared to the Delta variant, the latest research confirming a trend first identified in South Africa.​   The preliminary studies – one paper from Scotland and the other from England – were cautiously welcomed by experts, who nonetheless … Read more

We Finally Have The First-Ever Analysis of Stardust Retrieved From The Ryugu Asteroid

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It’s been over a year since the Hayabusa2 probe delivered its precious cargo of dust from an alien space rock, and we’re finally getting a more detailed glimpse of what makes up asteroid Ryugu.   In two papers published today, international teams of scientists have revealed that, in accordance with analyses conducted by the probe … Read more

Exciting New Paper Tests a Dark Matter And Black Hole Prediction Made by Hawking

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The Universe is too heavy. According to our measurements of the normal matter in the Universe, there’s not nearly enough of it to account for the strength of the gravitational effects we can see.   Whatever is making up the rest of the mass is nothing we can detect directly, and the quest to figure … Read more

Scientists Say We Should Rethink Moons as Planets… And Reinstate Pluto

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The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has a very strict definition of the word “planet”. According to the definition – drafted, tweaked, and agreed upon in August 2006 – an astronomical body is officially a planet if it orbits the Sun, has sufficient mass to be spherical, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.   … Read more