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With James Webb Space Telescope’s huge sunshield in place, focus shifts to big mirrors

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We can all take a deep breath before the James Webb Space Telescope’s next major deployment. On Tuesday (Jan. 4), Webb finished bringing its huge, five-layer sunshield up to the proper tension, wrapping up the most complex and tricky operation of the $10 billion observatory’s lengthy deployment phase.  The mission team can therefore now turn … Read more

Cells Deep in Your Brain Place Time Stamps on Memories

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How does our brain know that “this” follows “that”? Two people meet, fall in love and live happily ever after—or sometimes not. The sequencing of events that takes place in our head—with one thing coming after another—may have something to do with so-called time cells recently discovered in the human hippocampus. The research provides evidence … Read more

The Red Sky Paradox Will Make You Question Our Very Place in The Universe

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On the grand cosmic scale, our little corner of the Universe isn’t all that special – this idea lies at the heart of the Copernican principle. Yet there’s one major aspect about our planet that’s peculiar indeed: Our Sun is a yellow dwarf.    Because our home star is what we know most intimately, it … Read more

Gene pinpointed that helps put human hearts in the right place | Science

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From the outside, humans are pleasingly symmetrical, with arms, legs, and eyes that have matching right and left sides. But inside, it’s a different story: our heart is on the left; our liver is on the right. Lungs and kidneys are also asymmetric. Now researchers have pinned down a gene that helps developing organs find … Read more