Sensors inspired by dandelion seeds can record signs of climate change

Tiny sensors that can drift in the breeze like dandelion seeds can help record environmental signals across a wide area Technology 16 March 2022 By Chris Stokel-Walker A sensor designed to mimic the way dandelion seeds float on the breeze Mark Stone/University of Washington Tiny sensors with a design inspired by dandelion seeds could be … Read more

This Astronaut Just Broke The NASA Record For Longest Continuous Spaceflight

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei has broken the record for longest US human spaceflight, a title former astronaut Scott Kelly has held since 2016. Tuesday marks 341 consecutive days in space for Vande Hei, surpassing Kelly’s record-breaking 340-day stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS).   But the achievement comes amid volatile relations between the US and … Read more

A Treasure Trove of Dinosaur Bones in Italy Rewrites the Local Prehistoric Record

Emily Schwing: This is Scientific American’s 60 Second Science. I’m Emily Schwing. When he was little, Alessandro Chiarenza’s grandmother used to read him bedtime stories about dinosaurs and she would always tell him the same thing.  Alessandro Chiarenza: Oh you know, but these things were not living here. They were living in like America and in … Read more

In a first, state bill would require nearly perfect welfare record for research dog and cat suppliers | Science

A major supplier of dogs and other animals for academic and corporate research, which was cited last year for dozens of Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations at its Virginia beagle-breeding facility, was targeted by the state’s lawmakers this week. On 7 and 8 March, both houses of the Virginia General Assembly unanimously passed a bill … Read more

Australia floods: Record rainfall in Queensland driven by La Niña and climate change

A slow-moving low-pressure system has dropped 790 millimetres of rain on Brisbane in one week, causing floods that have claimed eight lives Environment 28 February 2022 By Alice Klein A flooded street in Milton, a suburb of Brisbane PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/AFP via Getty Images Record-breaking rain on the east coast of Australia over the past week … Read more

A Forgotten Continent From 40 Million Years Ago May Have Just Been Rediscovered

A low-lying continent that existed some 40 million years ago and was home to exotic fauna may have “paved the way” for Asian mammals to colonize southern Europe, new research suggests.   Wedged between Europe, Africa and Asia, this forgotten continent – which researchers have dubbed “Balkanatolia” – became a gateway between Asia and Europe … Read more

China aims to complete space station, break launch record in 2022

China is aiming to eclipse a new national launch record set last year while also completing its three-module space station with six related missions in 2022. The China National Space Administration is preparing to launch two new space station modules, named Wentian and Mengtian, on separate Long March 5B rockets in the coming months.  The … Read more

The Most Extreme ‘Rogue Wave’ on Record Was Just Confirmed in The North Pacific

In November of 2020, a freak wave came out of the blue, lifting a lonesome buoy off the coast of British Columbia 17.6 meters high (58 feet). The four-story wall of water has now been confirmed as the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded.   Such an exceptional event is thought to occur only once … Read more

Fusion experiment smashes record for generating energy, takes us a step closer to a new source of power

An experimental nuclear fusion project has set a world record in generating energy on Earth using the same kind of reactions that power the sun. In the new experiments, the Joint European Torus (JET) in Culham near Oxford, England, produced blazingly hot plasmas that released a record-setting 59 megajoules of energy — about the same … Read more