Science

Since 1995, the first extrasolar planet was discovered, nearly 4000 planets have been found around the nearest stars. This allows us to study a wide variety of configurations for these planetary systems. The evolution of the planets orbiting other stars can be primarily influenced by two phenomena: the evaporation of the upper layers of the planet due to the effect …

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Researchers in California introduce a scale to measure "atmospheric rivers", the weather phenomenon that can dump massive amounts of Pacific water on the American west coast, carrying it through the air as far away as Hawaii . Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego announced Tuesday that the 1 to 5 scale …

For centuries, astronomers have been studying the Milky Way in order to get a better understanding of its size and structure. And while modern instruments have yielded invaluable observations of our galaxy and others (which have allowed astronomers to gain a general picture of what it looks like), a truly accurate model of our galaxy has been elusive. For example, …

Sauropods always had size on their side. The largest species, like Supersaurus were so gargantuan that the simple makeup of their muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues would have been quite a task for any predatory to chomp through even with a proffered neck. The fantastic growth rate of these dinosaurs, too, acted as a form of defense. Newly hatched …

CRISPR-associated protein Cas9 (white) from Staphylococcus aureus based on Protein Database ID 5AXW. Credit: Thomas Splettstoesser (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0) Researchers from the Novo Nordisk Foundation's Center for Biosustainability (DTU) have found four new anti-CRISPR proteins that are distributed in different environments. The new study published in Cell Host & Microbe suggests that some anti-CRISPR proteins are more prevalent in …

Last Sunday, as much of the country tuned into the Super Bowl, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and a crew of engineers were gathered in McGregor, Texas, the small city where the company maintains a rocket test site. For a few seconds in the early evening, the sound of a new engine roared across the flatlands . "First firing of Starship …

Rising sea level is one of the greatest threats posed by climate change. The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been released at an increasing rate during the past few decades, and are the largest source of uncertainty in projections of future sea level 1 2 . How much these ice sheets will change over the coming decades to centuries, …

Measurement of the toxic effects of chemical compounds on different types of cells is essential to the development of cancer drugs that are intended to kill their target cells. Cell survival analysis is also an important task in areas such as environmental regulation to test industrial and agricultural chemicals for potentially harmful effects on healthy cells. MIT biological engineers have …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – NASA announced Feb. 6 another set of delays to the schedule of commercial crew test flights by Boeing and SpaceX, increasing concerns that the vehicles are not ready to start transporting astronauts to the International Space Station by the end of this year. In a statement , NASA said that the initial uncrewed test flight by …

Earth is on its way to the hottest decade. NEVER recorded as alarming Met Office report warns temperatures over the next five years will all be warmer than pre-industrial levels If forecasts are right, decade between 2014 and 2023 will be hottest on record Met Office predicts temps from 2019-2023 will be 1.03C-1.57C higher than before Forecast comes as climate …