collision Authors: Simon Lock, NERC Research Fellow, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol; Matthew Kenworthy, Associate professor in Astronomy, Leiden University, and Zoe Leinhardt, Associate Professor, School of Physics, University of Bristol The afterglow of a massive collision between two giant planets may have been detected for the first time. The wreckage of the […]
Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of highly fluorinated substances, represent a danger for humans and the environment. Particularly problematic members of this family, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) appear to cause organ damage and cancer, as well as disrupting the endocrine system. Researchers have now introduced a new method for an […]
Lipids represent one of the fundamental molecular components within the realm of biological organisms, alongside proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. The concept of the “lipidome” pertains to the entirety of lipids found within a cell or a collection of cells. This terminology emerged within the context of modern biological sciences, often referred to as “omic […]
Female chimpanzees go through menopause Some female chimpanzees experience menopause similar to humans, according to a study of wild chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. Researchers analyzed urine samples from 66 female chimps and found that their hormone levels shifted around age 50 similarly to women in middle age and calculated that the female animals […]
Infodynamics Author: Melvin M. Vopson, Associate Professor of Physics, University of Portsmouth The simulated universe theory implies that our universe, with all its galaxies, planets and life forms, is a meticulously programmed computer simulation. In this scenario, the physical laws governing our reality are simply algorithms. The experiences we have are generated by the computational […]
democracy There is a growing movement to democratize science, involving the public, often lacking traditional scientific credentials, in the research process. This inclusivity manifests in various forms, particularly involving the public in making value judgments that play a vital role in the scientific decision-making process. As demonstrated by philosophers and scholars of science, scientific inquiry […]
In a paper published today in Science, an international team reports on their discovery of the most ancient and distant fast radio burst located to date, about eight billion years old. The discovery smashes the team’s previous record by 50 per cent. It confirms that fast radio bursts (FRBs) can be used to measure the […]
reading Author: Juan F. Trillo, PhD in Linguistics and Philosophy (U. Autónoma de Madrid), PhD in Literary Studies (U. Complutense de Madrid). Science often ends up confirming what we have always known —or at least suspected— through research whose results are in line with what intuition suggests. This is the case of reading in young […]
The cause of Mars’ strongest quake The strongest quake recorded on Mars, which lasted six hours but left no visible signs on the planet’s surface, was caused by tectonic activity rather than a colliding asteroid. While scientists believe Mars does not have plate tectonics like Earth, the quake was likely caused by the release of […]
spallation Progress in particle physics has traditionally been achieved by a symbiosis of experiments at the energy and intensity frontiers and model-building. This has led to the current situation of the Standard Model (SM) representing our best knowledge of particle physics, but which leaves a number of open questions to be resolved. These include the […]