Science News
10 science records broken in 2020
Live Science - 28 Dec 2020 17:39
From the longest bird flight to the oldest identical twins, 2020 was filled with record-breaking science.
Surveys identify relationship between waves, coastal cliff erosion
EurekAlert! - 28 Dec 2020 09:00
(University of California - San Diego) Researchers have always known that waves were an important part of the cliff erosion process, but they haven't been able to separate the influence of waves and rain before. After de...
The coolest ancient weapons discovered in 2020
Live Science - 28 Dec 2020 16:00
Here are nine cool ancient weapons discovered this year.
The Brain Network Driving Changes in Consciousness
Neuroscience News - 29 Dec 2020 00:34
A brain network consisting of the thalamus, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, and angular gyri was implicated in the loss, and return, of consciousness under both anesthetic and natural sleep.
Music-Induced Emotions Can Be Predicted From Brain Scans
Neuroscience News - 29 Dec 2020 00:13
Based on the activity in the auditory cortex and motor cortex, researchers were able to predict whether a participant was listening to music that was upbeat or sad.
Searching for invisible axion dark matter with a new multiple-cell cavity haloscope
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2020 23:30
Over the past few decades, many experimental physicists have been probing the existence of particles called axions, which would result from a specific mechanism that they think could explain the contradiction between the...
Important milestone in the creation of a quantum computer
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2020 21:55
Quantum computer: One of the obstacles for progress in the quest for a working quantum computer has been that the working devices that go into a quantum computer and perform the actual calculations, the qubits, have hith...
New quantum nanodevice can simultaneously act as a heat engine and a refrigerator
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2020 21:32
A multitasking nanomachine that can act as a heat engine and a refrigerator at the same time has been created by RIKEN engineers. The device is one of the first to test how quantum effects, which govern the behavior of p...
Allotropy: Why Winter Spells Trouble for the Tin Man
Physics Buzz - 28 Dec 2020 20:53
Tin is a commonplace metal that's used industrially in a thousand different ways. From the solder that holds your computer's motherboard together to the PVC plumbing under your sink, tin compounds are everywhere. In spit...
Vaping could cloud your thoughts, new studies suggest
Science Daily - 28 Dec 2020 19:54
Both adults and kids who vape were more likely to report difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions than their non-vaping, non-smoking peers on two annual national surveys. Survey results also suggest tha...
Quick look under the skin
Science Daily - 28 Dec 2020 19:18
Imaging techniques enable a detailed look inside an organism. But interpreting the data is time-consuming and requires a great deal of experience. Artificial neural networks open up new possibilities: They require just s...
New IBM Research Means We Could Soon Train Neural Networks on a Smartphone
Singularity Hub - 28 Dec 2020 19:00
The neural networks that power today's AI are incredibly powerful, but training them can require entire server farms and huge amounts of energy. A new approach from IBM suggests we may be able to slash that dramatically ...
2021 preview: A crucial year for action on climate change
New Scientist - 28 Dec 2020 19:00
Major climate summits delayed in 2020 are back on in 2021, offering several big opportunities to confront the climate emergency
Bats are superheroes of the night. Their superpowers could help us protect them.
Live Science - 28 Dec 2020 18:43
Conservationists are using bats' echolocation abilities to help track these mammals, as many of them succumb to white nose syndrome.
The strangest medical cases of 2020
Live Science - 28 Dec 2020 18:18
From a man with green urine to a teenager with a sewing pin in his heart, a number of intriguing medical cases caught our eye this year.
High-speed atomic force microscopy takes on intrinsically disordered proteins
EurekAlert! - 28 Dec 2020 09:00
(Kanazawa University) Kanazawa University's pioneering high-speed atomic force microscope technology has now shed light on the structure and dynamics of some of life's most ubiquitous and inscrutable molecules - intrinsi...