Science News
New understanding of 'oobleck-like' fluids contributes to smart material design
Phys.org - 1 Dec 2023 19:06
If you mix cornstarch and water in the right proportions, you get something that seems not-quite-liquid but also not-quite-solid. Oobleck flows and settles like a liquid when untouched but stiffens when you try to pick i...
Vaping vs edibles: How does the way we use cannabis alter its effects?
New Scientist - 1 Dec 2023 16:00
Edibles, vapes and spliffs all contain the same psychoactive compounds but the effects they have on the body vary
Tinnitus may stem from nerve damage not detectable on hearing tests
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 20:37
People with tinnitus may be wrongly classed as having "normal hearing" because standard tests don't detect the condition's true cause, a new study suggests.
COP28: Energy transition may cut 60% of oil-producing states' revenue
New Scientist - 1 Dec 2023 02:01
Without more international support, the transition away from fossil fuels could have disastrous effects for low-income countries reliant on their oil and gas industries
We could end the AIDS epidemic in less than a decade. Here's how.
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 14:00
Experts have laid out a road map to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Is it possible?
See a forgotten meteor shower caused by a dead comet this weekend
New Scientist - 1 Dec 2023 11:53
The Andromedid meteor shower is normally a quiet affair, but very occasionally it puts on an intense show - which may happen on 2 December
Possible Arctic graveyard may be northernmost Stone Age cemetery -- but there are no human remains to prove it
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 02:01
Archaeologists in Finland have identified a 6,500-year-old site as potential cemetery with 200 graves.
A Google DeepMind AI Just Discovered 380,000 New Materials. This Robot Is Cooking Them Up.
Singularity Hub - 1 Dec 2023 00:40
A robot chemist just teamed up with an AI brain to create a trove of new materials. Two collaborative studies from Google DeepMind and the University of California, Berkeley, describe a system that predicts the propertie...
Taste-Driven AI Algorithms Enhance Wine Selections
Neuroscience News - 1 Dec 2023 23:54
Wine apps like Vivino and Hello Vino are utilizing AI algorithms to help wine enthusiasts select the perfect bottle. Researchers have taken it a step further by incorporating people's flavor impressions into the algorith...
Climate change could upend fight against malaria, WHO warns
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 23:31
Malaria cases rose in 2022, in part due to climate change-related extreme weather events.
Passing star could fling Earth out past Pluto into the Oort cloud
New Scientist - 1 Dec 2023 23:11
If another star passed close to our solar system, there is a small chance that Earth could crash into another planet, get stolen by the interloping star or even be sent hurtling towards the Oort cloud
Shrinking particle accelerators with cold plasma and a large picnic basket
Phys.org - 1 Dec 2023 22:28
Twenty-five feet below ground, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory scientist Spencer Gessner opens a large metal picnic basket. This is not your typical picnic basket filled with cheese, bread and fruit--it contains scr...
1,400-year-old structure discovered near Sutton Hoo in England may have been a pagan temple or cult house
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 21:37
The site is part of a royal compound that archaeologists think may have been overseen by King Raedwald.
Electricity flows like water in 'strange metals,' and physicists don't know why
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 21:00
A weird phenomenon in which electricity flows like water was spotted in a nanowire made of "strange metal" -- a bizarre metal phase that has stumped physicists for 40 years.
Enormous planet discovered around tiny star could break our understanding of solar system formation
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 20:50
The massive planet LHS 3154b orbits a star much smaller than Earth's sun, and its discovery could upend everything we think we know about how solar systems form.
Babies Learn Language Best Through Sing-Song Speech, Not Phonetics
Neuroscience News - 1 Dec 2023 20:42
New research suggests that parents should use sing-song speech, such as nursery rhymes, with their babies, as it aids language development. Contrary to the belief that phonetic information is the foundation of language, ...
GPT-4 developer tool can be exploited for misuse with no easy fix
New Scientist - 1 Dec 2023 20:33
OpenAI's developer tool for its GPT-4 large language model can be misused to trick the AI into providing information to aid would-be terrorists, and fixing the problem won't be easy
Sample of 'potentially hazardous' asteroid Bennu, which may contain the seeds of life, arrives in UK for analysis
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 20:15
A sample from the asteroid Bennu, collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission, has arrived at London's Natural History Museum for analysis. Scientists are optimistic that it could contain the seeds of life.
Weird Chinstrap penguins sleep over 10,000 times a day for just 4 seconds at a time
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 19:45
The penguins accrue 11 hours of cumulative sleep a day from a bizarre adaptation that enables them to doze as they guard their nests.
Painkillers seem to work better if you have unpleasant side effects
New Scientist - 1 Dec 2023 19:29
People found a nasal spray painkiller more effective when it caused a slight burning sensation. This suggests that deliberately increasing some drugs' unwanted side effects could enhance their therapeutic benefits
This AI model can tell if you're at high risk of lung cancer by analyzing a single X-ray scan
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 19:16
An AI model found that 28% of non-smokers are at high risk of developing lung cancer, with 2.9% of high-risk individuals developing the disease within six years.
Shimmering golden mole thought extinct photographed and filmed over 80 years after last sighting
Live Science - 1 Dec 2023 19:15
De Winton's golden mole, last sighted in 1937, has been found alive swimming through sand dunes in South Africa after an extensive search for the elusive species.