Asteroid to fly safely past Earth on April 19
A relatively large near-Earth asteroid discovered nearly three years ago will fly safely past Earth on April 19 at a distance of about 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers), or about 4.6 times the...
View ArticleBig space rock to streak past Earth on Wednesday
An asteroid stretching 650 metres (2,000 feet) across is on track to whoosh past Earth on Wednesday at a safe—but uncomfortably close—distance, according to astronomers.
View ArticleOur discovery of a minor planet beyond Neptune shows there might not be a...
Ever since enthusiasm started growing over the possibility that there could be a ninth major planet orbiting the sun beyond Neptune, astronomers have been busy hunting it. One group is investigating...
View ArticleCassini heads toward final close encounter with Titan
NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make its final close flyby of Saturn's haze-enshrouded moon Titan this weekend. The flyby marks the mission's final opportunity for up-close observations of the lakes and...
View ArticleA simplified fabrication process for high efficiency solar cells
A team of EPFL and CSEM researchers in Neuchâtel presents in Nature Energy a new astonishing method of creating crystalline solar cells with electrical contacts at the rear, suppressing all shadowing...
View ArticleDiscovery creates a new paradigm for creating materials from crystals
Look closely enough, and you'll see ingenious patterns everywhere in nature. Scientists and engineers have long understood this, but mimicking Mother Nature in building such patterns— especially highly...
View ArticleContinental crust model illuminates processes that took place three to four...
For the first time, ETH scientists have successfully recreated the formation of continental crust in the Archean using a computer simulation. The model helps scientists to better understand processes...
View ArticleNew algorithm tracks neurons in bendy brain of freely crawling worm
Scientists at Princeton University have developed a new algorithm to track neurons in the brain of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans while it crawls. The algorithm, presented in PLOS Computational...
View ArticleImage: Sequence of Juno spacecraft's close approach to Jupiter
This sequence of enhanced-color images shows how quickly the viewing geometry changes for NASA's Juno spacecraft as it swoops by Jupiter. The images were obtained by JunoCam.
View ArticleGene drives likely to be foiled by rapid rise of resistance
A study in fruit flies suggests that existing approaches to gene drives using CRISPR/Cas9, which aim to spread new genes within a natural population, will be derailed by the development of mutations...
View ArticleSearching for invisible particles with the ATLAS Experiment
As the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) smashes protons at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, it creates a rich assortment of particles that are identified through the signature of their interactions with...
View ArticleCassini to begin final five orbits around Saturn
NASA's Cassini spacecraft will enter new territory in its final mission phase, the Grand Finale, as it prepares to embark on a set of ultra-close passes through Saturn's upper atmosphere with its final...
View ArticleClose encounters of the stellar kind
The movements of more than 300 000 stars surveyed by ESA's Gaia satellite reveal that rare close encounters with our sun might disturb the cloud of comets at the far reaches of our solar system,...
View ArticleUnistellar's eVscope successfully finds, images asteroid florence
Last week, 5-km asteroid Florence paid Earth a visit—and, using the advanced features of Unistellar's eVscope, we were able to observe it from a location just outside of San Francisco. This, our first...
View ArticleRevolutionary process could signal new era for gene synthesis
A team of scientists led by the University of Southampton has demonstrated a groundbreaking new method of gene synthesis - a vital research tool with real-world applications in everything from growing...
View ArticleCassini makes its 'goodbye kiss' flyby of Titan
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is headed toward its Sept. 15 plunge into Saturn, following a final, distant flyby of the planet's giant moon Titan.
View ArticleResearchers design the building blocks of synthetic muscle using...
Each time you flex your bicep, millions of molecular motors work together in a complex process inside your muscle. These motors—called myosin—are chemically-powered proteins. Combinations of them...
View ArticleDawn mission extended at Ceres
NASA has authorized a second extension of the Dawn mission at Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. During this extension, the spacecraft will descend to lower...
View ArticleResearchers devise an algorithm to combat gerrymandering
As the Supreme Court considers Gill v. Whitford, a challenge to the practice of partisan gerrymandering that may rewrite the rules used to draw congressional districts, a team of computer scientists...
View ArticleNickel-78 confirmed to be doubly magic
(Phys.org)—Two teams of researchers working independently of one another and using wildly different approaches have confirmed nickel-78 to be doubly magic. In the first effort, an international team...
View ArticleEcological restoration success higher with natural measures than active measures
Ecological restoration success is higher for natural regeneration than for active restoration in tropical forests
View ArticleDiagonal methods for expensive global optimization
The goal of global optimization is essentially to search for optimal solutions in various areas of human activity. The principal advantage of the diagonal approach compared to other methods is its...
View ArticleNew tool for the early detection of blue-green algae
Algae and/or cyanobacteria blooms are increasingly invading Quebec's waters, with some 500 bodies of water affected in the past 10 years. Methods for tracking these microorganisms are costly and...
View ArticleA way to use artificial intelligence to predict chemical reactions
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with IBM has applied artificial intelligence to predict organic chemical reactions. In their paper uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, the group outlines their...
View ArticleDistributing control of deep learning training delivers 10x performance...
My IBM Research AI team and I recently completed the first formal theoretical study of the convergence rate and communications complexity associated with a decentralized distributed approach in a deep...
View ArticleGrowing organs a few ink drops at a time
Printed replacement human body parts might seem like science fiction, but this technology is rapidly becoming a reality with the potential to greatly contribute to regenerative medicine. Before any...
View ArticleNature provides more to people than material benefits
The role of culture and diverse knowledge systems needs to be recognized when assessing nature's contributions to people, a new policy forum paper in Science states. Alexander van Oudenhoven and thirty...
View ArticleAsteroid 2002 AJ129 to fly safely past Earth February 4
Asteroid 2002 AJ129 will make a close approach to Earth on Feb. 4, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. PST (4:30 p.m. EST / 21:30 UTC). At the time of closest approach, the asteroid will be no closer than 10 times the...
View ArticleApplying GRADE-CERQual approach to qualitative evidence synthesis findings
A series of papers published in Implementation Science this week provides guidance on how to apply the GRADE-CERQual approach. CERQual helps assess how much confidence to place in findings from...
View ArticleA lightning-based nowcast-warning approach to predict short-duration rainfall
Previous studies have indicated a worldwide increasing trend of intense precipitation events under the influence of global warming. Heavy precipitation events increase the risk of flooding, exerting...
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