Tag Archives: Scientists

When a massive asteroid is hurtling toward Earth, the solution seems straightforward; smash a spacecraft into it and knock it off course. That’s exactly what NASA successfully did with the DART mission in 2022, they proved this concept works and dramatically altered the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos. But new research reveals the chilling possibility that an asteroid hit in …

Javier Zayas Photography/Getty Images Space is a near-perfect vacuum, which means there’s no air to carry smells the way we experience them on Earth. Yet astronauts have reported different smells when returning from their space walks. How is that possible? Additionally, scientists can study celestial bodies and use this information to make educated …

In his 1963 scifi story “The Invincible,” the Polish writer Stanisław Lem imagined an artificial species of free-floating nanobots which roamed the atmosphere of a far-off planet. Like tiny bugs, the microscopic beings were powerless alone, but together they could form cooperative swarms to gather energy, reproduce, and ultimately defend their territory from predators with deadly force. Unlike the story’s …

Scientists at UC San Diego have tested a new drug that directly targets fat production in the liver, offering a potential breakthrough for people with advanced fatty liver disease. Credit: Shutterstock A new investigational treatment targets the root cause of a life-threatening liver condition connected to obesity and diabetes, offering hope for millions of patients. Scientists at the University of …

It’s the most tried and true health advice: regular exercise is key to warding off obesity, aging and chronic diseases.  Mountains of research also shows working out just a few days a week could slash the risk of dying from cancer. However, a new study has pinpointed a specific workout routine shown to slow the growth of cancer cells, even …

Scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have made a breakthrough that could help bring nuclear fusion — often described as the “holy grail” of clean energy — out of giant research facilities and into smaller, more accessible labs. Their experiment showed, for the first time, that fusion reaction rates can be boosted at room temperature using a low-cost, …

There is gold in the ocean. The catch is that it is present at levels so tiny that ordinary tools cannot grab it. People have dreamed of scooping treasure from seawater for more than a century. The chemistry and the math tell a cooler story. Kelly Falkner helped set the baseline for what is actually in the water. Her team’s …

For centuries, humans have sought the ultimate answer: How long can we truly live? Some looked to genetics, others to disciplined diets or meditation. Now, modern science is uncovering secrets hidden deep within our bodies. By analysing thousands of blood tests and activity patterns from wearable devices, researchers have found a surprising clue—one that goes beyond avoiding disease or following …

This week’s science news has been out of this world, with NASA‘s announcement that speckled rocks found on Mars may be the clearest sign yet that life once existed on the Red Planet. The rocks all contain flecks of leopard-like spots that, on Earth at least, are telltale signs of chemical reactions that microbes use for energy. This, alongside the …

Today, the near-Earth asteroid known as Ryugu is bone dry. But new research suggests that the half-mile space rock may have once been flowing with liquid water — and crucially, at a period in the solar system’s history far later than when that would have been thought possible.  The findings, published in a new study in the journal Nature, could …