Science & Technology News

Breakthrough Listen announced its second major release of SETI data: a radio survey of the plane of the Milky Way and the galactic center. The public is urged to search the data for signals from intelligent civilizations. A former undergraduate initiated the analysis by looking at emissions from 20 nearby stars that could see Earth transiting our sun. The VLA also signed on to capture radio data for SETI.

A new study finds algorithms’ predictions are slightly superior but not under all circumstances

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Planetary scientists have revealed the secrets of the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. The team found a chemical footprint in Titan's atmosphere indicating that cosmic rays coming from outside the Solar System affect the chemical reactions involved in the formation of nitrogen-bearing organic molecules. This is the first observational confirmation of such processes, and impacts the understanding of the intriguing environment of Titan.

With its selection of four candidates for its coveted Discovery class of interplanetary missions, the space agency seeks to handle some unfinished business

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Batting down conspiracy theories about disease outbreaks such as that of the new coronavirus may prove counterproductive to public health efforts

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They aim for clarity amid confusion surrounding the outbreak

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The early solar system was a chaotic place, with evidence indicating that Mars was likely struck by planetesimals, small protoplanets up to 1,200 miles in diameter, early in its history. Scientists modeled the mixing of materials associated with these impacts, revealing that the Red Planet may have formed over a longer timescale than previously thought.

Columbia University professor W. Ian Lipkin looks for lessons from the new disease COVID-19 to prevent the next disaster

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U.S. federal authorities have recently been reluctant to step in to mediate cross-border air quality issues among states

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Citizen scientists have uncovered a bizarre pairing of two brown dwarfs, objects much smaller than the Sun that lack enough mass for nuclear fusion. The discovery, confirmed by astrophysicists, shows that brown dwarf systems -- the formation of which are still poorly understood -- can be very low mass and extremely far apart yet inexorably linked.

Building more disconnected thoroughfares might lock cities into a dependence on greenhouse-gas emitting cars

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How early pterosaurs walked on the ground has been a complete mystery. Now the first known trackways of their footprints offer answers

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Astronomers have probed the formation process of giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs by using a combination of direct imaging of these objects and custom software to model their orbits.

EEGs successfully picked out which depressed individuals got better on the drug Zoloft

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A flare predicted for this spring could confirm the object is indeed two monstrous black holes coming together

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Scientists have found a new way to analyze the chemistry of the moon's soil using a single grain of dust brought back by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972. Their technique can help us learn more about conditions on the surface of the moon and formation of precious resources like water and helium there.

A mouse study shows immune cells gobbling up the connections between memory-associated neurons

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Coordinated by NASA and ESA, an ambitious effort to retrieve samples from the Red Planet faces major obstacles

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Whenever there’s a new outbreak, scientists rush to calculate a number called R0, or R-naught

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Astronomers have revealed that a well-known, nearby galaxy has a rare double-nucleus structure.