Notices by Flipboard Science Desk (sciencedesk@flipboard.social), page 8

We’re finally going to the solar system’s most intriguing but unexplored frontier, writes @arstechnica

"If you've been waiting for a real mission of discovery into the unknown, this is it." The author recounts the history of the Europa Clipper mission, including the surprising role played by a conservative Christian politician.

https://flip.it/3Iyyqf

#Space #Jupiter #Europa #SolarSystem #Science #NASA

The largest arthropod to ever live finally has a head.

@ScienceNews reports: "Scientists have been looking for Arthropleura’s fossilized head for over 100 years."

https://flip.it/F1un4O

#Paleontology #Fossil #Science

Comet likely last seen when Neanderthals walked Earth could soon dazzle in the night sky.

From CNN: "A recently discovered comet, known as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, will make its closest approach of Earth on Saturday. Sky-gazers won’t want to miss the event since it may be the last time the comet will be seen in the night sky for another 80,000 years."

https://flip.it/X0FXk1

For more space coverage, follow @space-ScienceAlert

#Space #Comet #Astronomy #Science

"A severe solar storm is headed to Earth that could stress power grids even more as the U.S. deals with major back-to-back hurricanes, space weather forecasters said."

From @AssociatedPress: "NOAA has notified operators of power plants and orbiting spacecraft to take precautions. It also alerted the Federal Emergency Management Agency about possible power disruptions," though Florida isn't expected to be impacted.

https://flip.it/7p2-58

#SolarStorm #Space #NOAA #FEMA #Science

The science behind why people think they're right when they're so, so wrong.

From NBC News: "There may be a psychological reason why some people aren’t just wrong in an argument — they’re confidently wrong. According to a study published Wednesday in the journal Plos One, it comes down to believing you have all the information you need to form an opinion, even when you don’t."

https://flip.it/.gfXxw

Here's the original study: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0310216

#Psychology #Misinformation #Brain #Science #Facts #Politics

Why the James Webb Space Telescope has been a gift to humanity.

An interview from @Salon: "Astrophysicist Ethan Siegel explained why government investments have made great scientific discoveries possible."

https://flip.it/CqFTKb

#Astronomy #JWST #Space #NASA #Science

Whooping cough is spreading again in the U.S. after years of relative quiet.

@SciAm reports: "Pertussis is caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis, which easily spreads between people through direct contact or via droplets from someone’s mouth or nose."

https://flip.it/C6U.Nd

#WhoopingCough #Disease #PublicHealth #Vaccine #Health #Science

"The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for their breakthrough work predicting and designing the structure of proteins, the building blocks of life."

From @AssociatedPress: "Six days of Nobel announcements opened Monday with Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun winning the medicine prize. Two founding fathers of machine learning — John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton — won the physics prize."

https://flip.it/CmbUeJ

#Nobel #Chemistry #NobelPrize #Science

Astronomers just found a galaxy way too advanced for its time, Mashable reports: https://mashable.com/article/oldest-evolved-galaxy-rebels-25

Injured comb jellies can fuse into a single organism, Ars Technica reports: https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/10/injured-comb-jellies-can-fuse-into-a-single-organism/

Scientists grow mystery tree from 1,000-year-old seed, CNN reports:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/05/science/ancient-seed-biblical-tree-wt-science-newsletter/index.html

Are hurricanes getting worse? Here’s what you need to know, from @npr

"Climate change has not led to an increase in the total number of hurricanes hitting the U.S. each year. But the storms that do form are more likely to become more intense, with higher wind speeds, heavier rainfall, and more severe storm surge."

https://flip.it/vuuWDE

#Hurricane #Milton #ClimateChange #HurricaneMilton #Science

Pioneers in artificial intelligence win the Nobel Prize in physics.

From @AssociatedPress: "John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton won the [prize] for helping create the building blocks of machine learning that is revolutionizing the way we work and live but also creates new threats to humanity, one of the winners said. Hinton, who is known as the Godfather of artificial intelligence, is a citizen of Canada and Britain who works at the University of Toronto and Hopfield is an American working at Princeton."

https://flip.it/cf_Rrb

For ongoing coverage, follow @the-age-of-ai-tech

#Nobel #NobelPrize #Physics #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Science

In the center of almost every large galaxy, there is a supermassive black hole. Now, scientists are discovering black holes that are 1,000 times the size of the one at the center of the Milky Way, and they’re calling them “ultramassive” black holes.

The James Webb Space Telescope is giving researchers new insights into how these giants formed and raising the question: how big can black holes get?

Read more from @BBCNews
https://flip.it/MJDuq6

#BlackHoles #Astronomy #Planets #Galaxy #JamesWebb #Science

Will children born today live to 100? Don’t bet on it, researchers say. A new study says that while life expectancy numbers are still inching up worldwide, we’re approaching the upper limit of human longevity. “We’re squeezing less and less life out of these life-extending technologies. And the reason is, aging gets in the way,” says S. Jay Olshansky, a University of Illinois-Chicago researcher who was lead author of the study. Read more from @AssociatedPress.

https://flip.it/a7Tm.G

#Human #Health #Life #Seniors #LifeExpectancy #Longevity

Two years ago, NASA intentionally crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid named Dimorphos to see if the force of the collision could alter the course of the object. Now, the European Space Agency is launching the Hera mission to conduct a “crime scene investigation” of the test, sending a spacecraft and two satellites to the asteroid system. Read more from NBC.

https://flip.it/sLI9cS

#Space #NASA #Asteroid #Satellite #SpaceX

Nobel Prize in medicine goes to two American biologists for work on the discovery of microRNA.

From CNN: "Their research revealed how genes, which contain the instruction manual for life, give rise to different types of cells within the human body, a process known as gene regulation."

https://flip.it/6LIyrH

#NobelPrize #Science #Biology #RNA #Nobel

Mount Everest, along with the rest of the Himalayas, inches further skyward every year. It raises an interesting question – with enough time, just how tall can the world’s biggest mountain grow, and it will it always hold that designation? @BBCNews takes a look at these questions and more: https://flip.it/2CjdK4
#Science #MountEverest #Geology #Himalayas #Mountains

It’s not what just you say, it’s the way that you say it. It’s true with employees, ex-spouses, and even, apparently, dogs. New research reveals dogs comprehend human speech much better when it matches their own slower pace of vocalization. BBC @sciencefocus explains: https://flip.it/KHWaoM
#Science #Pets #Dogs #Humans #Communication #Talking

In-space transportation may be on its way to becoming more of a reality — if a recent deal is any indication. Impulse Space has landed a $34.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Force for two ultra-mobile spacecraft missions. @Techcrunch has the details, including info on upcoming missions: https://flip.it/InEyQI
#Tech #Space #SpaceExploration #Technology #SpaceForce #ImpulseSpace