SCIENCE – Page 11

How a new biotech rule will foster distrust with the public and impede progress in science

1Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE

How a new biotech rule will foster distrust with the public and impede progress in science

In May, federal regulators finalized a new biotechnology policy that will bring sweeping changes to the U.S. food system. Dubbed “SECURE,” the rule revises U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations over genetically engineered plants, automatically exempting many gene-edited crops from government oversight. Companies and labs will be allowed to “self-determine” whether or not a crop should undergo regulatory review or environmental risk assessment. Does CRISPR really make it easier for all scientists to produce gene edited crops and animals? Maywa Montenegro, CC BY-SA Initial responses to this new policy have followed familiar fault lines in the food community. Seed industry trade groups and biotech firms hailed the rule as “important to support continuing innovation.” Environmental and s...

SpaceX reaches for milestone in spaceflight – a private company launches astronauts into orbit

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

SpaceX reaches for milestone in spaceflight – a private company launches astronauts into orbit

On May 27, two American astronauts, Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley, are planning to launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a mission to the International Space Station. If successful, this will mark the first time in nine years that American astronauts will launch into space from American soil. What’s even more remarkable is they will not be launched by NASA but by a private company, SpaceX. Human spaceflight is incredibly difficult and expensive; the rockets must be reliable and the vehicle must be built with expensive life support systems and a certain level of redundancy. To date, only three countries – Russia, the United States and China – have achieved this feat. As a space policy expert, I find it hard to overstate the significance for both SpaceX and spaceflight in gener...

To safely explore the solar system and beyond, spaceships need to go faster – nuclear-powered rockets may be the answer

20May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE

To safely explore the solar system and beyond, spaceships need to go faster – nuclear-powered rockets may be the answer

With dreams of Mars on the minds of both NASA and Elon Musk, long-distance crewed missions through space are coming. But you might be surprised to learn that modern rockets don’t go all that much faster than the rockets of the past. There are a lot of reasons that a faster spaceship is a better one, and nuclear-powered rockets are a way to do this. They offer many benefits over traditional fuel-burning rockets or modern solar-powered electric rockets, but there have been only eight U.S. space launches carrying nuclear reactors in the last 40 years. However, last year the laws regulating nuclear space flights changed and work has already begun on this next generation of rockets. Why the need for speed? The first step of a space journey involves the use of launch rockets to get a ship into...

AI tool searches thousands of scientific papers to guide researchers to coronavirus insights

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

AI tool searches thousands of scientific papers to guide researchers to coronavirus insights

The big idea The scientific community worldwide has mobilized with unprecedented speed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emerging research output is staggering. Every day, hundreds of scientific papers about COVID-19 come out, in both traditional journals and non-peer-reviewed preprints. There’s already far more than any human could possibly keep up with, and more research is constantly emerging. And it’s not just new research. We estimate that there are as many as 500,000 papers relevant to COVID-19 that were published before the outbreak, including papers related to the outbreaks of SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012. Any one of these might contain the key information that leads to effective treatment or a vaccine for COVID-19. Traditional methods of searching through the research li...

Coronavirus closures could lead to a radical revolution in conservation

13May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, SCIENCE

Coronavirus closures could lead to a radical revolution in conservation

In the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns, social media was flooded with reports of animals reclaiming abandoned environments. According to one widely shared post, dolphins had returned to the canals of Venice. While many of those stories have since been debunked, conservationists are providing legitimate reports of cleaner air and water, and wildlife reclaiming contested habitats. With widespread closures of parks and conservation areas around the world, could this be an opportunity to transform the way we manage and use these protected environments? The ecological benefits of park closures In Canada, wildlife sightings are on the rise. Cole Burton, a conservation biologist at the University of British Columbia, says that the pandemic has provided an opportunity to study how animals r...

Science fiction builds mental resiliency in young readers

11May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE

Science fiction builds mental resiliency in young readers

Young people who are “hooked” on watching fantasy or reading science fiction may be on to something. Contrary to a common misperception that reading this genre is an unworthy practice, reading science fiction and fantasy may help young people cope, especially with the stress and anxiety of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. I am a professor with research interests in the social, ethical and political messages in science fiction. In my book “Medicine and Ethics in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction,” I explore the ways science fiction promotes understanding of human differences and ethical thinking. While many people may not consider science fiction, fantasy or speculative fiction to be “literary,” research shows that all fiction can generate critical thinking skills and emotional intel...

Touching the asteroid Ryugu revealed secrets of its surface and changing orbit

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE, VIDEO REELS

Touching the asteroid Ryugu revealed secrets of its surface and changing orbit

On Feb. 21, 2019, we shot an asteroid. More precisely, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, built and operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, fired a 5-gram metal projectile into the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, a spinning-top-shaped body about 1 kilometer across and some 350 million kilometers from Earth. This projectile disrupted the surface of the asteroid, allowing Hayabusa2 to capture some of the lofted material and tuck it safely away on board. Having departed from Ryugu in November 2019, Hayabusa2 is expected to fly past Earth in late 2020 and release its samples in a reentry capsule for detailed analyses in labs across the world. Asteroid Ryugu photographed from a distance of about 12 miles (20 kilometers) looks just gray and bland, but a close-up provides m...

New ways scientists can help put science back into popular culture

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE

New ways scientists can help put science back into popular culture

How often do you, outside the requirements of an assignment, ponder things like the workings of a distant star, the innards of your phone camera, or the number and layout of petals on a flower? Maybe a little bit, maybe never. Too often, people regard science as sitting outside the general culture: A specialized, difficult topic carried out by somewhat strange people with arcane talents. It’s somehow not for them. But really science is part of the wonderful tapestry of human culture, intertwined with things like art, music, theater, film and even religion. These elements of our culture help us understand and celebrate our place in the universe, navigate it and be in dialogue with it and each other. Everyone should be able to engage freely in whichever parts of the general culture they cho...