This eco-friendly glitter gets its color from plants, not plastic
Minuscule arrangements in cellulose reflect light in specific ways to give rise to vibrant hues All that glitters is not green. Glitter and shimmery pigments are often made using toxic compounds or pollutive microplastics (SN: 4/15/19). That makes the sparkly stuff, notoriously difficult to clean up in the house, a
Large Hadron Collider switches on at highest ever power level to look for dark matter
The detector is set to run at its highest energies yet. The Large Hadron Collider has been turned back on today (July 5) and is set to smash particles together at never-before-seen energy levels. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. Located at
Scientists grew living human skin around a robotic finger
The advance brings Terminator-like cyborgs a small step closer to reality The Terminator may be one step closer to reality. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have built a robotic finger that, much like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s titular cyborg assassin, is covered in living human skin. The goal is to someday
Turbulence Equations Discovered After Century-Long Quest
The formulas describe the complex behavior of a liquid when it meets a boundary Since at least the 1920s, scientists have been puzzled by the turbulence that arises when a liquid hits a wall. For instance, what happens when water violently sloshes against the side of a pool or when
Tesla recalls 50,000 cars that disobey stop signs in self-driving mode Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2307147-tesla-recalls-50000-cars-that-disobey-stop-signs-in-self-driving-mode
The “rolling stop” feature introduced by Tesla in October meant that cars rolled past stop signs instead of stopping, as many states require by law Tesla is recalling more than 50,000 cars in the US because the AI behind its self-driving feature acted too aggressively, rolling past stop signs rather
Conservationists Promote the Annual Big Butterfly Count as Two-Fifths of British Butterflies Face Threat
In 2013, scientists said that around five out of the millions of invertebrates, including butterflies, were at risk of extinction. These beautiful creatures have shown signs of a significant decline in population and conservationists have been fighting for a law to be implemented to protect butterflies. The annual Big Butterfly
Alien earthworms have spread to almost all parts of North America
Invasive worms, considered a major threat to native ecosystems, have been found in 97 per cent of areas for which there are records in North America As North Americans have busied themselves about their various concerns, unseen invaders have slowly been amassing beneath their feet. There are now more alien
James Webb Space Telescope Set to Study Two Strange Super-Earths
Space agency officials promise to deliver geology results from worlds dozens of light-years away The James Webb Space Telescope plans to explore strange, new rocky worlds in unprecedented detail. The telescope’s scientific consortium has an ambitious agenda to study geology on these small planets from “50 light-years away”, they said
Amazon nears ‘tipping point’ where rainforest could transform into savanna
The Amazon may be nearing a “tipping point.” If deforestation continues, the Amazon rainforest could reach a critical tipping point where most of it transforms into a dry savanna, a new study warns. The study, published Monday (March 7) in the journal Nature Climate Change, suggests that more than 75%
What happens in your brain while you sleep?
It gets a “bath,” among other things. Our brains are complex and elaborate. They contain billions of neurons, don’t fully form until we reach age 25(opens in new tab), and can generate around 25 watts of power(opens in new tab) — enough to illuminate a light bulb. Scientists are constantly
Loss of Male Sex Chromosome Linked to Negative Health Impacts and Early Death Than Women
It has always been a mystery why men tend to die, on average, several years younger than women. A recent study by researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests that losing male sex chromosomes as men age causes scarring in heart muscles that can lead to life-threatening
Can protein shakes help you gain weight?
Protein powders are effective at helping to build muscle shortly after a workout. But can protein shakes help you gain weight? Protein shakes can help you lose weight, get lean and build strength and endurance. But can protein shakes help you gain weight too? Protein shakes are an effective way
This soft, electronic ‘nerve cooler’ could be a new way to relieve pain
The device uses evaporative cooling to block pain signals, experiments in rats suggest A flexible electronic implant could one day make pain management a lot more chill. Created from materials that dissolve in the body, the device encircles nerves with an evaporative cooler. Implanted in rats, the cooler blocked pain
Classified UFO videos would ‘harm national security’ if released, Navy says
The Navy admitted it has a lot more footage of UFOs — but won’t share them anytime soon. The U.S. Navy holds unseen videos of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) — or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as the Department of Defense (DOD) prefers to call them — but will not release
Stunning solar eclipse caught by NASA in incredible closeup
The moon’s mountains were ‘backlit by solar fire’ at the peak. A sungazing spacecraft captured the moon passing in front of the face of the sun Wednesday (June 29). NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory(opens in new tab) caught the solar eclipse(opens in new tab) in action from its unique vantage point
James Webb Space Telescope Set to Study Two Strange Super-Earths
Space agency officials promise to deliver geology results from worlds dozens of light-years away The James Webb Space Telescope plans to explore strange, new rocky worlds in unprecedented detail. The telescope’s scientific consortium has an ambitious agenda to study geology on these small planets from “50 light-years away”, they said
Astronomers still can’t agree on what counts as a planet Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2313682-astronomers-still-cant-agree-on-what-counts-as-a-planet
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union came up with a new way to classify planets that famously saw Pluto downgraded. Now a new row has started as astronomers try to define exoplanets What is a planet? Despite decades of trying, astronomers still haven’t found a definition that everyone can agree
What’s the world’s oldest civilization?
Did the first civilization arise in Mesopotamia, or elsewhere? Countless civilizations have risen and fallen over the millennia. But which one is the oldest on record? About 30 years ago, this question seemed to have a straightforward answer. Around 4000 B.C., the earliest phase of the Sumerian culture arose as
Pottery, swords and jewelry: Rich Stone Age and early medieval graves found in Germany
The discoveries hint that humans occupied the region longer than locals thought. Archaeological treasures, including Stone Age pottery and medieval graves with swords and jewelry, have revealed a long history of human habitation near the Danube River in Germany. At the site, in the Geisingen-Gutmadingen district of Tuttlingen, in southwestern
The Aztec Empire: History, maps, religion and fall
The Aztec Empire flourished in the Valley of Mexico between A.D. 1325 and 1519 and was the last great civilization before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century. The Aztec Empire flourished in central Mexico during the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history, from approximately A.D. 1325 to
Metal detectorist in UK finds ancient Roman penis pendant
Silver penis pendants like this are rare. A metal detectorist recently discovered a silver, penis-shaped pendant in Kent, England that was likely worn around the neck to protect a person from misfortune around 1,800 years ago. Ancient Roman writers such as Marcus Terentius Varro (lived 116 B.C. to 27 B.C.)