July 19, 2024 Hello! Welcome back to our regular column where we write a little bit about some of the games we’ve played over the last few days. This week we’ve ventured into space to touch some attractive machines; we’ve enjoyed FromSoftware’s much friendlier series of games; and Bertie has been horrible to everyone in … Read more
Scientists have captured the first ever early stage of embryo formation, which could help solve the ‘mystery’ of how birth defects develop in humans. Australian researchers watched in amazement as the cells of a quail embryo crawled around a protein-based support structure, organising themselves into the earliest form of the heart and the first stage … Read more
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have developed a new method using a 3D-printed vacuum system to detect dark matter and potentially reveal the nature of dark energy. The system manipulates the gas density and uses ultracold lithium atoms to probe the effects of scalar fields, with the aim of observing domain walls: defects formed … Read more
Major recent developments, driven by support from CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, are providing deeper insights into the fundamental nature of our universe. The ongoing experiments at CERN are aimed at exploring the smallest building blocks of matter and the forces that govern them. By revealing the dynamics of these forces, scientists can … Read more
Getty Images Mutations in these regions of so-called ‘junk’ DNA are increasingly linked to a range of diseases, from Crohn’s disease to cancer. Since the Human Genome Project was declared complete in 2003, scientists have been trying to pinpoint new areas among the three billion letters of our genetic code that may play a crucial … Read more
Few ancient monuments are shrouded in as much mystery as Stonehenge, the eerie prehistoric temple in southern England that began construction almost 5,000 years ago. The builders and designers left no written words to explain its meaning to them, nor do we know what it was used for all those years ago. Modern analysis has … Read more
A team of scientists used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to gain new insights into the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. This research, using the telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), has provided data that helps illuminate the complex history of the Crab Nebula. … Read more
NASA is preparing to launch its latest climate science mission, the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experiment (PREFIRE), which aims to capture brand new data on how heat is lost from Earth’s polar regions to space . PREFIRE consists of a pair of cubesats launched separately into near-polar orbits. The first, “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE,” … Read more