The user-friendly unit, which weighs less than 10 kilograms and does not require the use of filters, can be powered by a small, portable solar panel. Credit: M. Scott Brauer Researchers build a portable desalination unit that generates clear, clean drinking water without the need for filters or high-pressure pumps.
Scientists overseeing the largest particle accelerator on Earth switched it on for the first time in three years this weekend to solve some of the biggest mysteries in physics. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the powerful particle accelerator located at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, restarted on Friday (April 22) after a three-year shutdown for maintenance … Read more
US higher education is making another major push to promote a culture of sharing in research, with several dozen top institutions looking to jointly tie open science practices to their tenure and promotion decisions. The effort is known as Helios, and its 65-plus inaugural members cover the highest ranks of US research universities. Their idea, … Read more
In a repeat of 2017, centrist French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen are the leading contenders in presidential elections on 10 April. Academics, who are generally left leaning, dislike Le Pen for her anti-immigration and isolationist views. But many scientists are also uneasy with Macron, because a second term would let … Read more
Scientists continue to look into how psychedelic drugs and experiences alter our perception of reality, and a new study suggests that seeing consciousness in inanimate objects is one of the long-term effects. Relying on self-reported responses to an online survey from 1,606 participants who said they had been through at least one belief-changing psychedelic experience, … Read more
HARRISBURG – A Republican proposal to prevent transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports passed the Pennsylvania House Education Committee on Tuesday, over Democratic opposition. The 15-9 party-line vote advanced the “Save Women Sports Act” bill so it can be considered by the GOP-majority chamber. It would restrict players to male or female teams … Read more
As Boris Johnson prepares a new push for nuclear power, the £ 131bn problem of how to safely dispose of vast volumes of radioactive waste created by the last British atomic energy program remains unsolved. The hugely expensive and dangerous legacy of the UK’s 20th-century nuclear revolution amounts to 700,000 cubic meters of toxic waste … Read more
With coronavirus cases rising in parts of Europe and Asia, scientists worry that an extra-contagious version of the omicron variant may soon push cases up in the United States too. Experts are also keeping their eyes on another mutant: a rare delta-omicron hybrid that they say doesn’t pose much of a threat right now but … Read more
Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon. NASA’s new Tipping Point opportunity and Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity seek to mature space technology, including those that could be used for living and working on the Moon for NASA’s Artemis astronauts. Credit: NASA Companies with technologies that may advance exploration but need a little extra push to … Read more
The number of active satellites in the night sky has more than doubled since 2019 – from around 2,200 to 5,000. That is mostly due to Starlink, a SpaceX project aimed at providing internet anywhere in the world through ‘mega-constellations’ of satellites. Since it started, Starlink has launched over 2,000 satellites. Unfortunately, the thousands of … Read more