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How phone batteries measure the weather
Our reports examine national and regional trends in mobile and broadband network experience, and develop in-depth insights into trends impacting consumer network experience.
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Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 2,419 posts.
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How a razor blade can be damaged as it cuts human hair (2020)
A new study by MIT engineers shows how shaving can damage blades. Human hair, 50 times softer than steel, can chip away a razor’s edge, the engineers found.
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World-first experimental cancer treatment paves way for clinical trial
An experimental treatment for an aggressive and lethal brain cancer has been published in Nature Medicine, paving the way for a clinical trial by researchers at The Brain Cancer Centre.
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Probiotics can support the effect of antidepressants
Intestinal flora plays an important role in health – including mental health. Researchers from the University of Basel and the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel (UPK) have shown that probiotics can support the effect of antidepressants and help to alleviate depression.
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Researchers find ‘significant rates’ of sinking ground in Houston suburbs
Professor of Geology Shuhab Khan and his team analyzed thousands of water and oil wells in the Houston metro area and uncovered significant rates of subsidence in Houston's fast-growing suburbs that has not been reported before.
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Starving cancer by cutting off its favorite foods
Scientists have discovered molecules that inhibit tumor growth by starving cancer cells of their favorite foods: the sugar glucose and the amino acid, glutamine.
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Oklo, the Earth's Two-billion-year-old only Known Natural Nuclear Reactor (2018)
Physicist Francis Perrin sat at a nuclearfuel-processing plant down in the south of France, thinking to himself: “This cannot be possible.” It was 1972.
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Portions of the brain fall asleep and wake back up all the time
New research finds that small regions of the brain cycle in and out of sleep, even when awake. The cycles shift toward “awake” when that part of the brain pays attention to a task.
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New antifungal therapy for fungal meningitis
A team of University of Minnesota Medical School researchers successfully tested a new antifungal therapy to treat fungal meningitis. The trial results were published today in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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Drivers who keep their windows down are exposed to 80 percent more air pollution
Discover how Surrey researchers show driving with windows down increases exposure to air pollution by around 80%, with implications for health.
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A new chapter begins for EV batteries with the expiry of key LFP patents
Expiry of key LFP battery patents in 2022 reshaped the EV sector—open access to tech is driving global strategy shifts as old IP barriers fall.
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Why the sun is a poor dumping ground for nuclear waste (2010)
A physicist explains why the sun is a poor dumping ground for nuclear waste.
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Vehicle brakes produce charged particles that may harm public health: study
The work could help efforts to contain an important source of air pollution
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Antiviral Molnupiravir Reduces Risk of Hospitalization/Death by ~50 Percent
At the Interim Analysis, 7.3 Percent of Patients Who Received Molnupiravir Were Hospitalized Through Day 29, Compared With 14.1 Percent of Placebo-Treated Patients Who were Hospitalized or Died Merck Plans to Seek Emergency Use Authorization in the U.S. as Soon as Possible and to Submit Applications to Regulatory…
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5-MeO-DMT Associated with Improvements in Depression, Anxiety
Study: Fast-acting psychedelic associated with improvements in depression and anxiety ›
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Evidence that drinking baking soda can promote an anti-inflammatory environment
AUGUSTA, Ga. – A daily dose of baking soda may help reduce the destructive inflammation of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists say.
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The software that flies SpaceX rockets and starships
Spaceflight, from the beginning, has depended on computers – both on the ground and in the spacecraft. SpaceX has carried it to a new level. We recently spoke with Steven Gerding, Dragon’s software development lead, about the special challenges software development has for SpaceX's many missions.
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Why is only half of Mars magnetized?
An article in the September 26 issue of Science neatly explains why only the southern half of Mars is strongly magnetized.
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Solar is now ‘cheapest electricity in history’, confirms IEA
The International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2020 report has found that, in most major countries, solar power is now cheaper than coal and gas.
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Unsteady income in young adulthood linked to thinking problems in middle age
MINNEAPOLIS – Young adults who experience annual income drops of 25 percent or more may be more at risk of having thinking problems and reduced brain health in middle age, according to a study published in the October 2, 2019, online issue of Neurology ® , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology …
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Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution: study
An MIT study shows that if U.S. nuclear power plants are retired, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to fill the energy gap could cause more than 5,000 premature deaths.
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Coffee grounds make concrete 30% stronger
Engineers in Australia have found a way of making stronger concrete with roasted used-coffee grounds, to give the drink-additive a “double shot” at life.
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Student discovers fungus predicted by Albert Hoffman
Making a discovery with the potential for innovative applications in pharmaceutical development, a West Virginia University microbiology student has found a long sought-after fungus that produces effects similar to the semisynthetic drug LSD, which is used to treat conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress…