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New Horizons enters safe mode 10 days before Pluto flyby
New Horizons decided to put on a little 4th of July drama for the mission's fans. It's currently in safe mode, and it will likely be a day or two before…
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Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 2,419 posts.
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Pierogi in Space
In a first for space cuisine, ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will bring pierogi, the traditional Polish dumplings, to the International Space Station during the upcoming Axiom Mission 4.
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Seeing Like a Data Structure
Our data-centric way of seeing the world isn't serving us well. Barath Raghavan and Bruce Schneier argue that we need new socio-technical systems that leave room for the inherent messiness of reality.
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Enzymes open new path to universal donor blood
Researchers at DTU and Lund University have discovered enzymes that remove hindrances that stood in the way of developing universal donor blood.
1415
The geometry of an electron determined for the first time
Physicists at the University of Basel are able to show for the first time how a single electron looks in an artificial atom. A newly developed method enables them to show the probability of an electron being present in a space. This allows improved control of electron spins, which could serve as the smallest…
1416
Giant leap against Diabetes
Harvard stem cell researchers announced a giant leap forward in the quest to find a truly effective treatment for type 1 diabetes, a disease that affects an estimated 3 million Americans.
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10-year-old problem in theoretical computer science falls
Interactive proofs — mathematical games that underlie much modern cryptography — work even if players try to use quantum information to cheat.
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‘Vegan spider silk’ provides sustainable alternative to single-use plastics
Researchers have created a plant-based, sustainable, scalable material that could replace single-use plastics in many consumer products.
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The most powerful MRI scanner in the world delivers its first images
September 2021, the 11.7 Tesla MRI of the Iseult project, the most powerful in the world for human imaging, has just unveiled its first images.
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Common cold combats Covid-19
A new Yale-led study finds that immune system activity jump-started by rhinovirus exposure could prevent or treat the early stages of COVID-19 infection.
1422
A living replacement knee to be tested in clinical trials within five years
Columbia biomedical engineers are collaborating with orthopedic surgeons to build a living replacement knee to be tested in clinical trials within five years.
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Theoretical way to levitate objects with light
Specially designed materials enable objects of different sizes to be levitated and manipulated with light, thanks to new research from Caltech scientists.
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To predict the future, the brain uses two clocks
In sports, music and other activities, our movement is calculated in two different parts of the brain
1426
Surgical masks reduce Covid-19 spread, large-scale Stanford study shows
Researchers found that surgical masks impede the spread of COVID-19 and that just a few, low-cost interventions increase mask-wearing compliance.
1427
The Effect of Noise on Sleep
Using Apple Watch noise and sleep stages to quantify the effect of noise on sleep
1428
NRC issues first U.S. construction permit for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor
KNOXVILLE, TN (September 29, 2026) – GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) today welcomed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) issuance of a construction permit to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.The permit is the…
1429
Study: Electroshock therapy more successful for depression than ketamine
Therapeutic technique, portrayed unfavorably in films and TV shows, shows consistently better results with treatment-resistant depression
1430
Nearly half of teenagers globally cannot read with comprehension
The chart shows the share of children at the end of lower-secondary school age — aged 12 to 15 — who meet the minimum proficiency set by UNESCO in reading comprehension. This means they can connect the main ideas across various texts, understand the author’s intentions, and draw reasoned conclusions.
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Imperial mathematician scoops $3M Breakthrough Prize
Professor Sir Martin Hairer is the single winner of the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.
1433
Healthy but sedentary people show early decline in cellular energy production
Study finds that healthy but sedentary individuals show early decline in cellular energy production.
1434
Prostate cancer includes two different evotypes
Artificial Intelligence has helped scientists reveal a new form of aggressive prostate cancer, which could revolutionise how the disease is diagnosed and treated in the future.
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Oldest recorded solar eclipse helps date the Egyptian pharaohs
Researchers have pinpointed the date of what could be the oldest solar eclipse yet recorded. The event, which occurred on 30 October 1207 BC, is mentioned in the Bible and could have consequences for the chronology of the ancient world.
1437
ArXiv's Updated Rate Limit Policy
arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…
1438
Common prostate cancer treatment linked to later dementia, researcher says
A new retrospective study of the health records of prostate cancer patients supports an association between androgen deprivation therapy and future risk of dementia.
1439
F-1 Engine Recovery
Thanks to the conservation team at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, the Apollo F-1 artifacts are ready for display. A few weeks ago the first shipment of artifacts arrived at The Museum of Flight here in Seattle, and I joined museum president Doug King, adjunct curator for space history Geoff Nunn, and…
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