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The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 205 posts.
Researchers at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester have identified mechanisms in the brain’s hippocampal network that are rescued by ketones. These findings build on previous research showing that ketones can alleviate neurological and cognitive affects.
New testing done at China’s Shidaowan nuclear power plant has confirmed its ability to be naturally cooled down, an industry-first milestone for achieving commercial-scale inherent safety, according to researchers.
Fossils of a new group of animal predators have been located in the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet fossil locality in North Greenland. These large worms may be some of the earliest carnivorous animals to have colonised the water column more than 518 million years ago, revealing a past dynasty of predators that…
When a country parson first described black holes in 1783, the concept was so ahead of its time it was mostly ignored.
Up until the late 1960s, physiologists believed that the maximum depth a person could descend to was determined by the depth at which their total lung capacity (TLC) was compressed to the same volume as their residual volume (RV) which is the smallest lung volume a person can breathe to. The TLC was predicted to be…
Liquid metal printing, developed by MIT researchers, rapidly creates 3D metal structures by depositing molten aluminum along into a bed filled with microscopic glass beads. The process can produce low-resolution objects like frames for chairs and tables in minutes.
Some of the most perfectly preserved trilobite fossils ever found have revealed details of the extinct arthropod unknown until now.
In a new study , a molecule identified and synthesized by UCLA Health researchers was shown to restore cognitive functions in mice with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease by effectively jumpstarting the brain's memory circuitry.
<p>More than most technical procedures in the ancient world, drilling of hard stone such as quartz and granite has evoked […]</p>
MIT engineers built a solar-powered desalination system that produces large quantities of clean water despite variations in sunlight throughout the day. Because it requires no extra batteries, it offers a much more affordable way to produce drinking water, compared to other solar-driven designs.
After years of research, TU/e scientists Jom Luiten and Peter Mutsaers and their team have successfully generated high-quality hard X-rays with a compact device.
Warp drives are staples of science fiction, and in principle could propel spaceships faster than the speed of light. However, there are many problems with constructing them in practice, such as the requirement for an exotic type of matter with negative energy. Nevertheless, physicists have been exploring the…
How heavy can an element be? Ancient stars were capable of producing elements heavier than any element on the periodic table found naturally on Earth.
The Rhisotope Project at Wits is entering a new testing phase with the insertion of radioisotopes into 20 live rhinoceros.
As decisions over the future viability of deep sea mining are under review, Planet Tracker’s latest report ‘The Climate Myth of Deep Sea Mining’ examines deep sea mining companies’ claim that mining polymetallic nodules could be a low carbon alternative to mining on land.
By combining two types of remote sensing data, we can see hidden leaks from ships
A small clinical trial led by Stanford Medicine found that the metabolic effects of a ketogenic diet may help stabilize the brain.
Researchers were able to trace a form of the autoimmune disease lupus back to a single mutation
Today, a team of scientists from Trinity College Dublin and investigators from FutureNeuro announced a major discovery that has profound importance for our understanding of brain fog and cognitive decline seen in some patients with Long COVID.
A ‘one of a kind’ fossil discovery could transform our understanding of how the unique brains and intelligence of modern birds evolved, one of the most enduring mysteries of vertebrate evolution.
What is the penguin’s skeleton truly made of? Do penguins actually have knees? Why do penguins walk that way. Find out here!
MIT astronomers discovered three of the oldest stars in the universe, and they live in our own galactic neighborhood. The stars are in the Milky Way’s “halo” — the cloud of stars that envelopes the entire main galactic disk — and they appear to have formed between 12 and 13 billion years ago, when the very first…
Did you know that bees can perceive time? Not even just simply tracking the Sun. Actual time measurements.
Is DNA all you need?
We’re developing a blueprint for evaluating the risk that a large language model (LLM) could aid someone in creating a biological threat. In an evaluation involving both biology experts and students, we found that GPT-4 provides at most a mild uplift in biological threat creation accuracy. While this uplift is not…
Tiny diatoms in the ocean are masters at capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment. They fix up to 20 percent of the Earth’s CO2. A research team at the University of Basel has now discovered a protein shell in these algae that is necessary for efficient CO2 fixation. This groundbreaking discovery can…
