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Topics /
Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 280 posts.
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ArXiv now offers papers in HTML format
arXiv’s goal is equitable access to scientific research for all – and to achieve this, we have been working to make research papers more accessible for arXiv…
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First word discovered in unopened Herculaneum scroll by CS student
Vesuvius Challenge \$700,000 Grand Prize “now definitely achievable”
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A journey into the shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma controversy
Cambridge University Press is publishing a textbook I have co-edited with five colleagues, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Investigating the Abusive Head Trauma Controversy, by Findley et al. With contributions by 32 authors, this book provides a thorough analysis of an interdisciplinary subject lying at the intersection of…
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Why do railway tracks have crushed stones alongside them?
Track ballast is the name for the crushed stones next to railway tracks. They are used by Railway Track Designers for numerous reasons
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Scientists have discovered the first virovore – an organism that eats viruses
Husker researchers have found that a single-celled microorganism can eat huge numbers of viruses that share its aquatic habitat. For the first time, the team’s lab experiments have also shown that a virus-only diet, which the team calls “virovory,” is enough to fuel the physiological growth and even population…
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GraphCast: AI model for weather forecasting
Our state-of-the-art model delivers 10-day weather predictions at unprecedented accuracy in under one minute
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Why was Roman concrete so durable?
Researchers have discovered ancient Roman concrete-manufacturing strategies that incorporated self-healing. Applying this knowledge toward modern cement production, they hope to improve the material’s environmental impact.
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ArXiv receives $10M for upgrades
Cornell Tech has announced a total of more than $10 million in gifts and grants from the Simons Foundation and the National Science Foundation, respectively, to support arXiv, a free distribution service and open-access archive for scholarly articles.
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Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman "for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19"
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Autonomous excavator constructs a six-metre-high dry-stone wall
ETH Zurich researchers taught an autonomous excavator to construct dry stone walls itself using boulders weighing several tonnes and demolition debris.
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Electric vehicle battery prices are falling faster than expected
We harness every resource, insight, relationship, and competitive advantage to drive superior results for our clients.
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Wendelstein 7-X: Gigajoule energy turnover generated for eight minutes
After successful recommissioning in autumn 2022, the Greifswald nuclear fusion experiment has surpassed an important target.
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Significant breakthrough in search for Parkinson's biomarker
We are charting the path to a future free from Parkinson’s. Your support will get us there.
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Engineers develop water filtration that removes “forever chemicals”
Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new water treatment that removes “forever chemicals” from drinking water safely, efficiently – and for good.
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Parrots learn to make video calls to chat with other parrots: study
Pet parrots in a new study led by Northeastern researchers loved using iPads to call fellow birds to chat while forging lasting friendships.
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Light can make water evaporate without heat
At the interface of water and air, light can, in certain conditions, bring about evaporation without the need for heat, according to an MIT study.
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Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers
The fastest way to heat food and drink might also rank as the fastest route to ingesting massive quantities of minuscule plastic particles, says new research led by Husker engineers.
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Euclid's First Images
Euclid, our dark Universe detective, has a difficult task: to investigate how dark matter and dark energy have made our Universe look like it does today. 95% of our cosmos ...
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Breakdown of faults by car brand: Tesla has replaced Dacia at the bottom
Minimised clearances, active hoods, new materials, new drive technologies – surely modern cars have reached their pinnacle?
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Scientists regenerate hair cells that enable hearing
Researchers move closer to gene therapy solution for hearing loss
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A new method to reprogram human cells to better mimic embryonic stem cells
In a groundbreaking study published today in Nature, Australian scientists have resolved a long-standing problem in regenerative medicine.
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Engineered material can reconnect severed nerves
Rice neuroengineers designed the first self-rectifying magnetoelectric material and showed it can not only precisely stimulate neurons remotely but also reconnect a broken sciatic nerve in a rat model.
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Eating microwave popcorn increases the level of PFAS in body (2022)
Dear Doctors: I’ve been hearing a lot about PFAS and how they have an adverse effect on our health. I read that some food wrappers, like bags for microwave popcorn, use PFAS to keep food from sticking. My kids eat microwaved popcorn almost every night. Should I be worried?