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Topics /
Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 4,454 posts.
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23andMe meets FDA standards, adds back wellness reports
23andMe made some news today, with the launch of a new experience for customers that includes the first and only direct-to-consumer genetic service that meets U.S. FDA standards. We invested nearly two years of work conducting extensive user testing, working with regulators, scientists, physicians, and top product…
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Open access to ACM Digital Library during coronavirus pandemic
For the next 3 months, through 6/30/20, ACM is making all work published by ACM in the ACM Digital Library freely accessible.
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Systems that defy detailed understanding
Last week, I wrote about the mindset that computer systems can be understood, and behaviors can be explained, if we’re willing to dig deep enough into the stack of abstractions our software is built atop. Some of the ensuing discussion on Twitter and elsewhere lead me to write this followup, in which I want to run…
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Vesuvius Challenge: First letters found in new scroll
PHerc. 172 (Scroll 5) is here.
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Magnetic wormhole created for first time
Scientists in the Department of Physics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have designed and created in the laboratory the first experimental wormhole that can connect two regions of space magnetically. The device could have applications in medicine, opening up ways to make MRIs more comfortable for patients.
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ESA’s Juice lifts off on quest to discover secrets of Jupiter’s icy moons
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 14:14 CEST on 14 April. The successful launch marks the beginning of an ambitious voyage to uncover the secrets of the ocean worlds around giant planet Jupiter.
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CERN Online introductory lectures on quantum computing from 6 November
This content is currently in the process of being archived and integrated into the CERN Library collections.
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Open, rigorous and reproducible research: A practitioner’s handbook (2021)
Even though many scientists are expected to abide by the principles of open, rigorous and reproducible research, few scientists actually receive formal training in this. Indeed, there is no collection written by working scientists for working scientists about the principles of transparent, rigorous and reproducible…
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Ejaculation frequency and prostate cancer (2022)
Research into the connections between sexual activity and prostate cancer....
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Reasonable expectation of effectiveness for large dog lifespan extension
A historic milestone in developing the first drug for healthy lifespan extension in dogs
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What’s a fire, and why does it burn?
I was staring at a bonfire on a beach the other day and realized that I didn’t understand anything about fire and how it works. (For example: what determines its color?) So I looked up some s…
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Sequencing your DNA with a USB dongle and open source code
It takes the most exquisite measurements you can imagine, recording the changes in current associated with different bits of DNA.
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A googol-to-one gear ratio [video]
To celebrate being alive for a billion seconds, Daniel Bruin built a machine with 100 gears with a 10-to-1 gear ratio…meaning that the overall gear ratio is a g
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Uncovered Euripides fragments are 'kind of a big deal'
CU Boulder Classics scholars identify previously unknown fragments of two lost tragedies by Greek tragedian Euripides.
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If you think psychological science is bad, imagine how bad it was in 1999
Shane Frederick points us to this article from 1999 , “Stereotype susceptibility: Identity salience and shifts in quantitative performance,” about which he writes:
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Air Accident Investigation Branch: film lights caused window damage on A321neo
The UK AAIB says high-powered film lights caused damaged to the windows of the Titan Airways A321neo G-OATW.
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How do our brains adapt to control an extra body part?
Members of the public have little trouble in learning very quickly how to use a third thumb – a controllable, prosthetic extra thumb – to pick up and manipulate objects.
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Einstein went to his office just so he could walk home with Gödel
Albert Einstein used to say that he went to his office at the Institute for Advanced Study “just to have the privilege of walking home with Kurt Gödel.” The two would meet at Einstein’s home each day between 10 and 11 and undertake the half-hour walk to the institute. At 1 or 2 in the afternoon they’d walk back…
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A method for improving Milky Way exposures in light pollution
Light pollution is a rapidly growing problem. Most of the population in the United States cannot see the Milky Way. When I look up at the sky from Venice, California, I can see about 20 stars. The rest of the galaxy is hidden by an orange haze of light pollution. This guide talks about a method called ETTR or…
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The claimed effect size is about a zillion times higher than is plausible
Some years ago, you blogged about a research article by Hasan and colleagues (2013) .
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Quantum supremacy: the gloves are off
Links:Google paper in NatureNew York Times articleIBM paper and blog post responding to Google’s announcementBoaz Barak’s new post: “Boaz’s inferior classical inferiority FA…
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Make your own pyramid salt crystals
This guide teaches you how to make pyramid salt crystals at home. Follow these simple steps to turn regular salt into premium artisan salt.
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New lightweight material is stronger than steel
MIT chemical engineers have created a new material that is stronger than steel, as light as plastic, and can be easily manufactured in large quantities.