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Topics /
Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 4,455 posts.
2822
Could the Earth be an evaporated gas giant planet?
Is Earth Potentially an Evaporated Gas Giant?
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Gödel's Theorem
A much-abused result in mathematical logic , supposed by many authors who don't understand it to support their own favored brand of rubbish, and even subjected to surprisingly rough handling by some who really should know better.
2824
Bit by bit microplastics from tyres are polluting our waterways
Particles from tyre wear were found to be the most prevalent microplastic in urban stormwater
2825
Vitamin C is a bug that needs to be patched
So Maciej Cegłowski has updated his blog for the first time in four months. Upon encountering the novel task of "actually generating HTML", his gimcrack blogging software sprayed a couple random posts across his RSS feed, one of which was the venerable 2010 essay on scurvy in Antarctic exploration. Which, combined…
2826
Link between inflammation and mental sluggishness shown in new study
Scientists at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam have uncovered a possible explanation for the mental sluggishness that often accompanies illness.
2827
Study links high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease to plastics
UC Riverside-led mouse study finds a receptor greatly contributes to the harmful effects of plastic-associated chemicals
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A Short History of Color Theory
Programming Design Systems is a free digital book that teaches a practical introduction to the new foundations of graphic design.
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Rat had 'no brain' and somehow lived a normal life
Many scientists believe that parts of the brain are meant only for specific functions. What if there were an animal that proved them wrong?
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My New Year’s Resolution – read a research paper every weekday
… and post a write-up on this blog. That sounds crazy of course – who has the time to read a paper every weekday? Let alone write it up! I’ve done it for each of the last two calendar y…
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Engineers produce a fisheye lens that’s completely flat
Engineers at MIT and UMass Lowell have designed a wide-angle lens that is completely flat. It is the first flat fisheye lens to produce crisp, 180-degree panoramic images.
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PVX-001: open-source Covid-19 vaccine starts Phase 1 trial
First participants safely dosed in Melbourne, Australia, on August 31, 2026, in the first-in-human trial of our broadly-protective COVID-19 vaccine candidate PVX-001.
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Computer simulation helps test land management techniques to help bumblebees
The many threats facing bumblebees can be tested using a “virtual safe space” created by scientists at the University of Exeter.
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The IBM scientist who rewrote the rules of information just won a Turing Award
What started as a conversation on the beach between two scientists led to the “Nobel Prize in computing“ decades later. More on Charles Bennet, co-recipient of the 2025 Turing Award.
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The biggest losers: Metabolic damage or constrained energy?
Did the Biggest Loser contestants really damage their metabolism or was something else going on?
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Nicotine (2016)
On the benefits and lack of demerits of nicotine (research up to 2015)
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What's wrong with social science and how to fix it
Replication, citations, power, incentives, and more.
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Can ketones enhance cognitive function and protect brain networks?
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.
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Ocean plastics: How much do rich countries contribute by shipping their waste?
Many countries ship plastic waste overseas. How much of the world’s waste is traded, and how big is its role in the pollution of our oceans?
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Can we make a black hole? And if we could, what could we do with it?
Science News, Physics, Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
2847
People took some potassium and lost some weight
In November 2021, we finished our series A Chemical Hunger, where we argue that the obesity epidemic is the result of environmental contaminants, and that one of those contaminants might be lithium…
2848
Why wasn’t the steam engine invented earlier? Part III
You’re reading Age of Invention, my newsletter on the causes of the British Industrial Revolution and the history of innovation.
2849
Eating sardines regularly helps prevent type 2 diabetes
Nutrients such as taurine, omega 3, calcium and vitamin D help to protect against the diseaseThe study was carried out on a group of participants aged 65 and above. However, investigators claim the results could be extrapolated to other age groupsSardine consumption also improves other health parameters, such as…
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A Behind the Scenes Take on Lithium-Ion Battery Prices
Automakers and policy makers are increasingly voicing their belief that the passenger vehicle of the future will be powered (partially or fully) by electricity. There remains, however, a lack of consensus on the timing and speed of the transition, in large part due to differing opinions on current and future…