Lifeboat Foundation

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has just scored another first: a detailed molecular and chemical portrait of a distant world’s skies.

The telescope’s array of highly sensitive instruments was trained on the atmosphere of a “hot Saturn”—a planet about as massive as Saturn orbiting a star some 700 light-years away—known as WASP-39 b. While JWST and other space telescopes, including Hubble and Spitzer, have previously revealed isolated ingredients of this broiling planet’s atmosphere, the new readings provide a full menu of atoms, molecules, and even signs of active chemistry and clouds.

Continue reading “James Webb Space Telescope reveals an exoplanet atmosphere as never seen before” »

For the first time in experimental history, researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) have created a device that generates twisted neutrons with well-defined orbital angular momentum. Previously considered an impossibility, this groundbreaking scientific accomplishment provides a brand new avenue for researchers to study the development of next-generation quantum materials with applications ranging from quantum computing to identifying and solving new problems in fundamental physics.

“Neutrons are a powerful probe for the characterization of emerging quantum materials because they have several unique features,” said Dr. Dusan Sarenac, research associate with IQC and technical lead, Transformative Quantum Technologies at the University of Waterloo. “They have nanometer-sized wavelengths, electrical neutrality, and a relatively large mass. These features mean neutrons can pass through materials that X-rays and light cannot.”

While methods for the experimental production and analysis of orbital angular momentum in photons and electrons are well-studied, a device design using neutrons has never been demonstrated until now. Because of their distinct characteristics, the researchers had to construct new devices and create novel methods for working with neutrons.

The new type of home could address housing shortages.

On Monday, the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) unveiled the first 3D-printed house made entirely out of bio-based materials called BioHome3D, according to a press release by the institution.

Fully recyclable and highly insulated

Continue reading “First ever 100 percent bio-based 3D-printed home unveiled” »

The agency’s sent a tiny lunar lander aboard NASA’s Artemis I moon mission.

Japan will have to wait a little longer to perform its historic first lunar landing. That’s because a tiny Japanese moon lander that hitched a ride aboard NASA’s Artemis I moon mission has failed to make it to the lunar surface, a report from Space.com reveals.

Officials working on the OMOTENASHI moon spacecraft announced on Twitter that they had failed to pick up the CubeSat’s signal ahead of a planned lunar landing attempt.

Continue reading “Japan’s space agency had to abandon a historic lunar landing attempt” »

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer allowed scientists to probe a distant blazar, shedding new light on the cosmic giants.

Scientists made observations of bright, shining jets of particles shooting out of a supermassive black hole and they published their findings in a paper in Nature.

Investigating a blazar with state-of-the-art instruments.

Continue reading “Scientists observe bright jets of light shooting from black hole like never before” »

Some of them could fertilize ecosystems, while others could have pathogenic potential.

More and more glaciers are melting as the Earth heats up, posing a multitude of threats to humanity. From rising sea levels to increased coastal erosion, the record speed at which the world’s ice sheets are melting has the potential to disrupt societies globally.

Now scientists from Aberystwyth University warn that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of microbes could leak into lakes and rivers as the world’s glaciers melt due to climate change, according to an institutional press release.

“We are going to be able to see the big picture of exoplanet atmospheres.”

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided a detailed molecular and chemical profile of a distant exoplanet’s skies in a world first, a blog post from the space agency reveals.

However, the new observations from James Webb reveal the makeup of the exoplanet’s atmosphere like never before and reveal further details of active chemistry and clouds.

Continue reading “James Webb uncovers the mysteries of an alien world’s atmosphere 700 light-years away” »

China has more than doubled the percentage of ‘highly cited researchers’ over the last five years.

China has a steady increase in the number of “high-impact scientists” than the United States, which is still the leader but has seen a steady drop over the years.

Research fuels the race for knowledge.

Continue reading “Survey: China is slowly diminishing US dominance over science” »

The discovery could lead to potential future targeted therapies and treatments for this brain disorder.

Researchers have found two novel genes that increase an individual’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This disorder is the leading cause of dementia and has an estimated heritability —genetic factor causing variation in the population, or an inherited trait— of 70%.

Digicomphoto/iStock.

Continue reading “The world’s largest Alzheimer’s study has made a gene discovery that could lead to treatments” »