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On December 5, 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) achieved a milestone in space exploration with the successful launch of its Proba-3 mission, which aims to create artificial solar eclipses. This revolutionary mission could provide groundbreaking insights into the Sun’s mysterious atmosphere, the corona. By creating artificial eclipses, the two Proba-3 spacecraft will work together to block the Sun’s light, allowing scientists to observe its outer layers like never before. These solar eclipses will provide a close-up view of the corona for the first time, unlocking secrets that were previously beyond our reach.

The Proba-3 mission is built around a remarkable concept: two satellites, the Occulter and the Coronagraph, will fly in precise formation, separated by a distance of 500 feet. This configuration will allow the Occulter to block the Sun’s light and cast a shadow onto the Coronagraph, creating an artificial eclipse in orbit. By mimicking the conditions of a natural solar eclipse, scientists will be able to observe the Sun’s corona for extended periods, up to six hours at a time, far surpassing the fleeting moments provided by natural eclipses on Earth.

This level of precision, described by ESA as “down to the thickness of a fingernail,” is unprecedented in space exploration. The spacecraft rely on a suite of advanced technologies, including GPS, star trackers, lasers, and radio links, to maintain their exact positioning autonomously. This capability allows the spacecraft to operate as though they were a single, integrated observatory, delivering the optical performance required for such ambitious science objectives.

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In a significant advancement in the field of anti-counterfeiting technology, Professor Jiseok Lee and his research team in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST have developed a new hidden anti-counterfeiting technology, harnessing the unique properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The results are published in Advanced Materials.

“The technology we have developed holds significant promise in preventing the counterfeiting of valuable artworks and defense materials, particularly in scenarios where authenticity must be verified against potential piracy,” Professor Lee explained.

The team leveraged the inherent disadvantage of AgNPs, which tend to discolor upon exposure to UV light, to create a controlled color development process. By trapping silver nanoparticles within a , researchers can manipulate and, consequently, the color emitted under UV light. Larger polymer nets yield silver nanoparticles that appear yellow, while smaller nets produce a red hue, allowing for precise control of the resultant colors based on ingredient combinations.

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The National Weather Service allowed the Tsunami Warning to expire on Thursday morning after a major magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Ferndale, California. The quake was the strongest for the area since 2005.

SAN FRANCISCO – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the coast of Northern California prompted a rare tsunami warning for coastal areas near the California–Oregon state line, including San Francisco Bay.

A powerful 7.0 earthquake was recorded around 10:44 a.m. PT about 60 miles offshore of Ferndale, California, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

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Chinese rivals, including Alibaba and DeepSeek, have released reasoning models like Marco-o1 and R1-Lite-Preview, are encroaching fast, challenging OpenAI’s dominance with open-source solutions and eclipsing o1-preview on certain third-party benchmarks.

These developments reflect the growing demand for large reasoning models (LRMs) capable of handling complex problem-solving tasks.

As OpenAI continues to refine its offerings, the rollout of o1 and ChatGPT Pro marks a milestone in its quest to provide accessible, high-performance AI tools. Whether these developments can maintain OpenAI’s leadership in an increasingly crowded market remains to be seen.

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The BBC speaks to residents and travellers in some of the top-ranked countries on the 2024 Global Innovation Index to find out how cutting-edge technology benefits day-to-day life.

With the rise of AI, self-driving cars and wi-fi connected appliances, it can feel like innovation is everywhere these days. But certain countries are known for developing cutting-edge technologies that benefit residents and visitors alike.

To dive into those countries making the most impact in these areas, the World Intellectual Property Organisation recently released its 2024 Global Innovation Index, ranking 130 economies based on measures like their education system, technology infrastructure and knowledge creation (like patents filed or mobile apps created).

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Physicists soon will be closer than ever to answering fundamental questions about the origins of the universe by learning more about its tiniest particles.

University of Cincinnati Professor Alexandre Sousa in a new paper outlined the next 10 years of global research into the behavior of neutrinos, particles so tiny that they pass through virtually everything by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light.

Neutrinos are the most abundant particles with mass in the universe, so scientists want to know more about them.

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Abstract. To gain insight into how researchers of aging perceive the process they study, we conducted a survey among experts in the field. While highlighting some common features of aging, the survey exposed broad disagreement on the foundational issues. What is aging? What causes it? When does it begin? What constitutes rejuvenation? Not only was there no consensus on these and other core questions, but none of the questions received a majority opinion—even regarding the need for consensus itself. Despite many researchers believing they understand aging, their understanding diverges considerably. Importantly, as different processes are labeled as “aging” by researchers, different experimental approaches are prioritized. The survey shed light on the need to better define which aging processes this field should target and what its goals are. It also allowed us to categorize contemporary views on aging and rejuvenation, revealing critical, yet largely unanswered, questions that appear disconnected from the current research focus. Finally, we discuss ways to address the disagreement, which we hope will ultimately aid progress in the field.

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