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SpaceX launches its first mission of 2023 following a record-smashing 2022

The company almost doubled its launch record set the previous year. This year, it will likely break new ground with Starship.

SpaceX’s first mission of 2023 launched a massive 114 satellites into orbit. The Falcon 9 rideshare mission, called Transporter-6, launched at 10:56 a.m. EST (1456 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The new mission kickstarts what is set to be a massive year for SpaceX as the company readies for the orbital launch of its next-generation Starship rocket.

It also follows on from what was a record-breaking year for SpaceX in 2022, with the company almost doubling its previous launch record.

SpaceX / YouTube.

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We’re about to get our first demonstration of space-based solar power

A new demo from Caltech will test the viability of unlimited solar power beamed back to Earth from orbit.

A new demo from Caltech is set to launch in January 2023, and it could shake up the way we collect and harvest solar power in the future.

Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) is getting ready to put its first Space Solar Power Demonstrator into space to test new technologies that could make the dream of space-based solar power harvesting — which could yield considerably more energy than ground-based solar arrays — closer to reality.

Skip Zoom? Holographic tech allows you to ‘beam’ into your next meeting

The hologram device has been announced as a CES 2023 Innovation Awards Honoree. That’s two times in a row.

Zoom-like webcam chats could be going the way of the dodo, a new holographic technology is making waves to bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds.

The original, patented hologram device from Proto M, created by a Los Angeles firm called Proto, was this week announced as a CES 2023 Innovation Awards Honoree in the category of Digital Health.

Mikkelwilliam/iStock.

People from all walks of life are beaming themselves into meetings in real-time from anywhere in the world, igniting the science fiction dreams of many who have eyed the likes of Star Wars, Avatar, and Prometheus (to name a few).

Continue reading “Skip Zoom? Holographic tech allows you to ‘beam’ into your next meeting” | >

MIT researchers developed self-assembling proteins that can store ‘cellular memories’

The proteins can record histories of cellular events.

Researchers from MIT developed a technique to induce cells to record the history of cellular events in a long protein chain that can be imaged using a light microscope. The technique could help understand the critical steps involved in the processes, such as memory formation, response to drug treatment, and gene expression.

Studying the molecular processes within cells can provide important insights into their function and how they contribute to the overall functioning of an organ.

Design Cells/iStock.

“Biological systems are often composed of a large number of different types of cells. To understand those kinds of biological systems, we need to observe physiological events over time in these large cell populations,” said Changyang Linghu, Assistant Professor at the Michigan Neuroscience Institute and author of the study.

Chicxulub crater might be the smoking gun for the dinosaurs’ end of days

Forged 66 million years ago, an enormous impact crater near Chixculub, Mexico, was left undiscovered until only a few short decades ago. But what caused it?

Millions of years ago, a dramatic mass extinction wiped out the dinosaurs.

Marking the transition between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras (which we are still in), it was one of the most significant events in Earth’s history. The cause? Perhaps a giant asteroid hit Chixculub near modern-day Yucatan, Mexico.

Sixty-six million years ago, something from the very edge of our solar system completed its unlikely journey into the inner planets.

Aunt_Spray/iStock.

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A black hole is burping radiation and scientists are trying to find out why

Complementing data with NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory provided additional insights.

An international collaboration of researchers used observations from the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to find out more about a supermassive black hole that mysteriously gives out bubbles of radiation, a press release said.

Supermassive black holes are often seen at the heart of galaxy clusters in the centers of enormous galaxies. The atmospheres of these galaxy clusters are filled with hot plasma that can exceed temperatures of 50 million degrees Celsius. Over long periods of time, these temperatures cool down relatively, which allows the formation of new stars.

Scientists produced X-ray pulses ten times more powerful than ever before

The new system could open up a whole host of new research avenues.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory developed a new method to push the limits of the lab’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), a press statement reveals.

Enhancing an incredibly powerful laser system.

Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The team adapted a Nobel Prize-winning technique used to create superpowerful optical laser pulses called chirped pulse amplification (CPA). In doing so, they were able to produce X-ray pulses ten times more powerful than ever before.

In a first, human brain organoids placed in the mouse cortex react to visual stimuli

“No other study has been able to record optically and electrically at the same time.”

Engineers and neuroscientists at the University of California, San Diego have shown for the first time that mice implanted with human brain organoids have functional connectivity to their cortex and respond to external sensory stimuli.

A novel experimental setup that combines transparent graphene microelectrode arrays and two-photon imaging allowed researchers to make this observation over a period of months in real time. The implanted organoids responded to visual stimuli in the same manner as surrounding tissues, according to the press release.

Researchers use virtual reality games to detect ADHD symptoms in children

Minor tweaks could expand its scope of applications to other conditions, such as autism.

Researchers used virtual reality (VR) games to diagnose attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) through differences in eye movements, according to a press release published by Aalto University. This method could potentially be utilized as a basis for ADHD treatment and, with minor tweaks, to assess other conditions like autism.

ADHD is a common attention disorder that affects six million U.S. children between the ages of 3 and 17 years, according to a national survey of parents.

Scientists have revealed a link between drinking enough water and aging

“Proper hydration may slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life.”

It is an indisputable fact that drinking water is beneficial for our health. In addition to its contribution to metabolism, it also plays an important role in keeping the skin moist. According to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) new study, drinking water also links people to age in a healthy way.

As stated in the release, researchers looked at the relationship between several health markers and blood salt levels, which rise when fluid intake declines. The study included health information acquired from 11,255 participants over a 30-year period.

Rawpixel/iStock.

They discovered that, compared to adults with serum sodium levels in the middle of the normal range, those with serum sodium levels at the higher end of the range were more likely to acquire chronic illnesses and exhibit symptoms of advanced biological aging. Adults with higher levels had an increased risk of passing away earlier in life.