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Dec 4, 2020

China Just Powered Up Its “Artificial Sun” Fusion Reactor

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

China is getting serious about nuclear fusion energy.

Dec 4, 2020

How to Watch Hayabusa2 Return an Asteroid Sample to Earth

Posted by in category: space

The Japanese Hayabusa2 mission to asteroid Ryugu marks a major milestone this weekend with the return of pristine space rock.

Dec 4, 2020

A New Theorem Maps Out the Limits of Quantum Physics

Posted by in categories: mapping, quantum physics

The result highlights a fundamental tension: Either the rules of quantum mechanics don’t always apply, or at least one basic assumption about reality must be wrong.

Dec 4, 2020

A ‘tsunami’ for astrophysics: New Gaia data reveals the best map of our galaxy yet

Posted by in category: space

Europe’s Gaia spacecraft has produced the best-yet map of the Milky Way with measurements of 1.8 billion objects.

Dec 4, 2020

Ancient Viruses Are Buried in Your DNA

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Endogenous retroviruses wormed into the human genome eons ago. Today viral genes continue to produce a variety of mysterious proteins in the body.

Dec 4, 2020

UN commission reclassifies cannabis, no longer considered risky narcotic

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) took a number of decisions on Wednesday, leading to changes in the way cannabis is internationally regulated, including its reclassification out of the most dangerous category of drugs.

Dec 4, 2020

Cockroaches Are Rapidly Evolving To Become ‘Almost Impossible’ To Kill

Posted by in category: chemistry

Don’t worry, they aren’t immune to a good slipper…for now.


The rise of the superbug cockroach is upon us. A new study has found that German cockroaches (Blattella germanica) are rapidly evolving to become resistant to many widely used bug sprays and insecticides, as well as chemicals they’ve never been directly exposed to, making them near-impossible to eliminate and one step closer to taking over the world.

Remarkably, the study published in Scientific Reports revealed these scuttling pests could even develop resistance within a single generation. Others also developed cross-resistance, meaning they gained a tolerance to a usually toxic substance just through contact with a similar type of insecticide.

Continue reading “Cockroaches Are Rapidly Evolving To Become ‘Almost Impossible’ To Kill” »

Dec 4, 2020

China’s Chang’e-5 Moon mission returns colour pictures

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space

The robotic Chang’e-5 probe starts work to gather lunar samples it can send to Earth for study.

Dec 4, 2020

China’s Chang’e 5 probe lifts off from moon carrying lunar samples

Posted by in category: space

China has launched a small spacecraft from the surface of the moon in the critical next step in the ambitious Chang’e 5 mission to bring lunar samples to Earth.

Dec 4, 2020

Episode 27 — Why Mars Went Wrong

Posted by in category: space

This is the episode for all those with questions about what we know about Mars. Specifically, how Mars went from being potentially habitable to the desert we see today. Guest Bruce Jakosky, the Principal Investigator for NASA’s MAVEN Mars orbiter explains it all.


NASA’s MAVEN orbiter has arguably done more to document how and why Mars lost its atmosphere and much of its water than any spacecraft ever sent to the red planet. The mission’s principal investigator, planetary scientist Bruce Jakosky is this week’s featured guest and we discuss the current paradigm on why Mars went so horribly wrong. Jakosky offers a candid and inside look at how such missions work and what we can expect from Mars science in the next few years.