Lifeboat Foundation

That bees are downright awesome is not up for debate. After all, they pollinate about a third of all the crops that we consume and help to support ecosystems worldwide. Yet the bees are in trouble, with a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder (CCD) causing an alarming drop in numbers. Fortunately, a solution may be on the horizon in the form of genetically modified bacteria.

One thing that is a topic of great debate is the cause of CCD. Some studies point the finger at a particular class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, although many within the scientific community agree that multiple factors are probably at play.

What we do know is that CCD first became an issue once the Varroa mite became widespread, largely thanks to a global trade in European honeybees that brought them into contact with Asian parasites. At first, it was assumed that the mites were simply killing bees by sucking on their blood, although it later transpired that they also carried the lethal deformed wing virus (DWV), transmitting it into the bloodstream of the bees they feasted on.

Astra and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are readying for the first launch in a dual-mission “launch challenge”. Astra, the launch contractor, is currently conducting final preparations ahead of the launch of their Rocket 3.0 vehicle, nicknamed “1 of 3”. Both missions will launch from the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) in Kodiak, Alaska. The first launch attempt is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET on February 27. The window stretches until March 1.

Astra and the DARPA launch challenge

Thursday’s launch will be the third for Astra, coming after two launches in July and November 2018. Both launched from the PSCA in Alaska. These were originally believed to be failures. However, Astra stated that the first was successful, and the second was only “shorter than planned”. Neither were designed to reach orbit, as they didn’t have functioning second stages.

How can you see something that’s invisible? Well, with Euclid! This future ESA telescope will map the structure of the universe and teach us more about invisible dark matter and dark energy. Scientific coordinator of Euclid and Leiden astronomer Henk Hoekstra explains how this works.

Why do we assume that dark matter exists, if we have never seen it or even measured it? “We are orbiting the centre of our galaxy at 220 kilometres per second,” says Hoeksta. A bizarre speed, which fortunately we don’t notice. Still, something strange is going on. “Based on the number of stars in our Milky Way, the stars at the edge of the Milky Way should have a much lower speed, but they move as fast as the Sun. Yet these stars are not being slung into the universe. Something is holding them together.”

Continue reading “This is how ESA telescope Euclid is going to visualize dark matter” »

Rice University students are developing a research satellite to help alleviate the space junk orbiting our planet.

The OwlSat CubeSat will collect data over the course of one year to see how extreme ultraviolet radiation, which is always emitted from the sun but becomes more intense during events such as solar flares, can alter a satellite’s path in low-Earth orbit, the area where the International Space Station resides. Better understanding a satellite’s orbit can help prevent collisions that can create space junk, said Ryan Udell, president of Rice University’s chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.

“We don’t have a fool-proof way of mapping orbits,” Udell said. “There are very good predictors out there, but we can’t fully predict it.”

Prospective space tourists on Wednesday will be able to put an $1,000 deposit down to save a spot in line for Virgin Galactic tickets.

Why the novel coronavirus is so hard to stop.

Archaeologists have used laser technology to map a 100-km (62-mile) Maya stone road that could have been built 1,300 years ago to help with the invasion of an isolated city in modern-day Mexico. The ancient highway is thought to have been constructed at the command of the warrior queen Lady K’awiil Ajaw, and would have been coated in white plaster.

The 26 ft (8 m)-wide road, also known as Sacbe 1 or White Road 1, stretches from the ancient city of Cobá – one of the greatest cities of the Maya world – to the distant, smaller settlement of Yaxuná, located in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Newly-published research has shed new light on the nature of Lady K’awiil Ajaw’s great road by making use of light detection and ranging, otherwise known as LiDAR technology. To take their measurements, the authors made use of an airborne LiDAR instrument, which beamed lasers at the surface as it passed over the ancient road.

A drug used to treat a type of coronavirus that only affects cats could be the key to treating COVID-19, the human coronavirus spreading across the world.

A new virus called SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that has caused an outbreak of a disease called COVID-19. But what does that have to do with Mars?