Good thing there are no traffic cameras in space! The #ParkerSolarProbe spacecraft reached a top speed of 213,200 miles per hour relative to the Sun during its first close approach to our closest star, setting a new record for spacecraft speed.☀️Learn more from NASA Sun Science about this mission of solar discovery: https://go.nasa.gov/2FgIky6
Polish astronomers just discovered two new planets in our galaxy. That’s cool news on its own, but these planets are different from most. Unlike almost all known planets, New Scientist reports, these two planets don’t orbit a star.
Instead, they drift aimlessly through the cold, dead void of space — and presumably spend their time writing angsty poetry.
Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor planted ‘Red Russian’ kale and ‘Dragoon’ lettuce in a special garden last month and if all goes well, they will be ready to enjoy for Thanksgiving! Dig in: https://go.nasa.gov/2F45vvj
Samsung TVs are already some of the most popular options for high-end home theater systems, and the company is now using its television-making prowess to help people with disabilities live more normal lives. A new project by a Samsung team in Switzerland could yield the first smart TV that can be controlled with thoughts.
As CNET reports, Samsung has partnered with Swiss scientists to bring the system to life. Called ‘Project Pontis,’ the ultimate goal is to build a brain/software interface that will allow individuals with movement disabilities to control television features like channel switching and volume control with their brains rather than their bodies.
Motivation is such an intangible aspect of the human spirit that we often forget it has very real, neurochemical origins. We admire it in others and strive for it in ourselves (see: every Nike ad ever made), and now we are getting closer to potentially inducing that motivational feeling with drugs.
John Salamone, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Connecticut with a background in neural and behavioral pharmacology, has been working with the drug company Chronos Therapeutics to develop a drug that can restore motivation in people who have lost it — whether that’s due to the symptoms of depression, struggle with disease, or otherwise. He unveiled his early results on rats this week in a presentation at the Society For Neuroscience’s conference in San Diego, where he tells Inverse his board was bustling with activity:
“Basically we stood there for four hours and were busy the entire time,” says Salamone. The reception was overwhelmingly positive, he adds. “We didn’t have anyone say ‘This is crazy! This will never work!’”.
The UK’s first quantum accelerometer for navigation has been demonstrated by a team from Imperial College London and M Squared.
Most navigation today relies on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as GPS, which sends and receives signals from satellites orbiting the Earth. The quantum accelerometer is a self-contained system that does not rely on any external signals.
This is particularly important because satellite signals can become unavailable due to blockages such as tall buildings, or can be jammed, imitated or denied – preventing accurate navigation. One day of denial of the satellite service would cost the UK £1 billion.
