science-and-technology6.36 min read
Truffles hitchhike to new habitats through animal meals
1 month ago•Source: The Economist
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6.365 min•1 month ago
Mind over immunity: brain boosts vaccine response through positive expectations
A Nature Medicine study shows that positive expectations can enhance the immune response to vaccines, illustrating a neural mechanism behind the placebo effect and suggesting mind-over-matter strategies could improve vaccination efficacy.
75.195 min•1 month ago
NASA debunks seven-second gravity loss rumors for August 12, 2026
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China Unveils Record-Breaking Hypergravity Machine
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Innovative Metal Material Promises Adaptive Shape-Shifting Aircraft Wings
Researchers have developed a new metal material that could enable aircraft wings to change shape during flight, allowing for improved aerodynamics and efficiency.
China's Xuntian Space Telescope to Reveal Universe's Secrets with Breakthrough Data Simulations
China's Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), also known as Xuntian, has completed a high-quality scientific data simulation, marking a key step toward its 2026 launch. The telescope features advanced optical systems with a 2-meter aperture, designed for wide-field, multi-color imaging to study galaxies, stars, and exoplanets, promising significant contributions to astrophysics and cosmology. It will operate independently and dock with China's space station for maintenance, supporting long-term space-based scientific exploration.
Private and Billionaire-Backed Initiatives Drive Next-Gen Space and Ground Telescopes
A billionaire-backed organization, Schmidt Sciences, is developing a suite of four observatories, including Lazuli, a large space telescope comparable to Hubble but at a fraction of the cost and in a shorter timeframe, aiming for launch around 2028 to advance astrophysics and cosmology research.
Satellite Congestion Threatens Space Safety and Astronomy
A new 'CRASH Clock' study warns that in a worst-case scenario, Earth-orbiting satellites could start colliding within less than three days, a significant decrease from previous estimates, driven by the rapid increase in satellite numbers and potential space weather events, raising concerns about space debris and the Kessler Syndrome.
China Unveils World's Most Powerful Hypergravity Machine to Explore Space-Time Compression
China has developed the world's most powerful hypergravity centrifuge, the CHIEF1900, which surpasses previous models by generating extreme g-forces for simulating space and planetary conditions, enabling faster, more accurate experiments in material science, geology, and biomedicine, and reducing reliance on field tests and space missions.
Congress Approves $24.4 Billion NASA Budget for FY2026
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have agreed on a FY2026 budget for NASA, approving a slight reduction of $400 million from the previous year, which is a significant improvement over earlier proposed cuts, and supporting NASA's broad range of programs including Artemis, SLS, and lunar missions, with additional funding from the reconciliation bill. The agreement reflects bipartisan support but still needs to pass through Congress and be signed into law.
AI's Potential to Design Deadly Biological Weapons
Scientists have used AI to design viruses from scratch and to modify toxins to bypass safety checks, raising concerns about the potential for AI-assisted bioweapons. While these advances can aid in medical treatments like phage therapy, they also pose dual-use risks, prompting efforts to strengthen screening protocols, regulatory policies, and international standards to prevent misuse. Despite technological progress, significant challenges remain before AI-designed pathogens could become a real threat, emphasizing the need for robust biosecurity measures.
Multilingualism Calculator Unveils Genuine Language Proficiency
A new multilingualism calculator developed by NYU researchers quantifies how multilingual a person truly is by combining age of language acquisition with self-rated proficiency across multiple modalities, providing accurate and streamlined assessments of language strength and dominance across nearly 50 languages, validated against more complex methods.
China Unveils World's Most Powerful Hypergravity Machine for Space-Time Research
China has unveiled the world's most powerful hypergravity centrifuge, CHIEF1900, capable of generating 1,900 times Earth's gravity, to advance research in materials, biological systems, and engineering by simulating extreme gravitational conditions efficiently.
Minnesota Discovers 'Fuel of the Future'
Scientists have discovered significant amounts of helium-3 underground in Minnesota, a rare isotope valuable for fusion energy, quantum computing, and scientific research, potentially providing an alternative source to lunar mining and impacting future energy and technology developments.