Nuclear fusion topped headlines around the world when scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced an essential milestone in developing this nascent technology. They achieved “ignition,” meaning more energy came out of a reaction than was needed to…
Continue ReadingThe Earth now weighs 6 ronnagrams – What is that?
The Earth can now be said to weigh about 6 ronnagrams, instead of 6,000 yottagrams. Jupiter can be described as having a mass of about 1.9 quettagrams, instead of 1.9 million yottagrams. And an electron’s weight is one rontogram, or…
Continue ReadingThe twilight of Africa’s glaciers
Africa is home to three glacier-capped mountains. Within decades, scientists say, the glaciers will be gone. Mount Kenya’s will be the first to go, with researchers predicting their disappearance as soon as 2030. The mountain would be among the first…
Continue ReadingNASA proves there’s a defense against killer asteroids
The stock market is dipping, inflation is on the rise and there is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine. But not all the news is bad: Our planet just got a bit safer, thanks to NASA. In…
Continue ReadingNobel Prize for 3 chemists who made molecules ‘click’
STOCKHOLM Three scientists were jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a way of “snapping molecules together” that can be used to design better medicines, including ones that target diseases such as cancer more precisely.…
Continue ReadingNASA spacecraft crashing into an asteroid
A spacecraft named Dart zeroed in on the asteroid, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph. The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion space rock — demonstrating that…
Continue ReadingGreat Barrier Reef
Marine scientists have found that parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have recorded their highest levels of coral cover since monitoring began nearly four decades ago, although they warn the reef’s recovery could be swiftly undone by global warming. The…
Continue ReadingRescued sea turtles in Israel back in the wild
Over a dozen endangered sea turtles that were rescued after suffering major injuries in the Mediterranean scuttled their way over a beach in Israel recently after months of medical care. The 15 loggerhead sea turtles and two green sea turtles…
Continue ReadingHuge underground search for dark matter begins
Dark matter is composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is material that cannot be seen directly. We know that dark matter exists because of the…
Continue ReadingLargest recorded freshwater fish caught in Mekong
The world’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a giant stingray, has been caught in the Mekong River in Cambodia, according to scientists from the Southeast Asian nation and the United States. The stingray, captured on June 13, measured almost 13 feet…
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