Hard Science
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Ancient humans lived in caves. Modern humans will too — on the Moon
Not too hot, not too cold...
The overview effect is another reason to speed up space exploration
"You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it."
NASA was “completely wrong” about the asteroid Bennu
The surface of asteroid Bennu is more like a plastic ball pit than the Moon.
Porosity of the moon’s crust reveals bombardment history
"The surface is no longer a record of every impact the moon has ever had, because at some point, impacts were erasing previous impacts."
Could we use quantum communication to talk to aliens?
Quantum communication offers a surer path to sending an interstellar message, as well as receiving one. But can we do it?
NASA’s chief warned that China might take over the Moon. Could they do it?
The costs of such an endeavor would be extremely high, while the potential payoffs would be uncertain.
Scientists may finally know why the length of a day changes
The length of a day oscillates slightly every six years. This was a surprising discovery made last decade. We might now know why.
Tetraquarks and pentaquarks: “Unnatural” forms of exotic matter have been found
Scientists have found three new examples of a very exotic form of matter made of quarks. They can yield insights into the early Universe.
Psychology of alien contact: Could humanity handle the “otherness” of extraterrestrials?
The psychology of alien contact largely revolves around the concept of "otherness." We need to learn to be comfortable around strange things.
Controversy: Is there really a giant ozone hole over the tropics?
Some ozone experts seriously doubt the findings.
The 2022 hurricane season looks like 2005 — the year Katrina hit
A marine scientist explains the threat of the Loop Current, a 800-pound gorilla of Gulf hurricane risks.
Carbon may not be the only basis for life. We need to look harder
On Earth, carbon can form millions of compounds, while silicon is largely stuck inside rocks. But elsewhere, silicon could form the basis of life.
Higgs boson was discovered 10 years ago. What have we learned about it since then?
On July 4, we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson, the missing piece of the Standard Model of particle physics.
Why does the Moon look close some nights and far away on others?
Your eyes are playing tricks on you.
Neutrinos: The “ghostly chameleons” of particle physics become even more mysterious
Experiments cannot confirm what theory predicts about neutrinos. And particle physicists have no idea why.
How the biggest earthquake in world history nearly destroyed a local civilization
Some of the coastal areas were not repopulated for millennia afterward, showing that there was a long-lasting memory of this tragic event.
Newly discovered fast radio burst challenges astronomers’ previous knowledge
The discovery calls into question the few things scientists know about these powerful astronomical phenomena.
Why slime is the perfect protection against wildfires
Fire-retardant gels and slimes combine the best attributes of water and foam.
The cosmos can kill us in many ways. But the James Webb Space Telescope can help save us
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will study many dangerous cosmic phenomena, knowledge of which may help save humanity.
How the universe got its magnetic field
Where did the “seed” magnetic field come from in the first place?
Mars “earthquakes”: Red Planet might have more seismic activity than we ever expected
There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on beneath the single plate of Mars.
We need a bigger Big Bang machine: The case for a new particle accelerator
Giant particle accelerators aren't a waste of money. They are essential for understanding the Universe.
Please, don’t build another Large Hadron Collider
A next-generation LHC++ could cost $100 billion. Here's why such a machine could end up being a massive waste of money.
There is no replication crisis in science. It’s the base rate fallacy.
The base rate fallacy may help to explain low reproducibility in various fields of science.
“Spooky” quantum biology might cause your DNA to mutate
The spooky world of quantum mechanics might reach out and touch you — by mutating your DNA. Welcome to the weird world of quantum biology.
What makes smoky, charred barbecue taste so good?
The chemistry of cooking over an open flame.
To find life on Mars, don’t follow the water — follow the salt
Researchers have discovered 830-million-year-old microbes living inside a salt rock on Earth. Could the same occur on Mars?
Martian sands offer new look into the planet’s ancient climate
A new study of Martian dust gives insights into the ancient Martian climate. The findings hint at a wetter world.
A rare “black widow” binary has the shortest orbit yet
"The pulsar sort of consumes the thing that recycled it, just as the spider eats its mate.”