John Carney

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Los Angeles
Our Galaxy’s Supermassive Black Hole May Reveal the Universe’s Hidden Fifth Force
futurism.com
Redefining Physics For the most part, we seem to have our universe figured out: there are four fundamental forces that govern the interactions of …
Science
Hubble spots a distant planet that is literally being vaporized
bgr.com - Mike Wehner
We usually think of planets as having a certain level of permanence but for worlds that reside within very close proximity of a star existence can be …
Physics
Physicist: We Need A New Kind of Physics to Reconcile the Quantum World
futurism.com
The Standard Model of particle physics requires that there be a Higgs boson because all of the cosmic DNA in the universe relies on something that …
iOS Apps
BioInteractive’s virtual labs help you dissect such fields as anatomy, immunology
The Washington Post - By Erin Blakemore
How much do you know about anatomy? Cardiology? Have you ever set foot in a scientific lab? Once you visit BioInteractive’s virtual lab, you’ll feel as if you have. The website is offered by the Howard
Science
Exoplanet is vanishing—and really fast
futurity.org - Chanapa Tantibanchachai-Johns Hopkins
An exoplanet almost 100 light years away from Earth is disappearing, and—by cosmic standards—disappearing fast, astronomers report. Scientists using …
LIGO
New Studies Rescue Gravitational-Wave Signal From the Noise
Quanta Magazine - Natalie Wolchover
Two independent papers vanquish lingering doubts about LIGO’s historic discovery of gravitational waves. Frans Pretorius, a gravitational-wave expert …
Science
Mission finds watery ‘hydroxyls’ on asteroid Bennu
futurity.org - U. Arizona
The OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu has discovered evidence of water molecules there, researchers report. From August through early December, …
Science
Astronomers confirm extended atmosphere on accretion disk of X-ray binary
phys.org - Erik Arends
Astronomers use stellar eclipses to study the atmosphere of accretion disks around compact stars. SRON-researchers observed this method on a low-mass …
Voyager 2
Voyager 2 probe enters interstellar space
earthsky.org - By Eleanor Imster
NASA announced today that for only the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars. Today (December 10, 2018) …
In an infinite universe (or a quantum world), does the world of Star Wars exist in a galaxy far, far away?
sciencefocus.com
An infinite universe doesn’t guarantee every possible combination of atoms exists somewhere. The universe we can see could be a tile that’s endlessly …
Science
Marinating in plastics
PRI - Aceel Kibbi
A few months ago, Cullen Potter graduated from the University of South Alabama Children’s and Women’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. Born at 13.9 ounces, Cullen spent his first five months in
Pedagogy
Female students with A's have similar physics self-efficacy as male students with C's in introductory courses: A cause for
aps.org
Self-efficacy can affect performance, career goals, and persistence. Prior studies show that female students have lower self-efficacy than male …
Science
A 4,900-Year-Old Case of Plague in Sweden, Found in Teeth - The Atlantic
The Atlantic - Sarah Zhang
A 4,900-year-old skeleton has turned the accepted story of the disease on its head. The troublesome teeth belonged to a woman buried in Sweden. She lived 4,900 years ago, and she died young. Archaeologists
Los Angeles
Kids still have a hard time learning about evolution. Is this a secular democracy or a theocracy? - Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
To the editor: Some 20% of our public schools still strive to deny their students complete, accurate instruction on human evolution? How could this happen 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
Nitrates
Why does thunderstorm rain contain more nitrogen than ordinary rain?
sciencefocus.com
Advertisement Air is 78 per cent nitrogen, and plants need it to grow. Nitrogen gas is chemically very stable because it is made from two atoms that …
Equations
Could we ever detect other universes?
sciencefocus.com
The idea that the Universe is just one of many, making up one, truly infinite ‘multiverse’ is among the most intriguing – and controversial – …
Science
Experimental plane flies silently, may lead to quiet drones
Associated Press - By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — A nearly silent, drone-sized aircraft has shown it can fly, thanks to a scientist who was inspired by watching "Star Trek" as a child. With neither propellers nor jets, the airplane gets
Space
The Sun's long-lost sibling found in our own backyard
syfy.com - Phil Plait
Our Sun sits alone in space, with the nearest star a bone-wearying journey of 4.3 light years away. But it wasn't always this way; evidence has been …
Space
Astronomers Have Detected a New 'Alien Megastructure' Star, And It Might Give Us The Missing Answers
Science Alert - MIKE MCRAE
Between Earth and the galactic core, there's an old, faint star that appears to have something orbiting it, something that's confusing …
String Theory
What is String Theory And Why Humanity Absolutely Needs It
futurism.com
String Theory For decades, scientists have theorized about what lies beyond the third dimension and if there can exist a unified theory to explain all …
Quantum Mechanics
Why everyone can — and should — learn quantum mechanics |
Salon - Scott Bembenek
Reluctant with the physical implications of his theory that involved the enigmatic energy quanta, Planck – and pretty much everyone else – instead focused on its remarkable accuracy. It would be almost
What if Earth had two moons?
sciencefocus.com
Advertisement The consequences of a second moon orbiting the Earth depend on how massive that moon is and how far from the Earth it orbits. The most …
What would happen if there were no Moon?
sciencefocus.com
Advertisement The most immediate effect (other than the lack of moonlight, of course) would be on the Earth’s tides. With only the Sun’s gravitational …
Contingency and determinism in evolution: Replaying life’s tape
sciencemag.org
Structured Abstract BACKGROUND Evolution is a strongly historical process, and evolutionary biology is a field that combines history and science. How …
Bizarre Microbes Represent a Major New Branch on the Evolutionary Family Tree
Gizmodo - George Dvorsky
Canadian scientists have identified microscopic creatures that are so unlike anything seen before, they had to create an entirely new branch on the …
How Many Fundamental Constants Does It Take To Explain The Universe?
Forbes - Ethan Siegel
At a fundamental level, our Universe is made of particles, forces, interactions, and the fabric of space and time. Spacetime forms the ever-evolving stage on which the play of the cosmos unfolds, while
Stephen Hawking
Please allow Stephen Hawking to explain time, history, and God
Quartz - By Ephrat Livni
As a kid, the late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking was not a great student, by his own admission. What he was always good at, however, was asking big questions, queries so daunting and seemingly
Photos
The kilogram is forever changed. Here's why that matters.
National Geographic
Science & InnovationExplainer From bathroom scales to medical lab balances, the mass standard is now based on a value that is “woven into the fabric of the universe.” 5 Minute Read Sealed under a trio
Physicists just discovered that some elements don't follow the normal rules of quantum mechanics
futurism.com
“It’s almost like being in an alternate universe because you’re seeing chemistry you simply don’t see in everyday elements,” said Albrecht-Schmitt in …
Heads Up: Massive Dark Matter Hurricane Passing Earth
howstuffworks.com - Jesslyn Shields
A hurricane is upon us, but no need to run to the supermarket to stock up on milk and bread — nobody in this solar system will feel a thing because …