Science! (4 Viewers)

[Optimus Prime]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Astronomers have found three previously unknown moons in our solar system — two additional moons circling Neptune and one around Uranus.

The distant tiny moons were spotted using powerful land-based telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, and announced Friday by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.

The latest tally puts Neptune at 16 known moons and Uranus at 28.

One of Neptune’s new moons has the longest known orbital journey yet. It takes around 27 years for the small outer moon to complete one lap around Neptune, the vast icy planet farthest from the sun, said Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington who helped make the discovery.

The new moon orbiting Uranus, with an estimated diameter of just 5 miles (8 kilometers), is likely the smallest of the planet’s moons.

“We suspect that there may be many more smaller moons” yet to be discovered, he said…..

Astronomers spot new tiny moons around Neptune and Uranus

The moon count in our solar system just went up by three. Astronomers have found two previously unknown moons circling Neptune and one around Uranus.

apnews.com

 

[longtime lurker]

ADHD linked to evolutionary success in ancient humans

While current diagnostic definitions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are relatively new, the general condition has been identified by clinicians under a variety of names for centuries. Recent genetic studies have revealed the condition to be highly heritable, meaning the majority…

newatlas.com

 

[longtime lurker]

Drug limits dangerous reactions to allergy-triggering foods, Stanford Medicine-led study of kids finds

A drug that binds to allergy-causing antibodies can protect children from dangerous reactions to accidentally eating allergy-triggering foods, a Stanford Medicine-led study found.

med.stanford.edu

 

[Zztop]

Toppled moon lander sends back more images, with only hours left until it dies

Intuitive Machines posted new photos of the moon’s unexplored south polar region Tuesday.

apnews.com

 

[bonnjer]

How Humans Lost Their Tails

A newly discovered genetic mechanism helped eliminate the tails of human ancestors

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[Tapxe]

‘Air-breathing’ propulsion tech could unlock unlimited propellant for satellites - Interesting Engineering

Very low Earth orbit satellites could fly closer to home and use air for propellant, meaning they would never run out.

interestingengineering.com

 

[Tapxe]

Startup plans project to drill for 'million-year' energy source: 'Our technology allows us to access energy anywhere in the world'

A Massachusetts startup plans to drill more than 12 miles into the Earth to tap what experts call a “million-year energy source” beneath our feet.

www.thecooldown.com

I hope this pans out. Geothermal makes the most sense if we can tap into it.

 

[Tapxe]

AI Just Cleared A Big Hurdle On The Road To Nuclear Fusion Energy

We've had Nazi AIs, art thief AIs, and gobbledegook AIs. Welcome to the other end of the bell curve.

www.iflscience.com

By learning from past experiments, rather than incorporating information from physics-based models, the AI could develop a final control policy that supported a stable, high-powered plasma regime in real time, at a real reactor,” said research leader Egemen Kolemen, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment and research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).

 

[Eeyore]

Startup plans project to drill for 'million-year' energy source: 'Our technology allows us to access energy anywhere in the world'

A Massachusetts startup plans to drill more than 12 miles into the Earth to tap what experts call a “million-year energy source” beneath our feet.

www.thecooldown.com

I hope this pans out. Geothermal makes the most sense if we can tap into it.

I'm waiting for the anti-science crowd to start howling about going to far and unleashing demons or something.

 

[Sailorsaint]

I'm waiting for the anti-science crowd to start howling about going to far and unleashing demons or something.

Isn’t this how the King Kong/Godzilla expanded universe started?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Toppled moon lander sends back more images, with only hours left until it dies

Intuitive Machines posted new photos of the moon’s unexplored south polar region Tuesday.

apnews.com

And.... it's gone.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/us-moon-lander-odysseus-nears-shutdown-week-after-sideways-landing-2024-02-29/

 

[Tapxe]

Seawater plant will capture 10 tons of CO2 and make 300 kg of H2 per day

After successful pilot programs, UCLA has partnered with Singapore’s national water agency and others to build the world’s largest ocean-based carbon dioxide removal plant capable of removing 3,650 metric tons (8,046,873 lb) of the greenhouse gas per year while producing 105 metric tons (231,000…

newatlas.com

 

[longtime lurker]

Don’t forget your fiber:

Study finds daily fiber supplement improves older adults' brain function in just 12 weeks

A daily fiber supplement improved brain function in people over 60 in just 12 weeks. The study, published recently in Nature Communications by researchers from the School of Life Course & Population Sciences showed that this simple and cheap addition to diet can improve performance in memory...

medicalxpress.com

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[Sailorsaint]

NASA's ice-hunting VIPER moon rover getting ready to slither to the launch pad

"All of VIPER’s flight instruments are installed, and the rover is more than 80% built!"

www.space.com

 

[bonnjer]

NASA's ice-hunting VIPER moon rover getting ready to slither to the launch pad

"All of VIPER’s flight instruments are installed, and the rover is more than 80% built!"

www.space.com

I wonder if @guidomerkinsrules will be watching the launch?