Science

Scientists have created the first neutron 'Airy beam,' which has unusual capabilities that ordinary neutron beams do not. The achievement could enhance neutron-based techniques for investigating the properties of materials that are difficult to explore by other means. For example, the beams can probe characteristics of molecules such as chirality, which is important in biotechnology, chemical manufacturing, quantum computing and other fields.

Scientists have created the first neutron 'Airy beam,' which has unusual capabilities that ordinary neutron beams do not. The achievement could enhance neutron-based techniques for investigating the properties of materials that are difficult to explore by other means. For example, the beams can probe characteristics of molecules such as chirality, which is important in biotechnology, chemical manufacturing, quantum computing and other fields.

Who knew that magnetic fields could be so useful?

Everything in the Universe spins. Galaxies, planets, stars, and black holes all rotate, even if just a bit. It comes from the fact that the clouds of scattered gas and dust of the cosmos are never perfectly symmetrical. But the Universe as a whole does not rotate. Some objects spin one way, some another, but add them all up, and the total rotation is zero. At least that's what we've thought. But a new study suggests that the Universe does rotate, and this rotation solves the big mystery of cosmology known as the Hubble tension.

The report of possible biosignatures on the exoplanet K2-18b is exciting, but we are a long way from establishing beyond doubt that there is life on such a distant world

When Roman Egypt came under attack from the Kushites in what is now Sudan, the Roman forces responded by destroying a Kushite city – or so we thought

New global rules will see a carbon levy applied to emissions from shipping for the first time, but analysts say the package falls short of what is needed

Today we have the birds of British Columbia by reader Paul Handford. His captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them,

I suspect that “endless mountains and forests” come to mind for many when envisioning what British Columbia, in Canada’s far west, but, as well as those dominant aspects of BC’s landscape, the south-central portion of the province, between the Coast and Rocky mountain ranges, is pretty dry, given that it sits in the rain-shadow caused by the Coast Ranges that capture much of the moisture from the moist air-masses that roll in off the Pacific Ocean.

Accordingly, this part of BC supports a mix of dry grassland and sagebrush at lower elevations— much of it along the river valleys— with woodlands and forest higher up.  So it’s a diverse region, and very beautiful— as is all of BC.

These pics are from around our home in the hills on the outskirts of Kamloops, and the surrounding area.

Bohemian waxwing, Bombycilla garrulus.  S. Thompson river valley:

Lazuli bunting, Passerina amoena.  Valleyview trails:

Western tanager, Piranga ludoviciana.  Barnhartvale:

Clark’s nutcracker, Nucifraga columbiana.  Barnharvale:

Common Raven, Corvus corax.  Dallas-Barnhartvale Nature Park:

Steller’s jay, Cyanocitta stelleri:

Chipping sparrow, Spizella passerina:

Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis:

Vesper sparrow, Pooecetes gramineus:

Pine grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator:

Red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra:

Tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor:

Two independent research teams have developed methods for hacking noisy quantum computers based on a row-hammer attack, a type of interference used to infiltrate traditional computers

Colossal Biosciences’s "de-extinction" news is just the latest in a slew of eyebrow-raising claims by privately funded researchers. Is the bar for belief lower when those making the claims have a lot of money, wonders Jonathan R. Goodman

As the US government freezes scientific funding and attacks my host institution (under the pretense of fighting anti-semitism — a claim no one here believes, given that the government is now doing far more actual harm to Harvard’s not-so-small population of Jewish faculty, researchers and students than was ever done by anti-Gaza-war protestors), it has become impossible to continue with my normal activities. I hope to resume them in the future.

The 2000-year-old Antikythera mechanism may have been a kind of astronomical calculator, but researchers are unsure whether it would have worked without jamming

When science was under attack, Dr. John Ioannidis played the role of enabler. Along with his copious COVID misinformation, that will be his permanent legacy.

The post Tell us Dr. John Ioannidis, Exactly Who is Waging This “War on Science”? first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

The idea of varying your lifestyle throughout your menstrual cycle to help relieve PMS or period pain seems intuitive, but the evidence reveals a nuanced picture, finds columnist Alexandra Thompson

Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious.

On a faraway planet, James Webb Space Telescope has picked up signs of molecules that, on Earth, are produced only by living organisms – but researchers say we must interpret the results cautiously

Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful events in the Universe, briefly outshining the combined light of their entire galaxies. A team of astronomers has figured out a clever technique to use the light from gamma-ray bursts to map out the large-scale structure of the Universe at different ages after the Big Bang. They found that the Universe might be less uniform at large scales than previously thought.

A team of researchers has identified a promising new approach that may one day help to restore vision in people affected by macular degeneration and other retinal disorders.

Why do comets and their meteoroid streams weave in and out of Earth's orbit and their orbits disperse over time? Researchers show that this is not due to the random pull of the planets, but rather the kick they receive from a moving Sun.

A new study suggests the universe may rotate -- just extremely slowly. The finding could help solve one of astronomy's biggest puzzles.