Researchers hope scaled-up version could one day generate oxygen to sustain humans on Mars
An instrument the size of a lunchbox has been successfully generating breathable oxygen on Mars, doing the work of a small tree.
Since February last year the Mars oxygen in-situ resource utilisation experiment, or Moxie, has been successfully making oxygen from the red planet’s carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere.
Continue reading...Romanian research shows ‘micro-breaks’ of up to 10 minutes may help to reduce fatigue
It may not be long enough to pop to the shops or head out for a run, but taking a work break of less than 10 minutes could still boost wellbeing, research suggests.
The team behind the analysis say “micro-breaks” appear to reduce fatigue and help workers feel more vigorous.
Continue reading...Chief medical officers said the wave of Omicron variants was ‘subsiding’, although ‘further surges are likely’
The UK’s Covid-19 alert level has been downgraded to level 2, meaning the virus is in “general circulation” but healthcare pressures and transmission are “declining or stable”.
The chief medical officers of the UK nations and the national medical director of the NHS in England have jointly recommended that the Covid alert level be moved down from level 3 amid falling cases. They said the Covid-19 wave of the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 was “subsiding”.
Continue reading...An engine problem foiled Monday’s efforts but mission managers said a change in fueling procedures would help
Nasa will make a second attempt at launching its Space Launch System moon rocket this Saturday, the agency has said, five days after technical issues foiled an initial attempt.
The US space agency made the decision on Monday to delay its first attempt to launch a rocket capable of putting astronauts on the moon in 50 years due to engine issues.
Continue reading...US space agency technicians working against the clock to correct ‘engine bleed’ in time for possible rescheduled lift-off on Friday
Nasa is delaying a decision on the timing of its next launch attempt for Artemis 1, the US space agency’s first human-rated moon rocket in 50 years, after calling off Monday’s scheduled liftoff late in the countdown because of an issue related to “engine bleed”.
Engineers at Nasa’s launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, discovered the problem with one of the four core-stage engines of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket during overnight loading of 2.76m litres (730,000 gallons) of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel needed to send the spacecraft off on its 1.3m-mile, 42-day journey to the far side of the moon and back.
Continue reading...Data from UK Biobank suggests people who drink two or more cups of black tea a day have lower risk of mortality
It is a welcome piece of research for those who regard having a cup of tea as one of life’s everyday pleasures.
A study has suggested that having a brew could be associated with a lower risk of mortality. When compared with those who do not have tea, people who consumed two or more cups each day had between a 9% and 13% lower risk of mortality, researchers said.
Continue reading...A dispute over who should fund the free kits will leave test sites or insurance reimbursement as the available options
The US government is suspending its program of free home tests for Covid-19 this week amid disagreements over who should pay for the initiative.
The free home tests, which have provided up to 16 tests for each household, are scheduled to come to a halt on Friday. In the future, people requiring tests for work or travel, or wanting to confirm whether they have the illness, will need to claim the costs of a home test on health insurance or seek results through federally backed testing sites.
Continue reading...Test flight that will have no human crew aboard aims to return humans to the moon and eventually land them on Mars
For the first time in 50 years, Nasa on Monday is planning to launch the first rocket that can ferry humans to and from the moon.
The giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is scheduled to take off from Nasa’s Cape Canaveral, Florida, complex at 8.33am ET (1.33pm UK time) atop an unmanned Orion spacecraft that is designed to carry up to six astronauts to the moon and beyond.
Continue reading...Researchers find link between learning instrument while young and improved thinking skills later in life
The ageing rocker clinging on to their youth may be a figure of mockery, but research suggests they should be envied for their sharpness of mind.
Researchers have found a link between learning a musical instrument in youth and improved thinking skills in old age. People with more experience of playing a musical instrument showed greater lifetime improvement on a test of cognitive ability than those with less or no experience, a paper from the University of Edinburgh has said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Analysis of 126,000 cases over a decade shows ‘deeply worrying’ racial disparities in NHS wait times
Black and Asian people in England have to wait longer for a cancer diagnosis than white people, with some forced to wait an extra six weeks, according to a “disturbing” analysis of NHS waiting times.
A damning review of the world’s largest primary care database by the University of Exeter and the Guardian discovered minority ethnic patients wait longer than white patients in six of seven cancers studied. Race and health leaders have called the results “deeply concerning” and “absolutely unacceptable”.
Continue reading...Megarocket to lift off from Florida on Monday morning, one of final crucial test steps before astronauts’ return to the moon
The most powerful space rocket ever to leave Earth will take a 50-year leap across the heavens when it rises from its Florida launchpad on Monday, one of the final crucial test steps before humanity’s return to the moon for the first time since 1972.
Artemis 1, comprising Orion, a six-person deep-space exploration capsule, atop a 98m (322ft), 2,600-tonne (2,875-ton) Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, is scheduled for its maiden liftoff at 8.33am ET (1.33pm UK time) from the same Cape Canaveral launch complex that staged the Apollo lunar missions half a century ago.
Continue reading...Ex-chancellor admits being furious about school closures, adding trade-offs of lockdowns were not properly considered by experts
Rishi Sunak has claimed that it was a mistake to “empower scientists” during the coronavirus pandemic and that his opposition to closing schools was met with silence during one meeting.
The Conservative leadership candidate believes one of the major errors was allowing the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to have so much influence on decision making such as closing nurseries, schools and colleges in March 2020.
Continue reading...Biobank urged to review transfer of information for medical research
Rising political and security tensions between Beijing and the west have prompted calls for a review of the transfer of genetic data to China from a biomedical database containing the DNA of half a million UK citizens.
The UK Biobank said it had about 300 projects under which researchers in China were accessing “detailed genetic information” or other health data on volunteers.
Continue reading...Archaeologists says prehistoric site in Huelva province could be one of largest of its kind in Europe
A huge megalithic complex of more than 500 standing stones has been discovered in southern Spain that could be one of the largest in Europe, archaeologists have said.
The stones were discovered on a plot of land in Huelva, a province flanking the southernmost part of Spain’s border with Portugal, near the Guadiana River.
Continue reading...Breakthrough research could see some genetic cancers neutralised before they take hold and is already being used for people at risk
Sue Hayward was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2017. Doctors acted swiftly and she was given a hysterectomy followed by sessions of chemotherapy.
But her cancer returned within a year. “I carry a mutated version of a gene known as BRCA1 which makes me susceptible to breast and ovarian cancers,” said Hayward, who works at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. “It runs in families. My mother died of cancer and we assume her mother did as well.”
Continue reading...Nationals leader outlines vision for party at federal council meeting. This blog is now closed
White whale calf seen off NSW coast
There’s one newborn hogging all the attention off the NSW coast – a southern right whale calf born whiter than usual, AAP reports:
Southern right whales are mostly very dark, although some have splashes of white called a blaze.
Its white areas will darken to grey as it ages. It’s one of around one-in-30 southern right whale calves born with brindle colouring.
Continue reading...The annual Perseids meteor shower will peak on 13 August. Find out the best time to view
After the night sky in Australia was illuminated by a trio of meteor showers – the Piscis Austrinids, the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids late last month, stargazers will be able to see the 2022 Perseid meteor shower peak on 13 August.
The Perseids are considered by Nasa to be “the best meteor shower of the year”. This year, however, they coincide with a full moon on 12 August, resulting in less than ideal viewing conditions. Due to the brightness of the Perseids, though, some meteors should still be visible in a sky illuminated by moonlight.
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Continue reading...Jakapil kaniukura was about 5ft long and probably walked upright in then-steamy Patagonian landscape about 100m years ago
Palaeontologists have announced the discovery of a previously unknown small armoured dinosaur in southern Argentina, a creature that probably walked upright on its back legs roaming a then-steamy landscape about 100m years ago.
The Cretaceous period dinosaur, named Jakapil kaniukura, would have been well-protected with rows of bony disc-shaped armour along its neck and back and down to its tail, they said. It measured about 5ft (1.5 meters) long and weighed only 9-15lb (4-7kg), similar to an average house cat.
Continue reading...Between 2018 and 2020 China published 23.4% of the world’s scientific papers, eclipsing the US
China has overtaken the US as the world leader in both scientific research output and “high impact” studies, according to a report published by Japan’s science and technology ministry.
The report, which was published by Japan’s National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTP) on Tuesday, found that China now publishes the highest number of scientific research papers yearly, followed by the US and Germany.
Continue reading...World Health Organization issues statement after reports of animals being poisoned in Brazil
The World Health Organization has stressed that monkeypox outbreaks are not linked to monkeys, following a number of reported attacks on the primates in Brazil.
“What people need to know is that the transmission we are seeing is happening between humans,” a WHO spokesperson, Margaret Harris, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
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