Science

WASHINGTON — The impact of devastating hurricanes has brought renewed attention to the role of the National Guard and satellite communications in disaster response, prompting a renewed debate over whether the Pentagon should establish a Space National Guard as a component of the U.S. Space Force.  John Klein, a professor and expert in military strategy,

Weight-loss drugs might make people less inclined to exercise Me 3645 Studio/Getty Images Semaglutide – the drug in medications like Ozempic and Wegovy – causes mice to exercise less. The finding suggests these weight-loss medications may reduce people’s motivation to work out. Semaglutide helps treat type 2 diabetes and obesity by mimicking a hormone called

Enigmatic particle might be a molecular pentaquark – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — NASA has awarded a contract to Rocket Lab to study alternative concepts for Mars Sample Return (MSR), joining several other efforts to improve the cost and schedule of the program. Rocket Lab said Oct. 7 that it received a contract to study what it called “a simplified, end-to-end mission concept” for MSR that

How will your brain react to that hot sauce? Ihor Butko/Alamy Anticipating pleasure or pain before tasting hot sauce appears to influence how the brain responds to the spicy flavour. “This has broader implications beyond spicy food,” says Yi Luo at East China Normal University. “Understanding how positive and negative expectations influence perception can inform

Pele’s hair-raising physics: glassy gifts from a volcano goddess – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

TAMPA, Fla. — Seraphim Space announced the 11 startups joining the 14th round of its networking and mentoring accelerator program, which it said Oct. 7 has helped ventures raise more than $540 million since 2018. The cohort comprises a diverse mix of early-stage space businesses spanning from satellite broadband to orbital robotics — and, for

Dairy cows in California Marmaduke St. John / Alamy Stock Photo The US has ramped up influenza surveillance amid an ongoing outbreak of the bird flu virus H5N1 in dairy cattle. Public health officials hope more robust monitoring will help catch and contain any potential human outbreaks. But experts warn that without more surveillance, cases

How to rotate your mattress like a physics Nobel prizewinner – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

COCOA BEACH, Fla. — The Federal Aviation Administration has granted approval for the Falcon 9 launch of the European Space Agency’s Hera asteroid mission, but is keeping the vehicle grounded for now for other missions. In an Oct. 6 statement, the FAA stated it authorized a return to flight for the Falcon 9 solely for

Constructing a semiconductor chip IM Imagery/Shutterstock The deadliest hurricane to strike the US mainland since Hurricane Katrina has also drawn attention for its potential disruptions to the tech industry. Destruction from Hurricane Helene is threatening one of the industry’s major supply chains – a North Carolina mining town that supplies high-purity quartz crucial for manufacturing

‘Sometimes nature will surprise us.’ Juan Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux on eureka moments and the future of neutrino physics – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — The first satellites of a Chinese broadband constellation are significantly brighter than those of Western systems, posing a new challenge for astronomers. In a paper posted on the arXiv preprint server Sept. 30, a group of observational astronomers reported on observations of a set of 18 Qianfan, or “Thousand Sails,” satellites launched in

MDMA has long been used recreationally but it has faced obstacles getting approved for medical therapies Shutterstock / Couperfield “The future is psychedelic,” declared Rick Doblin, founder of Lykos Therapeutics, at a conference on psychedelic drugs last year. Several studies, many of them funded by Lykos, had provided tantalising signs that pairing MDMA with talk

Study finds preschool children form ‘social droplets’ when moving around the classroom – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Impulse Space, a startup specializing in in-space transportation services, has secured a $34.5 million contract to support two U.S. military space missions set for 2026, the Defense Department announced Oct. 3.  The deal, awarded under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 3 agreement, is funded by the U.S. Space Force and the

Mathematician Tom Crawford explains what P versus NP means – and what makes the problem so fiendishly difficult to solve Read the original article here

Silk-on-graphene films line up for next-generation bioelectronics – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here