Category: Science

Tokyo Company Loses Contact With Moon Lander in Likely Crash

A Japanese company lost contact with its spacecraft moments before touchdown on the moon Wednesday, saying the mission had apparently failed. Communications ceased as the lander descended the final 33 feet (10 meters), traveling around 16 mph (25 kph). Flight controllers peered at their screens in Tokyo, expressionless, as minutes went by with no word…


SpaceX Wins Approval to Add 5th US Rocket Launch Site

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Space Force said on Monday that Elon Musk’s SpaceX was granted approval to lease a second rocket launch complex at a military base in California, setting the space company up for its fifth launch site in the United States. Under the lease, SpaceX will launch its workhorse Falcon rockets from Space Launch Complex-6…


European Scientists Develop Promising New Technique to Heal Wounds

Researchers have developed a new technique to heal wounds three times faster using electric stimulation—a breakthrough that could prove to be of significant value to people suffering from disorders like diabetes. “In order to study exactly how this works for wounds, we developed a kind of biochip on which we cultured skin cells, which we…


Research on Chronic CO2 Exposure in Animals Suggests Possible Stillbirth, Testicular Risk From Mask Use

Chronic exposure to increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air has been linked to heightened risk of stillbirths, testicular dysfunction, and cognitive decline in children in the existing peer-reviewed literature, with a new research review warning of possible toxicity associated with recent mandated use of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. A review article…


Synthetic Fragrances and How They Wreak Hormone Havoc

Of the five senses, the sense of smell is believed to have the most transformative power to take us back into a moment in time. Grandma’s apple pie. A summertime bonfire. An ex’s cologne. But the effects of scents don’t merely induce a nostalgic memory; they’re not just psychologically powerful. The scents we smell also…


Air Pollution May Impair Infant Cognitive Development: Study

New research by British scientists has found an association between poor air quality and impaired cognitive ability in children in India in their first two years of life. The findings suggests that poor air quality may have a negative impact on infants’ visual cognition during the first two years of their lives. The study, conducted…


Vivid Aurora Australis Light up Night Skies in Spectacular Display

New Zealand’s night sky lit up with streams of pink and green, treating viewers to a spectacle of the Aurora Australis. The lights, visible to the naked eye, were seen across the southern island, all the way up north to Wellington and Hawke’s Bay. Kiwis rushed to social media to share the sights, which was…


Scientists Identify Mind-Body Nexus in Human Brain

WASHINGTON—The relationship between the human mind and body has been a subject that has challenged great thinkers for millennia, including the philosophers Aristotle and Descartes. The answer, however, appears to reside in the very structure of the brain. Researchers said on Wednesday they have discovered that parts of the brain region called the motor cortex…


UAE Spacecraft Takes Close-Up Photos of Mars’ Little Moon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—A spacecraft around Mars has sent back the most detailed photos yet of the red planet’s little moon. The United Arab Emirates’ Amal spacecraft flew within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of Deimos last month and the close-up shots were released Monday. Amal—Arabic for Hope—got a two-for-one when Mars photobombed some of the images….


Severe Solar Storm Creates Dazzling Auroras Farther South

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—An intense solar storm has the northern lights gracing the skies farther south than usual. A blast of superhot material from the sun late last week hurled scorching gases known as plasma toward Earth at nearly 2 million mph (3 million kph), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday. Earth felt the…