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by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — For the first time, scientists have witnessed the cataclysmic crash of two ultra-dense neutron stars in a galaxy far away, and concluded that such impacts forged at least half the gold in the Universe. Shockwaves and light flashes from the collision travelled some 130 million light-years to be captured by Earthly detectors on August 17, excited teams revealed at press conferences held around the […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Move over Saturn! Scientists have found a ring around an unassuming mini-planet in our Solar System to debunk the theory that only giant planets can be so adorned. The planet, dubbed Haumea, orbits the Sun far beyond Neptune — the eighth and furthest recognized “full” planet in our star system since Pluto was downgraded to dwarf status in 2006. About eight billion kilometers (five billion miles) from the Sun, Haumea spins […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese researchers have genetically engineered hens whose eggs contain drugs that can fight serious diseases including cancer, in a bid to dramatically reduce the cost of treatment, a report said Monday. If the scientists are able to safely produce “interferon beta”, a type of protein used to treat illnesses including multiple sclerosis and hepatitis, by rearing the hens, the price of the drug — currently up to 100,000 yen ($888) for a few microgrammes — […]
TEXAS, United States (Reuters) — A team of US researchers have developed a way of accurately spotting cancer within seconds, allowing surgeons to make sure they remove all and only cancerous tissue. The device, called a MassSpec Pen, takes only 10 seconds to distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissue with 96 percent accuracy, according to the team at the University of Texas at Austin. “A ‘MassSpec Pen’ is a non-destructive hand-held device which can be […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — McDonalds says it will start globally rolling back use of antibiotics in its chicken products from 2018 as part of efforts to curb microbial resistance to drugs and the rise of superbugs. The decision follows a similar move undertaken in the US market in 2016. It applies to drugs that are also used in human medicine, called Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIA) by the World Health Organization (WHO). […]
HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) — Dozens of Cubans gathered in the main plaza of Old Havana on Monday (August 21) to watch a rare partial solar eclipse cross the country. Many observers brought their own homemade instruments to view the eclipse’ progress. Abel Rodriguez built a box based on a YouTube tutorial that followed the projection of the eclipse. He said that special glasses to protect the eyes were hard to come by, forcing him to […]
by Sébastien VUAGNAT / with Kerry SHERIDAN in Charleston Agence France-Presse MADRAS, United States – Emotional sky-gazers on the US West Coast cheered and applauded Monday as the Sun briefly vanished behind the Moon — a rare total solar eclipse that will stretch across North America for the first time in nearly a century. Eclipse chasers and amateur star watchers alike converged in cities along the path of totality, a 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide path running through 14 […]
by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse CHARLESTON, United States (AFP) — On Monday, when a total solar eclipse sweeps across the United States for the first time in 99 years, people gathering in Charleston, South Carolina, will be the last on the continent to experience it. They are ready. Historic Charleston, with its cobblestone streets and elegant antebellum mansions, was clearly a-bustle on Sunday, in full pre-eclipse mode. Its restaurants were packed and downtown parking […]
(Reuters) — America’s coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 is a must-see, “once in a lifetime event,” a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist said on Wednesday. Michelle Thaller also urged the public to use safety glasses or other homemade devices to avoid looking directly at the sun. “It’s never safe to look at the sun with unprotected eyes. If even a little bit of the sun’s surface is still exposed you can hurt […]
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (Reuters) — Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) researchers say their new wireless network based on harmless infrared rays will mark a sea change in WiFi delivery if rolled out globally. Researcher Joanne Oh and professor of broadband communication technology Ton Koonen have devised a system in which wireless data is delivered by central ‘light antennas’. A wavelength demultiplexing unit separates individual wavelengths coming from a laser into multiple separate fibres, each of which […]
by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A house-sized asteroid will shave past our planet on October 12, far inside the Moon’s orbit but without posing any threat, astronomers said Thursday. The space rock will zoom by harmlessly at a distance of about 44,000 kilometers (27,300 miles) — an eighth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon, according to the European Space Agency, This is just far enough to […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Scientists fascinated by the idea that humans might be able to learn while asleep — a new language, say, or a piece of music — have long been coming up with clashing experimental results. On Tuesday, a team said it has finally unravelled why. The human brain can learn only in certain phases of shut-eye. Participants in a study were able to memorise sound patterns played to them during two phases […]
