Chinese volunteers live in Lunar Palace 1 closed environment for 370 days

Volunteer students at Beihang University have reportedly lived in the Lunar Palace 1 biosphere environment for 370 days. Media outlets have reported that two groups of students took turns living in the biosphere over the course of 370 days, and required minimal supplies from the outside. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-chinese-volunteers-lunar-palace-environment.html…

Moon and star Antares morning of March 5, 2021

Let the moon show you Antares, a red supergiant star and the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion on the morning of March 5. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-antares-morning-of-mar-5-2021…

Arizona Advances Bill Forcing Apple and Google To Allow Fortnite-style Alternative Payment Options

The Arizona House of Representatives just passed landmark app store legislation in a 31-29 vote on Wednesday that could have far-reaching consequences for Apple and Google and their respective mobile operating systems. From a report: The legislation, a sweeping amendment to Arizona’s existing HB2005 [PDF], prevents app store operators from forcing a developer based in the state to use a preferred…

Gulf Stream at its weakest in over 1,000 years

A new study suggests that the Gulf Stream – an Atlantic Ocean current that plays a large role in shaping Earth’s weather patterns – is weaker now than at any point in the last 1,000 years. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/gulf-stream-atlantic-weakest-in-over-1000-years…

Flaws In Zoom’s Keybase App Kept Chat Images From Being Deleted

chicksdaddy writes: The Security Ledger reports that a flaw in Zoom’s Keybase secure chat application left copies of images contained in secure communications on Keybase users’ computers after they were supposedly deleted, according to researchers from the security research group Sakura Samurai. The flaw in the encrypted messaging application, CVE-2021-23827 does not expose Keybase users to remote compromise. However, it could…

What’s the coldest Earth has ever been?

Our planet’s history includes episodes of cold so extreme that glaciers reached sea level in equatorial regions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/whats-coldest-earth-has-ever-been…

Snakes insert their heads into living frogs’ bodies to swallow their organs (because nature is horrifying)

In two new studies, researchers identified more snakes that disembowel frogs to eat their organs, a gruesome habit that was only recently discovered. Source: https://www.livescience.com/snakes-gut-living-frogs-and-toads.html

People sleep less before a full moon

Researchers find that whether you live in a rural or urban environment, your sleep patterns are affected by the full moon. On the nights leading up to full moon, people fall asleep later and sleep less overall. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/people-sleep-less-before-full-moon…

The rise and fall of the mysterious culture that invented civilisation

Proto-cities built from 6200 years ago in eastern Europe upend our ideas about when civilisation began and why people made the move from rural to urban living Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933230-900-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-mysterious-culture-that-invented-civilisation/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

A new study reveals that quantum physics can cause mutations in our DNA

Quantum biology is an emerging field of science, established in the 1920s, which looks at whether the subatomic world of quantum mechanics plays a role in living cells. Quantum mechanics is an interdisciplinary field by nature, bringing together nuclear physicists, biochemists and molecular biologists. …