The verdicts will be unprecedented. Europe’s top rights court will on Tuesday issue unprecedented verdicts in three separate cases on the responsibility of states in the face of global warming, rulings that could force governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the 46-member Council of Europe, will … Read more
On Monday, tens of millions of spectators across Mexico, the United States and Canada will witness the Moon completely obscure the Sun’s light, a rare celestial spectacle that won’t be visible for most of North America again until 2044. Just a single, unguarded glance at a solar eclipse can result in a lifetime of vision … Read more
This image captures the moon passing in front of the sun during an eclipse on Jan. 30, 2014, seen in space by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Credit: NASA/SDO As the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, draws closer, a vibrant community of enthusiastic amateur radio operators, known as “hams,” is gearing up for an … Read more
DESI has made the largest 3D map of our universe to date. Earth is at the center of this thin slice of the full map. In the magnified section, it is easy to see the underlying structure of matter in our universe. Credit: Claire Lamman/DESI collaboration; custom colormap package by cmastro The universe is still … Read more
Overview of the UTR-LM model for 5′ UTR function prediction and design. Credit: Nature Machine Intelligence (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s42256-024-00823-9 The same class of artificial intelligence that made headlines coding software and passing the bar exam has learned to read a different kind of text—the genetic code. That code contains instructions for all of life’s functions … Read more
Credit: NASA Europa is one of the largest of more than 90 moons in orbit around the planet Jupiter. It is also one of the best places to look for alien life. Often termed an “ocean world” by scientists, observations to date strongly suggest that beneath Europa’s icy crust, there could be a liquid saltwater … Read more
Physicists from five Rice University laboratories and more than a dozen collaborating institutions have discovered a way to use heat to switch crystals of iron, germanium and tellurium between two topological phases where quantum bits of information, or qubits, could potentially be stored. The researchers showed that empty atomic sites in the crystals’ lattice are … Read more
An adult male loon feeds a small fish to one chick, while the other chick rides on the back of the female parent. Credit: Linda Grenzer The Common Loon, an icon of the northern wilderness, is under threat from climate change due to reduced water clarity, according to a new study authored by Chapman University … Read more
EP-enhanced phase sensing platform. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl5037 Optical sensors serve as the backbone of numerous scientific and technological endeavors, from detecting gravitational waves to imaging biological tissues for medical diagnostics. These sensors use light to detect changes in the properties of the environment they’re monitoring, including chemical biomarkers and physical properties like … Read more
This satellite image provided by NOAA shows clouds over North America on Thursday, April 4, 2024. Credit: NOAA via AP Some who hope to witness Monday’s total solar eclipse may see the sun obscured by clouds instead of by the moon. There’s still some time for forecasts to change, but meteorologists predict that eclipse day … Read more
