The Cross Heads

NASA awards SpaceX a contract for one of the few things it hasn’t done yet

Notably, the Dragonfly launch was one of the first times United Launch Alliance has been eligible to bid its new Vulcan rocket for a NASA launch contract. NASA officials gave the green light for the Vulcan rocket to compete head-to-head with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy after ULA’s new launcher had a successful debut […]

November 26, 2024 | dragonfly, falcon heavy, launch, NASA, nuclear, planetary science, Saturn, Science, solar system, Space, spacex, Titan | No comments

Things aren’t looking good for infamous CEO of “health care terrorists”

Earlier this year, a Maltese magistrate concluded a four-year investigation into the matter and recommended that Ernst and de la Torre be charged with money laundering, criminal association, and corruption of public officials, including the nation’s former prime minister, Joseph Muscat, the Globe reports. Meanwhile, new allegations of domestic dealings continue to come to light. […]

November 26, 2024 | corruption, Health, health care, health care industry, hospitals, Malta, ralph de la torre, Science, steward | No comments

Raw milk recalled for containing bird flu virus, California reports

Pasteurization The milk-related risk of H5N1 is only from raw milk; pasteurized milk does not contain live virus and is safe to drink. Pasteurization, which heats milk to a specific temperature for a specified amount of time, kills a variety of bacteria and viruses, including bird flu. Influenza viruses, generally, are considered susceptible to heat […]

November 25, 2024 | bird flu, California, H5N1, Health, Infectious disease, influenza, pasteurization, raw milk, Science | No comments

$300 billion pledge at COP29 climate summit a “paltry sum”

The world’s most important climate talks were pulled back from the brink of collapse after poorer countries reluctantly accepted a finance package of “at least” $300 billion a year from wealthy nations after bitter negotiations. Fears about stretched budgets around the world and the election of Donald Trump as US president, who has described climate […]

November 25, 2024 | climate change, COP29, Policy, Science, syndication | No comments

How physics moves from wild ideas to actual experiments

In the case of the AMANDA experiment, early tests in Greenland and later tests at the South Pole began to provide these happy accidents. “It was discovered that the ice was even more exceptionally clear and has no radioactivities—absolutely quiet, so it is the darkest and quietest and purest place on Earth,” said Karle. AMANDA […]

November 25, 2024 | experiments, Features, neutrinos, particles, Science | No comments

After Russian ship docks to space station, astronauts report a foul smell

Russian space program faces ongoing challenges Zak reported that the cosmonauts aboard the Russian segment of the station donned protective equipment, and activated an extra air-scrubbing system aboard their side of the facility. On the US segment of the station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit said he smelled something akin to “spray paint.” As of Sunday […]

November 24, 2024 | iss, russia, Science, Space | No comments

Survivors mark 20th anniversary of deadly 2004 tsunami

In the wee hours of December 26, 2004, a massive 9.2 earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean, generating an equally massive tsunami that caused unprecedented devastation to 14 countries and killing more than 230,000. Twenty years later, National Geographic has revisited one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history with a new documentary: Tsunami: […]

November 24, 2024 | Science | No comments

What delusions can tell us about the cognitive nature of belief

Natalie also recalled other beliefs, including that she was dead (known as Cotard delusion), which she did not share with clinicians at the time. She noted that she entertained this idea due to the failure of other explanations to account for her strange experiences and an idea from a television show. Natalie said she eventually […]

November 24, 2024 | cognitive dissonance, mental health, Science, syndication | No comments

Astrocytes play a key role in memory

“In simple terms, we use genetic tools that allow us to inject mice with a drug that artificially makes astrocytes express some other gene or protein of interest when they become active,” says Wookbong Kwon, a biotechnologist at Baylor College and co-author of the study. Those proteins of interest were mainly fluorescent proteins that make […]

November 23, 2024 | astrocytes, Biology, memory, neurobiology, neurons, Neuroscience, Science | No comments

Ancient fish-trapping network supported the rise of Maya civilization

Harrison-Buck and her colleagues calculated that at its peak, the system could have produced enough fish each year to feed around 15,000 people. That’s based on modern estimates of how many kilograms of fish people eat every year, combined with measurements of how many kilograms of fish people in Zambia harvest with similar traps. Of […]

November 22, 2024 | aerial archaeology, ancient people did stuff, Archaeology, fisheries, indigenous americans, Maya, Pre-Columbian civilizations, Science | No comments

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