The Cross Heads

A new version of the drake equation

But even without knowing the actual values of all those variables present in the Drake equation, one thing was certain: The more stars you had at the beginning, the better the odds for life were. So Sorini’s team focused on stars. “Our work is connected to the Drake equation in that it relies on the […]

November 22, 2024 | astronomy, cosmology, dark energy, Dark Matter, drake equation, Science, Star formation | No comments

A former Orion manager has surprisingly credible plans to fly European astronauts

She found herself wanting to build something more modern. Looking across the Atlantic, she drew inspiration from what SpaceX was doing with its reusable Falcon 9 rocket. She watched humans launch into space aboard Crew Dragon and saw that same vehicle fly again and again. “I have a huge admiration for what SpaceX has done,” […]

November 22, 2024 | europe, Science, Space, the exploration company | No comments

Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine portends new era of warfare

The Oreshnik missiles strike their targets at speeds of up to Mach 10, or 2.5 to 3 kilometers per second, Putin said. “The existing air defense systems around the world, including those being developed by the US in Europe, are unable to intercept such missiles.” A global war? In perhaps the most chilling part of […]

November 22, 2024 | ICBM, IRBM, Military, missile, russia, Science, Space, Ukraine | No comments

Rocket Report: Next Vulcan launch slips into 2025; Starship gets a green light

For now the military flies on Falcons … The anomaly itself isn’t a showstopper for certification, said Garrant. But the cumulative delays and uncertainties are a concern, he said, “as we aim to maintain assured access to space with two certified providers.” Two missions—USSF-106 and USSF-87—are currently waiting in the wings, with payloads ready but […]

November 22, 2024 | rocket report, Science, Space | No comments

Surgeons remove 2.5-inch hairball from teen with rare Rapunzel syndrome

Hair is resistant to digestion and isn’t easily moved through the digestive system. As such, it often gets lodged in folds of the gastric lining, denatures, and then traps food and gunk to form a mass. Over time, it will continue to collect material, growing into a thick, matted wad. Of all the bezoars, trichobezoars […]

November 21, 2024 | abdominal pain, hair, Health, NEJM, rapunzel syndrome, Science, stomach | No comments

We’re closer to re-creating the sounds of Parasaurolophus

A “near-crested lizard” Reconstruction of the environment where Parasaurolophus walkeri lived during the Cretaceous. Credit: Marco Antonio Pineda/CC BY-SA 4.0 The most intriguing hypothesis is that the crest served as a resonating chamber, first proposed in 1931 by Swedish paleontologist Carl Wiman, who noted that the crest’s structure was similar to that of a swan […]

November 21, 2024 | acoustics, dinosaurs, paleontology, Science | No comments

NASA is stacking the Artemis II rocket, implying a simple heat shield fix

A good sign The readiness of the Orion crew capsule, where the four Artemis II astronauts will live during their voyage around the Moon, is driving NASA’s schedule for the mission. Officially, Artemis II is projected to launch in September of next year, but there’s little chance of meeting that schedule. At the beginning of […]

November 21, 2024 | artemis, artemis II, human spaceflight, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, orion, Science, Space, space launch system, vehicle assembly building | No comments

Study: Yes, tapping on frescoes can reveal defects

The US Capitol building in Washington, DC, is adorned with multiple lavish murals created in the 19th century by Italian artist Constantino Brumidi. These include panels in the Senate first-floor corridors, Room H-144, and the rotunda. The crowning glory is The Apotheosis of Washington on the dome of the rotunda, 180 feet above the floor. Brumidi […]

November 21, 2024 | acoustics, art conservation, Science | No comments

Horrifying medical device malfunction: Abdominal implant erupts from leg

On May 7, 2011, Georgia resident Tonya Brand noticed a pain on the inside of her right thigh. As the pain grew worse in the 4- to 5-inch area of her leg, she headed to a hospital. There, doctors suspected she had a blood clot. But an ultrasound the next day failed to find one. […]

November 21, 2024 | Cook Medical, fda, Health, IVC filter, medical device, safety, Science | No comments

Qubit that makes most errors obvious now available to customers

We’re nearing the end of the year, and there are typically a flood of announcements regarding quantum computers around now, in part because some companies want to live up to promised schedules. Most of these involve evolutionary improvements on previous generations of hardware. But this year, we have something new: the first company to market […]

November 20, 2024 | Computer science, dual-rail qubits, quantum computing, quantum mechanics, qubits, Science | No comments

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