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Stop sending human remains to the Moon
On 8 January, US space company Astrobotic launched the first commercial Moon lander, called Peregrine. Among the spacecraft’s 20 payloads were five instruments built by NASA. Other cargo included the cremated remains of at least 70 people and one dog, sent by two US companies, Celestis and Elysium Space, which give people the opportunity to…
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Can foreign coral save a dying reef? Radical idea sparks debate
Table coral is among the species that could be transplanted to the Caribbean to revive reefs damaged by climate change and other threats.Credit: imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG/Alamy Seattle, Washington Corals in the Caribbean have been dying off for decades — and a devastating heatwave there last summer made matters worse. Researchers are now considering…
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Insights from four female scientists caught at the early-career crossroads
Early-career researchers Cottrell Tamasser (left) and Ifrah Abdullahi discuss their career plans and challenges at the June 2023 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting on Physiology and Medicine in Germany.Credit: Julia Nimke Each year hundreds of early-career researchers from dozens of countries attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. The annual event provides opportunities for…
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Young scientists learned about snow at the Nature at the Confluence
SOUTH BELOIT, Ill. (WIFR) – With all this snowfall, Saturday was the perfect time for local children to learn about the science of snow. This was part of the Little Scientists series at South Beloit’s Nature at the Confluence. Children and their families learned about the freezing temperature of snow, winter animals, and even made…
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From classroom to nature’s lab: Creating the next gen of conservationists through science, storytelling
Students attentively listen to scientist Snigdha Sehgal during the storytelling session. Photo Credits: The Goan PANAJISerenella Fernandes and Kayden D’Souza, two enthusiastic 13-year-old students, are sparked to immerse themselves in the conservation of Goa’s rich biodiversity. The transformative catalyst for the two Class VIII students was their participation in scientist Snigdha Sehgal’s recently held workshop…
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Earth boiled in 2023 — will it happen again in 2024?
A man tries to cool down during a heatwave in Mexico in 2023.Credit: Victor Medina/Reuters The final numbers are in, and 2023 is officially the hottest year on record — shattering previous records, as well as the expectations of many climate scientists. And researchers say that 2024 could be even worse. Global temperatures this month,…
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Open Studios Architecture is renovating the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
With a $20 million contribution from the Sturm Family Foundation, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is readying to carry out a renovation to its East Wing and Plaza. Open Studio Architecture, a local firm, has reimagined the wing’s historic theater, lobby, and eastern-facing plaza. The project is split into two phases. Phase one…
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How Life Works by Philip Ball review – the magic of biology
You might think, with the completion of the Human Genome Project 20 years ago now, and the discovery of the double helix enjoying its 70th birthday this year, that we actually know how life works. In physics, the quest for a so-called Grand Unifying Theory has preoccupied the most ambitious minds for generations, alas to no avail.…
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What counts as plagiarism? Harvard president’s resignation sparks debate
Some academics argue that copying and pasting parts of text from others’ work is okay — as long as it is cited.Credit: ersinkisacik/Getty Plagiarism is one of academia’s oldest crimes, but Claudine Gay’s resignation as Harvard University’s president following plagiarism allegations has sparked a fresh online debate: about when copying text should be a punishable…
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Oceans break heat records five years in a row
Measurement of ocean temperatures to 2000 metres has revealed a large increase in warming in 2023.Credit: borchee/Getty The world’s oceans absorbed more heat in 2023 than in any other year since records began, according to a paper released today1 (see ‘Hotter and hotter’). The findings are the latest update of an annual study led by…