The primary objective of CHEOPS is to better understand the planets that we’ve already found. And its mission is now in full swing.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
Cosmologists had only been able to find half the matter that should exist in the universe. With the discovery of a new astronomical phenomenon and new telescopes, researchers just found the rest.
To intercept the ISS, the capsule must match the station’s speed, altitude and inclination.
Vulnerable websites are popping up as organizations move online during the coronavirus pandemic – and hackers have more time at home alone. The result is more websites falling victim to defacement.
What criteria should be used to determine whether a food is natural? What if gene-editing techniques produce changes indistinguishable from those that evolve naturally? Is the food still natural?
Thinking of SARS-CoV-2 as an invisible enemy with an evil personality and humanlike motivations is a natural offshoot of the way people evolved to anthropomorphize so as not to overlook threats.
SpaceX's launch of astronauts to the International Space Station will make it the first private company to launch humans to space. The effort has ramifications for NASA and spaceflight in general.
Researchers have made some of the most accurate clocks imaginable in recent years, but the trick is harnessing those clocks to electronics. Using lasers to tune microwaves bridges the gap.
It's human nature to try to insulate yourself from the unpleasant realization that death comes for all of us eventually.
An update of 50-year-old regulations has kickstarted research into the next generation of rockets. Powered by nuclear fission, these new systems could be the key to faster, safer exploration of space.
Research shows napping helps young children learn, as well as enhancing their emotional well-being.
Conspiracy theories about COVID-19, such as those advanced in the video 'Plandemic,' tend to pull from the same playbook. Recognizing that can help keep you from falling for this kind of thinking.
A high-tech twist on an old idea – running on springs – could give human-powered movement its biggest boost in more than a century.
Women are underrepresented in technology fields, but especially so in cybersecurity. It's not just a matter of fairness. Women are better than men at key aspects of keeping the internet safe.
COVID-19
Results from phase 1 trials of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine created a burst of optimism. But details the company failed to release suggest it is too early to speculate whether the vaccine is effective.
Testing for coronavirus has been a fiasco in the US. But now companies are developing super fast tests, including ones that might eventually be as simple as at home pregnancy tests.
Curious Kids
You might have already felt what it would be like inside a cloud made of condensed water vapor.
Epidemiologists focus on diseases among groups of people. They also study the spread of disease among animals.
Gene-editing people
Scientists worldwide are calling for a moratorium on gene editing in germline cells. But what is a germline cell? How does it differ from other cells in our body? Why does it matter if we edit them?
Yeast is a single-celled organism that's everywhere around us. Understanding how yeast works can help you make better bread and appreciate this old friend of humanity.
About half of incarcerated women in the United States are mothers to children under age 18. Natural spaces within a prison can help maintain their mother-child bonds.
It is a pretty spectacular achievement to not only rendezvous with an asteroid as it is whizzing around the Sun but also collect a sample. Here's what the researchers learned.
Expanding coronavirus testing is one of the most important tasks public health officials are tackling right now. But questions over accuracy of the two main types of tests have rightly caused concern.
A fetus needs oxygen long before its lungs work and it's exposed to the air. Some ingenious biochemistry explains how the mother's blood delivers it.
Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University found that variations in genes that code for parts of the cellular alarm system might play a role in how well people fight off COVID-19.
Human psychology has evolved to avoid situations that could lead to infection. Behavioral choices now could have long-term effects on how people interact with others and the world.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, identified nine existing drugs that show promise to treat COVID-19. The proteins they target haven't been tried before.
Bluetooth wireless communication makes it possible for people to get alerts on their phones when they've been exposed to the coronavirus. Adding the right cryptography scheme keeps those alerts private.
Every time the virus copies itself it makes mistakes, creating a trail that researchers can use to build a family tree with information about where it's traveled, and when.
Modern dating techniques are providing new time frames for indigenous settlements in Northeast North America, free from the Eurocentric bias that previously led to incorrect assumptions.
Researchers are using a newly developed satellite tag to study previously unknown aspects of tiger shark reproduction. This approach could be used on other difficult-to-study shark species.
From fungi and flies to spiders and fish, living collections need care and feeding even when their human keepers are dealing with a pandemic and its resultant social distancing.
Thirty years ago the Hubble Space Telescope began snapping photos of distant stars, providing a time machine that has taken astronomers back to when the universe was less than a billion years old.
The rush to make personal protective equipment like facemasks and face shields using 3D printers shows that the technology can help circumvent global supply chain disruptions.
Most Read past week
- Coronavirus, ‘Plandemic’ and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
- Infected with the coronavirus but not showing symptoms? A physician answers 5 questions about asymptomatic COVID-19
- Blocking the deadly cytokine storm is a vital weapon for treating COVID-19
- What the phase 1 trials of the first COVID-19 vaccine really mean
- To safely explore the solar system and beyond, spaceships need to go faster – nuclear-powered rockets may be the answer
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