News about space, physics, archaeology, animals, health, and more
Randomness rules the very fabric of reality. So it only makes sense that scientists have figured out how to use nature’s randomness as a tool in our mundane world. Random numbers go hand-in-hand with encryption and online security. But when is something truly random? There are computer algorithms that strive to generate randomness, but these … Continued
India’s eighth largest state is seeking to build a blockchain-based DNA database of all 50 million of its citizens. The government of Andhra Pradesh, or AP, announced a partnership to build the database with the German genomics and precision medicine company Shivom late last month. As with other recent efforts in places such as Dubai … Continued
One of fiction’s most commonly used plot devices—a knock on the head used to render someone momentarily unconscious—is a lot more harmful in the real world. A new study published this week in The Lancet Psychiatry reaffirms that traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), even those that are relatively mild, are linked to a higher risk of … Continued
When the gene-editing technology CRISPR first made a splash back in 2012, it foretold a future in which curing diseases might simply involve snipping out problematic bits of genetic code. Of course, innovation is rarely so straightforward. As incredible as CRISPR is, it also has some pretty sizable flaws to overcome before it can live … Continued
You might think you have gravity pretty well figured out. If you drop a ball out of a window, a short time later it will hit the ground. The higher up you drop it, the faster it travels before it hits the ground. But something far more profound is going on, and it’s nicely illustrated by … Continued
This man had a tiny second fingernail growing on top of the nail of his middle finger. It looks like a second finger. A 28-year-old man in Pakistan came to doctors with the abnormal nail growing out of his left middle finger. It hurt, and the patient thought it was ugly. The doctors took x-rays … Continued
After a year of steadily slowing down, the ExoMars spacecraft has finally reached its target orbit around Mars. In about two weeks, the European Space Agency and Roscosmos orbiter will begin to scan the Martian atmosphere in search of trace gases, including those potentially linked to life. This week, the spacecraft transitioned from a highly … Continued
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would take added steps to protect women from a controversial birth control implant known as Essure. From now on, women will only be able to obtain the permanent implant after their doctor sits down with them to discuss its risks and they sign a document saying … Continued
Our friends over at the Takeout discovered last week that Walmart’s website sold Earthworm jerky. As Gizmodo’s resident bug eater, I ordered some the moment I heard. This jerky tasted horrible, to my surprise. But please, don’t let that stop you from trying to eat strange invertebrates yourself. As scientists and futurists ponder food’s future, … Continued
Experts in the field of Alzheimer’s disease are on the verge of redefining the devastating neurodegenerative disorder. And though the changes aren’t meant to influence how the 5 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s are cared after by their doctors and families, they are poised to shape the future of research into the disease for … Continued
On January 16th 2018, a bright flash lit up the sky over Michigan, accompanied by a loud boom. Caught on dash cams and home surveillance systems, the meteor briefly turned night to day as it streaked to the ground at almost 36,000 miles per hour, causing a blast wave equivalent to a minor earthquake. By … Continued
For one brave man, eating one of the hottest peppers in the world came with an unexpected side effect: Days of splitting headaches that prompted a trip to the emergency room. The unusual case, detailed in The BMJ on Monday, began immediately after the 34-year-old man took part in a chili pepper eating contest. He … Continued
The loss of a multi-billion-dollar satellite this past January is being attributed to engineering and testing errors made by aerospace and defense firm Northrop Grumman Corporation, according to a recently concluded investigation. As the Wall Street Journal reports, a payload adapter modified by Northrop Grumman failed to operate properly during deployment, causing the $3.5 billion … Continued
In a provocative opinion published Monday in STAT, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki argues that home DNA test customers don’t need experts to help them interpret genetic health risk reports. Wojcicki compares her company’s health reports, which tell people whether they are at risk of developing certain diseases, to at-home pregnancy tests. “Forty years ago, when … Continued
Paleontologists working along the UK’s southwest coast have unearthed a 205-million-year-old jawbone that belonged to an absolutely enormous species of ichthyosaur, a very successful group of aquatic reptiles. At approximately 85 feet in length, these monsters were one of the largest animals to have ever appeared on Earth. No animal, either past or present, has … Continued
Scientists are turning the tuning knob on an experiment that’s essentially a radio receiver inside of a magnet. It’s been around for years, but now it might finally be sensitive enough to hear a whole new kind of particle—one that could explain the mystery of the Universe’s dark matter. There are various hypothetical candidates that … Continued
If you’ve shirked your societal responsibility by not getting vaccinated against influenza and managed to avoid getting sick, congrats! You’re probably out of the woods now. The latest surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates this especially severe flu season is finally winding down. For the week ending March 31, the … Continued
There’s something hiding in the center of the red ring in this colorful circle of gas and dust. But it’s only hiding if you don’t know how to look for it. In fact, at the center if this image is a tiny neutron star that is spewing out x-rays. You’re looking at 1E 0102.2-7219, the … Continued
During the March 30 webcast of a Falcon 9 launch, video of the ascent was abruptly cut off at the nine minute mark, with SpaceX officials saying it did so to fall in line with government restrictions. Weird, right? What’s even weirder is that an obscure, decades-old law is now suddenly being enforced. So what … Continued
