A supermoon is usually defined as the largest full moon possible. This is a very lose definition and roughly means this happens when the full moon occurs within 10% of its being closest to Earth.
Over the years, new scientific discoveries have led to softer and more comfortable contact lenses. And now, research bringing together chemistry, biology and microelectronics is resulting in contact lenses that are straight out of science fiction.
An endless swirl of numbers – case counts, infection rates, vaccine efficacy – can leave you feeling stressed, anxious and powerless if you’re not confident you know what they really mean.
No matter where you are in the world, and no matter how light the skies are, the Moon is always there. Our only natural satellite has inspired literature, art and science for thousands of years.
Some weeks ago, a nine-year-old macaque monkey called Pager successfully played a game of Pong with its mind.
Ideally, we need a home test that’s as easy to use as the LFTs but as sensitive as the PCR test. An excellent candidate is a method called loop-mediated isothermal amplification (Lamp). This works along very similar principles to PCR, producing multiple copies of the starting genetic material – which you can get from a swab – but has some key advantages.
As someone teaching first-year astronomy at the moment, where much time is spent discussing the Moon, here are my answers to some of the most common recent Moon questions.
- By Osnat Katz
Winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere are both coming to an end. That means the days and nights are becoming roughly equal in length, and the path the Sun traces across the sky is changing.
The internet is a complex hodgepodge of hardware and software, and the odd jumpy Zoom call is often accepted as an inexplicable feature of a network we don’t well understand.
- By Paul Cowell
In the space of 12 months, students and teachers have radically redefined their roles in higher education. Significant difficulties have largely been met with determination and invention. Here are five changes made to higher education that it would be valuable to continue with after COVID-19.
With the help of programmed magnetic nanobeads, a diagnostic tool that plugs into an off-the-shelf phone can diagnose COVID-19 in 55 minutes or less.
Agriculture’s impact on the planet is massive and relentless. Roughly 40 per cent of the Earth’s surface is used for cropland and grazing. The number of domestic animals far outweighs remaining wild populations.
- By Jon Whittle
Artificial intelligence (AI) is learning more about how to work with (and on) humans. A recent study has shown how AI can learn to identify vulnerabilities in human habits and behaviours and use them to influence human decision-making.
When I was asked to calculate the total volume of SARS-CoV-2 in the world for the BBC Radio 4 show More or Less, I will admit I had no idea what the answer would be.
At the heart of the development of AI appears to be a search for perfection. And it could be just as dangerous to humanity as the one that came from philosophical and pseudoscientific ideas of the 19th and early 20th centuries
Every year vendors such as Apple and Google add to their list of vintage devices that no longer get operating system or security updates.
Usually, a lack of proper spiritual education and moral guidance in a society is a powerful factor that allows the dark shadows easy entrance into clouded human hearts. Many people, from all professions, are so cynical that they have given up the dream of a perfect society. These people have no true vision...
Several technologies have matured that allow people to recycle waste plastic directly by 3D-printing it into valuable products, at a fraction of their normal cost.
The most likely reason smoke detectors go off unexpectedly is that people aren’t changing the batteries in them often enough. In most sensors you might think of, the strength of the signal goes up when they detect what they’re supposed to.
There appears to have been a significant rise in virtual reality (VR) offerings in 2020, aiming to deliver safe, accessible experiences during the pandemic. A number of visitor attractions have started to offer immersive...
- By Peter Evans
Imagine opening the weekend paper and looking through the puzzle pages for the Sudoku. You spend your morning working through this logic puzzle, only to realise by the last few squares there’s no consistent way to finish it.
If ever there was a year to toast drawing to an end, it’s 2020. Over the festive period, people around the world will be raising a glass to better times ahead.
- By Ray Norris
In the northern sky in December is a beautiful cluster of stars known as the Pleiades, or the “seven sisters”. Look carefully and you will probably count six stars. So why do we say there are seven of them?