7 of the best face masks of 2020 so far
Face masks came roaring into vogue this year, first due to smoke from the Australian bushfires, then due to the global coronavirus pandemic. While the accessories have been common in...
How quantum computers could make future humans immortal
As best we can guess, life started on planet Earth about 3.5 billion years ago. Unfortunately, so did death. And the reaper remains undefeated. About 99 percent of all species...
How Martian meteorites helped scientists decode the red planet’s geology
Despite the pandemic, NASA is on track to launch its Mars rover, Perseverance, this July from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its central mission will be to search for evidence of previous...
Automated peach sniffers, orbital opportunity and AI accessibility – TechCrunch
I see far more research articles than I could possibly write up. This column collects the most interesting of those papers and advances, along with notes on why they may...
One meter or two? The science behind social distancing
What constitutes a safe distance when it comes to the spread of COVID-19? The answer depends on where you live. China, Denmark and France recommend social distancing of one meter;...
Meteorologists highlight Earth’s stark, dramatic warming trend
2020 will be one of the hottest years on record. Meteorologists, who provide your increasingly accurate weather forecasts (sometimes astonishingly accurate), know Earth’s heating trend has been accelerating for the...
Startup Space Perspective plans space tourist ‘cruises’ using stratospheric balloons, with test flight set for 2021 – TechCrunch
There’s a new company that wants to get into the commercial space tourism business – with a unique spin that involves non-traditional launch vehicles. Space Perspective, a new startup founded...
These planets might host alien life, but we’d never know because they’re too dusty to see anything
Dusty worlds like the desert planet Arrakis from Dune may be common throughout the galaxy. Some of these worlds, harboring large quantities of dust in their atmospheres, maybe likely places to find...
Why gender-swap photo filters are still problematic
Welcome to TNW Pride 2020! All throughout June we’ll highlight articles that focus on representation for LGBTQPIA+ people in the STEM communities. Can we have a grown-up conversation about those...
New UK-US agreement allows US companies to launch from UK spaceports – TechCrunch
In a new move designed to encourage more economic and scientific collaboration between spacefaring nations, the U.K. and U.S. governments have signed a new agreement that would make it possible...