Science

Science

[:es]Neutron stars may be bigger than expected, measurement of lead nucleus suggests[:]

Say what you want about lead, it’s got a surprisingly thick skin—of neutrons, that is. In fact, the layer of neutrons on the outside of a lead nucleus is twice as thick as physicists thought, according to a new study. The seemingly abstruse result could have out-of-this-world implications: Neutron stars, the ultradense spheres left behind…
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[:es]Malaria vaccine has striking early success after decades of disappointment[:]

After decades of disappointing results, recent findings have revived hopes for an effective vaccine against malaria, which kills some 400,000 people every year, most of them children. An experimental vaccine that targets the most dangerous form of the malaria parasite was found to have an efficacy of 74% to 77% after 1 year in children…
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[:es]Dolphins learn the ‘names’ of their friends to form teams—a first in animal kingdom[:]

Like members of a street gang, male dolphins summon their buddies when it comes time to raid and pillage—or, in their case, to capture and defend females in heat. A new study reveals they do this by learning the “names,” or signature whistles, of their closest allies—sometimes more than a dozen animals—and remembering who consistently…
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[:es]Just 19% of Earth’s land is still ‘wild,’ analysis suggests[:]

Since the 1960s, conservationists have had a standard solution for saving biodiversity: Protect natural areas from human influence. But a new analysis of Earth’s land use going back 12,000 years suggests that even in the time of mammoths and giant sloths, just one-quarter of the planet was untouched by humans, compared with 19% today. Because…
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[:es]Vaccines that can protect against many coronaviruses could prevent another pandemic[:]

In 2017, three leading vaccine researchers submitted a grant application with an ambitious goal. At the time, no one had proved a vaccine could stop even a single beta coronavirus—the notorious viral group then known to include the lethal agents of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), as well as…
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[:es] For The First Time, Scientists Have Performed Atom Interferometry in Space [:]

To make some of the most precise measurements we can of the world around us, scientists tend to go small – right down to the atomic scale, using a technique called atom interferometry.
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[:es]Nature’s most magnetic objects, ripped apart in starquakes, can unleash powerful flashes of light[:]

On 15 April 2020, a wave of gamma rays, nature’s most powerful kind of light, washed across the Solar System like a storm front. First contact came above Mars, where photons at energies comparable to the radiation from a nuclear bomb peppered a Russian particle detector on NASA’s Mars Odyssey probe. Six minutes later, the…
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[:es]Hard choices emerge as link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare clotting disorder becomes clearer [:]

What was a worrisome suspicion four weeks ago is now widely accepted: The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause a disorder characterized by dangerous blood clots and low platelet counts. In Europe, at least 222 suspected cases have been reported among 34 million who have received their first dose of the vaccine.…
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[:es]Particle mystery deepens, as physicists confirm that the muon is more magnetic than predicted[:]

A potential chink in physicists’ understanding of fundamental particles and forces now looks more real. New measurements confirm a fleeting subatomic particle called the muon may be ever so slightly more magnetic than theory predicts, a team of more than 200 physicists reported this week. That small anomaly—just 2.5 parts in 1 billion—is a welcome…