To figure out how exactly Microraptor might have flown, a team of scientists from the University of Southampton in the UK designed an anatomically accurate model and tested its abilities for stability and speed in a wind tunnel. The early Cretaceous dinosaur was a paravian–a classification of dinosaurs that were closer to birds than species like the T. Rex. In the wind tunnel, the blue 3-D model of a Microraptor showed that the dinosaur probably would have flown down from the trees and glided slowly across medium distances....

In “Top Secret,” Ward goes behind the scenes at Plant 42, an aviation-testing site near Los Angeles, where private companies build jaw-dropping prototypes under military contract. Read our preview here, then tune in at 8 p.m. ET/ PT for the full episode. Viewers who can answer a question based on the show have the chance to win this amazing book about the universe from Smithsonian/ DK Publishing. How? Follow us on Twitter (Twitter....

This design, described in detail in a new study out Monday in the journal PNAS, is inspired by the octopus arm, and mimics how it stretches, twists, and manipulates objects. Its creators hope that it can be integrated in biomedical applications, where it can assist in minimally invasive procedures or operations, like inserting a breathing tube from the mouth into the windpipes or inserting a catheter. “With the octopus, its nervous system is actually located in its arms....

The study was conducted using a four-ingredient kimchi which includes cabbage, garlic, ginger, and red pepper. The scientists selectively sterilized the ingredients in different batches, ensuring that only one contained the lactic acid bacteria that would start the fermentation process and make a healthy, edible kimchi. They found that garlic and cabbage were each able to contribute lactobacilli, which is one of the key microbes needed for kimchi, while ginger and red pepper were not....

We might finally have a resolution to this cosmic chicken-or-the-egg problem. A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters lends big support for an emerging model for how these objects might have formed sans-stars, potential giving cosmological clarity to a mystery that previously lacked any real scientific explanation. Shantanu Basu, a physics and astronomy professor at Western University in Ontario, Canada, explains that the model is based around an alternate idea of what causes black holes to stop growing....

Data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that 2017 was the third consecutive year that the mortality rate from firearms rose. We’re now up to 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people, a rate we haven’t seen in the U.S. in 20 years. Two-thirds of those are suicides, the vast majority of which are white men. The remaining one-third of deaths are homicides, which are predominantly black men. Of course, this information comes not from a study of firearm mortality but from a CDC database....

But even with their enormous numbers, certain aspects of the cicadas’ subterranean phase are mysterious—and even divisive—for biologists. While the nymphs have forelimbs specifically modified to burrow like a mole’s, they can also maneuver through existing cracks and holes with their rice-grain-sized bodies. Some might even begin their journey by following the tunnels the previous generation made to crawl out of the ground. Once they’re an inch or two below the surface, the nymphs likely feed on grass roots, says Gene Kritsky, an entomologist at Mount St....

How speakers work To reproduce audio, a dynamic speaker—also known as a driver—translates an electrical current into sound. Within the base of every driver, two magnets precisely oriented opposite each other create a magnetic field. Inside this field, a rigid suspension holds a flexible coil of copper wire called a voice coil. When the signal comes in from the source (be that radio, CD player, TV, or iPhone), the suspension and coil rapidly vibrate....

To help NASA predict how going to Mars will affect human health, Kelly lived on the ISS for just shy of an entire year–double the length of a normal space station stay. He and his twin brother, Mark, who remained back on Earth, have been subjecting themselves to blood tests and other measurements to determine how long-term spaceflight alters the immune system, microbiome, mental health, and more. Although Kelly will return to Earth this week, NASA’s “Year In Space” isn’t over quite yet....

This green alternative for transportation is like a regular bike, but equipped with a battery powered motor to reduce the need for pedaling, making it a bit easier to get to work or a desired destination without working up a sweat. E-bike sales are expected to reach 130 million by 2023, according to a 2020 report from the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group at Deloitte, generating roughly $20 billion in proceeds....

“We’re seeing these predictions become reality all across the country now,” says University of Connecticut ecologist Mark Urban. Of course, to scientists, this dread is nothing new. “I would argue that it’s the exact same story that has been told for 25 years,” says Brett Scheffers, a global change ecologist at the University of Florida. “U.S. residents are now being forced to cope with dangerously high temperatures, rising seas, deadly wildfires, torrential rainfalls and devastating hurricanes,” report coauthor Brenda Ekwurzel wrote in a prepared statement published on the Union of Concerned Scientists website....

In 2022, there have been a number of notable space crashes, both planned and unplanned. While unexpected events can be dangerous, planned crashes can provide important information about our solar system—revealing features as diverse as a planet’s atmosphere or the chemicals in an asteroid’s surface. They pave the way for future space missions by testing new technologies, too. And crashing a machine into a space rock can even give data that could one day be used to protect Earth from a threatening asteroid....

It sounds scary, and in some ways it is — figuring out how the radiation got into the groundwater is a mystery that needs solving. But there isn’t any immediate danger to public health. As Entergy’s statement reads (in part): Gov. Cuomo’s statement tried to strike a balance between concern and reassurance: He also said he directed the New York Commissioners of Environmental Conservation and Health to begin an investigation into the incident....

The landing is a big step toward rockets that spaceflight companies can reuse, instead of just letting them fall into the ocean. That could translate into savings for companies who do business in space, as well as the rest of us who hope to make it out there someday. Not everyone is overjoyed by Blue Origin’s success. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, which hasn’t quite succeeded in making a similar landing, clearly a little sore about having another company steal his thunder....

“Today we congratulate the people of China on ridding the country of malaria,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “Their success was hard-earned and came only after decades of targeted and sustained action. With this announcement, China joins the growing number of countries that are showing the world that a malaria-free future is a viable goal.” The WHO grants disease eradication certificates to countries when they have demonstrated that they’ve stopped nationwide transmission for at least three consecutive years....

Under the new guidance, the agency said, all adults 50 and older and individuals 12 and older who have received an organ transplant or have an equivalent level of immunocompromise may receive the additional booster of an mRNA vaccine. “Current evidence suggests some waning of protection over time against serious outcomes from COVID-19 in older and immunocompromised individuals,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, noted in the announcement....

The question barely makes sense the first time you hear it. “It’s like asking why is water wet,” says Will Kinney, a cosmologist at the University at Buffalo, currently on sabbatical at Stockholm University in Sweden. But for centuries the darkness of the night sky had astronomers stumped. They called the puzzle Olber’s Paradox. Distant stars look weak, and very distant stars shine too dimly for you to see with your eyes....

Avatar: The Way of Water is touted, among many things, as one of the most technically advanced films ever made—utilizing new technologies like an underwater motion-capture system director James Cameron co-designed himself specifically for the movie. Instead of suspending actors from cables to simulate underwater movement, as is generally used in Hollywood, Cameron’s team instead filled a 900,000 gallon pool to submerge the performers wearing specially designed mo-cap suits. This was, of course, after the stars of Avatar 2 were scuba-certified in Hawai’i, then trained in Navy SEAL underwater breathwork, according to a dispatch last year from Entertainment Weekly....

The 6th National Climate Risk Assessment: Hazardous Heat, released on August 15, uses a climate model to predict more than 100 million Americans will live in an “extreme heat belt” within the next 30 years. In these areas, residents could face at least one day per year with a heat index of 125 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat index is calculated by combining the actual air temperature with the humidity or dew point temperature to determine how it feels outside....

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