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Studying the Sun From Far Away Like a Star to Understand Stellar Flares and Exoplanets
New research shows that sunspots and other active regions can change the overall solar emissions. The sunspots cause some emissions to dim and others to brighten; the timing of the changes also varies between different types of emissions. This knowledge will help astronomers characterize the conditions of stars, which has important implications for finding exoplanets […]
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Neutrinos Yield First Experimental Evidence of the CNO Energy-Production Mechanism of the Universe
Neutrinos Yield First Experimental Evidence of Catalyzed Fusion Dominant in Many Stars An international team of about 100 scientists of the Borexino Collaboration, including particle physicist Andrea Pocar at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, report in Nature this week detection of neutrinos from the sun, directly revealing for the first time that the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) […]
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Some Like It Hot: Global Warming Triggered the Evolution of Giant Dinosaurs
Global warming triggered the evolution of giant dinosaurs. An international team of paleontologists, including LMU Professor Oliver Rauhut, finds evidence of rapid climate change 180 million years ago as the cause of the spread of the well-known long-necked dinosaurs. When we hear the word dinosaur, most of us probably immediately think of giant animals with […]
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Saudi Arabia should be a ‘partner’ on any future nuclear deal with Iran, foreign minister says
Saudi Arabia says it should be a part of any potential negotiations between the incoming U.S. administration and Iran on a new nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud told CNBC. Saudi Arabia seeks to partner with the U.S. administration on a potential new agreement, which would not only limit Iran’s nuclear activities but […]
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Germany looks set to extend lockdown into December as infections remain high
Germany could be preparing to extend its current lockdown into December as the number of coronavirus infections remains high across the country. Yet Berlin is hopeful a coronavirus vaccine can soon be rolled out with the country’s health minister expressing optimism that “the pandemic will lose its horror in a few months.” Officials said Sunday […]
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UK borrowing hits highest October level on record
Government borrowing soared in October as the UK continued to support the economy during the pandemic. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing hit £22.3bn last month, the highest October figure since monthly records began in 1993. It underlines that the pandemic is having a “substantial effect” on the public finances, the ONS said. […]
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Small steps taken to make shipping greener
Delegates at a high-level meeting have agreed new guidelines intended to make shipping compatible with UN climate change goals. The London talks, organised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), settled on a plan to align the industry with the Paris climate treaty. Scientists say ships are a key source of pollution, producing a billion tonnes […]
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15 countries form world’s largest trading bloc
China and 14 other countries agreed Sunday to set up the world’s largest trading bloc, encompassing nearly a third of all economic activity, in a deal many in Asia are hoping will help hasten a recovery from the shocks of the pandemic. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, was signed virtually on Sunday on […]
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Black Rock Desert Wanderings
The professor and pandemic life has, unfortunately, limited Aubrey and my opportunities to explore over the past year. However, two weeks ago we finally got away for Nevada Day–a statewide celebration of Nevada’s admission to the union 8 days prior to Abraham Lincoln’s re-election in 1864, made possible by a $70,000 (today’s dollars) telegram of […]
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Lahore’s metro line opened to fanfare – but what is the real cost of China’s ‘gift’?
In a global pandemic, people across the world have avoided public transport systems where they can. But last week the Pakistani city of Lahore unveiled its “gift from China” – a $1.6bn (£1.23bn) light-rail transit system. The Orange Line metro is designed to carry nearly a quarter of a million people a day in Pakistan’s […]
