Weird & Interesting science, take 2

[Norgarth]

Anton Petrov - 3 Brown Dwarfs that defy current physics models

[classicdrogn]

A new instant classic from Ze Frank, True Facts about New Caledoniancrows


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[Norgarth]

Anton Petrov - SETI just talked to a whale to test alien communications ideas



EDIT
Anton Petrov - This whole time, the Small Magellanic Cloud was actually 2 galaxies

[robkelk]

An interview with Lee Berger, who a decade ago lead the team that discovered fossils of Homo naledi

What, you've never heard of Homo naledi? I'm not surprised. They were doing things, including burying their dead, that H. sapiens wouldn't be doing for another 100 millennia... and H. naledi had brains the size of chimpanzee brains. They show that modern-day humans aren't exceptional, or even special... and that doesn't match a lot of people's beliefs. (Once again, the Real World shows that it doesn't care what people believe.)

[Bob Schroeck]

It's back: Korean researchers claim to have replicated LK-99 room temperature superconductor experiment.

[Bob Schroeck]

"Self-eating" rocket engine demonstrated in Scotland.

[Norgarth]

Anton Petrov - Oopsy, We were wrong about Neptune's Color this whole time.

[robkelk]

They mentioned that on ''As It Happens'' last week. Scientists weren't wrong, it was the post-production that changed the colour in the photos. (Then they played a particular Eiffel 65 song.)

So this was art, and not really science.

[robkelk]

JAXA schedules August launch for 'Moon Sniper'

The first thing I though of was a Bubblegum Crisis / Sailor Moon crossover... but, no, it's a lunar lander that's supposed to be able to land more accurately than other landers, hence the "sniper" part of the name.

Well, the lander successfully made touchdown yesterday, bringing the number of nations to soft-land on the Moon up to five.

On the downside, the rover's solar cells aren't working. Thus, the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon has a much shorter life than expected. JAXA plans to turn it off and turn it on again; maybe that will help.

[classicdrogn]

newly developed desalination process inspired by ocean currents

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The uSpud says the researchers claim a suitcase-sized device with optimal conditions could produce 6L/hr from seawater and run for years without maintenance, with a cost per unit output lower than the US average for tap water.

[robkelk]

JAXA schedules August launch for 'Moon Sniper'

The first thing I though of was a Bubblegum Crisis / Sailor Moon crossover... but, no, it's a lunar lander that's supposed to be able to land more accurately than other landers, hence the "sniper" part of the name.

Well, the lander successfully made touchdown yesterday, bringing the number of nations to soft-land on the Moon up to five.

On the downside, the rover's solar cells aren't working. Thus, the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon has a much shorter life than expected. JAXA plans to turn it off and turn it on again; maybe that will help.

And now we know why: the rover landed the wrong way up.



Photo taken by the second rover... which communicates with Earth via the first rover, so...

[classicdrogn]

I wonder if they'll try bonking it with the hopper rover to try to flip it at least onto its side where the solar panels can charge sometimes just before the power runs out

[classicdrogn]

Science news you may have missed in 2023: a prospective Alzheimer's treatment (not a cure and with significant side effects, but still a major potential increase in EoL QoL,) octopus nightmares, hearing the screams of the vegetables, and has the universe been lying about its age like a mid-life-crisis hook up artist?


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[classicdrogn]

Scientists open asteroid loot box, score some rare+ drops


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[classicdrogn]

Scientists open Old Clay loot box, discover SSR microfossils


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For a less flippant description, they identified multicellular proto-animal life that's a billion years old, filling in one of the long questioned gaps in the evolutionary record, namely where the sudden explosion of complex life in the Cambrian Explosion came from. Also includes video of modern counterparts to the microorganisms involved which are interesting on their own as they have both single- and multi-cell stages to their life cycle.

[classicdrogn]

Researchers find a new approach to opening Herculaneum Scrolls loot box based on medical imaging and AI analysis:


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[Norgarth]

Anton Petrov - Discovery of a very Peculiar Object with a Weird Name: Dracula's Chivito

[classicdrogn]

60s toy tech was desperately unsafe and just as cool

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Dive into JWST's September 2023 findings, exploring potential signs of alien life and the challenges in confirming them

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[robkelk]

It appears that 2024 is the year to land wrong-way-up on the Moon.

AP: Odysseus spacecraft on its side after landing on the moon, officials say

[classicdrogn]

Should oughta be launching from Australia, I guess.

[Bob Schroeck]

LK-99 might actually be a room temperature superconductor after all.

[Norgarth]

Anton Petrov - Is this the end of Voyager 1?

[Dartz]

My dog is 17 years old. It was only suposed to go to 13 years old. It's at a 7 sigma lifespan for the breed.

Voyager was the same.

It was never expected to go this far. That it did is remarkable. That it finally croaked is sad but--- ultimately - it went far further than it was ever expected to do.

[classicdrogn]

the science of squeaky beaches and singing sand dunes


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[Bob Schroeck]

Demo video of new OpenAI-powered humanoid robot: