Tessera
Folgen

Alex Wilkins

@alexwilkins.bsky.social

journalist with New Scientist focusing on physics, space and tech. https://www.alex-wilkins.com/

72 Posts921 Follower939 Folgt
Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 8mo ago

This is one of the most intriguing stories I've ever worked on: what would be the largest meteorite of all time lost in the west African desert that, despite countless searches, was never found. Overnight camel rides, poisoned chieftains, meteorite science. www.newscientist.com/article/2507...

The century-long hunt for the gigantic meteorite that vanished

A soldier returned from the Sahara desert in 1916 with a wild story about a meteorite that dwarfed all others. Over 100 years of hunting yielded nothing – but now twin brothers think they have solved ...

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

In 1989, it seemed like room-temperature nuclear fusion might be possible, solving the world's energy problems. But cold fusion, as it was known, was soon dead in the water after failed replications. Now, a new experiment has resurrected its ghost ☢️ www.newscientist.com/article/2493...

Nuclear fusion gets a boost from a controversial debunked experiment

A 1989 experiment offered the promise of nuclear fusion without the need for high temperatures, but this "cold fusion" was quickly debunked. Now, some of the techniques involved have been resurrected ...

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

We've all been caught in the annoying perpetual loop of removing and putting on a jacket when the weather is temperamental ⛅ This jacket gets thinner when you sweat and puffs up when your skin is dry, meaning you can wear it come rain or shine. www.newscientist.com/article/2492...

Jacket that gets thinner when you sweat could help avoid overheating

A material made from bacterial cellulose alters its insulating properties in dry and moist conditions, which could help you stay a comfortable temperature whatever the weather

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

Our best hope for alien life, as astronomers reported earlier this year, seems to be fading away. New observations of K2-18b can't find any strong evidence for the apparent biosignature that got many excited. www.newscientist.com/article/2489...

Signs of alien life on exoplanet K2-18b have all but vanished

Earlier this year, astronomers reported possible evidence of life on another planet – but new observations from JWST suggest the apparent biosignature isn’t there after all

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

You'd expect the first stars to form at the beginning of the universe but surprisingly, astronomers have found a galaxy full of just-born stars much, much later (hundreds of millions of years later) www.newscientist.com/article/2489...

Peculiar galaxy seems to contain surprisingly pristine stars

Stars uncontaminated by heavier elements are thought to have formed very early in the universe, but a galaxy much later in cosmic history might let us see them for the first time

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

The ground has been moving under our feet for longer than we thought 🌍 Scientists have found evidence of tectonic plate-like activity hundreds of millions of years further back, at 3.5 billion years. (plus the earliest known reversal of Earth's magnetic core!) www.newscientist.com/article/2488...

Ancient rocks show earliest evidence of tectonic activity on Earth

The origins of plate tectonics on Earth are hotly debated, but evidence from Australia now shows that parts of the crust moved in relation to each other as early as 3.5 billion years ago

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

Weird plants! Ancient Earth! Meteorites! The strange story of the horsetail plant, and its unique ability to distil water up its stem, could tell us all sorts of fascinating things about what Earth was like billions of years ago www.newscientist.com/article/2487...

Peculiar plant could help us reconstruct ancient Earth’s climate

Something strange happens to water as it moves through the stems of horsetail plants – and this unique process provides valuable clues for understanding past and present ecosystems

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

Have we found evidence of alien life? The picture is getting much, much murkier. Last month, astronomers said they'd found "strong evidence" of alien life. They've now reanalysed the data and found more possible molecules that fit the data. www.newscientist.com/article/2480...

Astronomers double down on claim of strongest evidence for alien life

Are there aliens living on the exoplanet K2-18b? Some astronomers believe they have evidence for molecules on the planet that must have a biological origin, but others disagree

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

Training an AI model on the English population's health data is a massive legal and ethical grey area, but researchers have done it anyway. It *might* one day help doctors predict disease, but it's unclear whether it ever can without breaking the law. www.newscientist.com/article/2479...

Concerns raised over AI trained on 57 million NHS medical records

The makers of an AI model called Foresight say it could help predict disease or hospitalisation rates, but others have expressed concern about the fact it is trained on millions of health records

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · last yr.

Sensational claims of life on another planet are just that - claims. What would we need for those claims to be verified? More work from independent groups, more data and a real look at non-biological alternatives, which could take years, or forever. www.newscientist.com/article/2477...

Will we ever have confirmation of life outside our solar system?

The report of possible biosignatures on the exoplanet K2-18b is exciting, but we are a long way from establishing beyond doubt that there is life on such a distant world

newscientist.com

Matthew Sparkes@sparkes.bsky.social · last yr.

Interesting tale here on D-Wave claiming last year that their quantum computers could do things that no classical computer could do. This week that paper passed peer-review. Success, right? No. Two teams of classical computer scientists say they've caught up. www.newscientist.com/article/2471...

Doubts cast over D-Wave's claim of quantum computer supremacy

D-Wave's claim that its quantum computers can solve problems that would take hundreds of years on classical machines have been undermined by two separate research groups showing that even an ordinary ...

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

A computer contained in a thin thread of stitchable fabric could be used to record, and understand, all sorts of information about the body that devices like Apple watches can't. And it's being tested on Canadian and US soldiers right now, in the Arctic. www.newscientist.com/article/2470...

Thread-based computer could be knitted into clothes to monitor health

Wearable technology could go beyond smartwatches to items of clothing that monitor large parts of your body

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

50 years after it was first dreamt up by Douglas Hofstadter, this fascinating fractal butterfly has been found in a real physical system (in graphene, no less)! It's butterflies all the way down 🦋 www.newscientist.com/article/2470...

Physicists capture a strange fractal ‘butterfly’ for the first time

The electrons in a twisted piece of graphene show a strange repeating pattern first predicted in 1976, but never directly measured until now

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

Another moon launch tomorrow, including: 🌑 The southern-most point ever visited 🌑 A hopping robot entering a crater w/ permanent shadows (for the 1st time) 🌑 An asteroid mining mission 🌑 A rover with a tiny cute ant-sized rover on its back www.newscientist.com/article/2469...

Intuitive Machines' lunar lander Athena set to blast off to the moon

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is about to launch a number of missions, including a private lunar lander, a lunar satellite for NASA and a prospecting probe for an asteroid-mining company

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

Good news: asteroid 2024 YR4, which was on a collision course for Earth, will probably miss us. But that doesn't mean scientists aren't still considering a space mission to study it up close! (The chance of a moon impact has also quadrupled, at 1.2%) www.newscientist.com/article/2469...

Asteroid 2024 YR4 will now almost certainly miss Earth in 2032

New observations have dramatically reduced the chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032, lowering the risk to the planet to minimal levels, but the extraordinary close approach will now offe...

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

Microsoft researchers have shown off a new AI tool that can produce full-length, physically accurate gameplay sequences for Bleeding Edge, a multiplayer online battle game 🎮 Could this lead to fully AI-designed games? Probably not anytime soon. www.newscientist.com/article/2469...

Microsoft wants to use generative AI tool to help make video games

Using AI to produce footage of video games with a consistent world and rules could prove useful to game designers

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

When the first exoplanets were discovered 30 years ago, we had only the faintest idea of what they looked like. Fast forward to today, and we have mindboggling detail - 3D atmospheres, actual wind speeds (70,000 km/h!) and altitude-dependent elements! www.newscientist.com/article/2468...

Astronomers uncover the topsy-turvy atmosphere of a distant planet

The gas giant WASP-121b, also known as Tylos, has an atmospheric structure unlike any we have ever seen, and the fastest winds on any planet

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

The asteroid barreling towards Earth (maybe) has just got an even higher risk rating from NASA - it's now at a 1-in-38 chance, the highest odds yet of collision. Not worth worrying (yet), but the world's space agencies are keeping a *very* close eye. www.newscientist.com/article/2468...

Odds of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 have reached new high

Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but as astronomers make more observations about its trajectory, the odds of a collision seem to be increasing

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

Jonathan McDowell has painstakingly amassed one of the world's largest collections on the space industry 🚀 @planet4589.bsky.social is now retiring, after four decades, and considering the future of his collection. We spoke all things space for @newscientist www.newscientist.com/article/2468...

Meet the man who single-handedly tracks every spaceflight mission ever

For more than 40 years, Jonathan McDowell has tirelessly catalogued the space industry. Now he is planning to retire, and looking to pass on his extensive collection of knowledge

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

If this planet's atmosphere really is as packed full of sulphur as it looks, then it is probably *brimming* with volcanoes 🌋 Volcanoes as far as the eye can see, magma ocean just below nearly the whole planet, eggy-smelling air - hell, basically. www.newscientist.com/article/2467...

Distant exoplanet may be the most volcanic world ever found

A rocky planet less than half the mass of Earth seems to have an atmosphere made almost entirely of sulphur dioxide – this could be due to a huge amount of volcanic activity

newscientist.com

Alex Wilkins@alexwilkins.bsky.social · 2y ago

See this circle with four blotches of white? It's light from a galaxy, 6 billion light years away, warped by a 2nd galaxy close to us. Astronomers have known about the close-by galaxy since 1886, and Einstein himself could have seen it if he'd had a good enough telescope 🔭

Bild