The Verge - Science Posts |
- SpaceX planning to launch up to 52 missions in 2022
- Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair argues nuclear power isn’t a climate solution
- A SpaceX rocket slamming into the Moon is a reminder to clean up our deep space junk
- Moderna starts trial of an omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine
- A lawsuit could accelerate research on tear gas and menstrual changes
- Tech giants call on SCOTUS to let EPA regulate CO2 emissions
- Prescription video game company goes public via SPAC
- The climate solution in California’s compost and crops
| SpaceX planning to launch up to 52 missions in 2022 Posted: 27 Jan 2022 01:11 PM PST  Commercial space company SpaceX plans to launch a whopping 52 flights in 2022, a NASA safety panel revealed today during a meeting. If successful, it would be the most launches the company has ever conducted in a single year, with its previous record last year at 31 launches. The impressive figure was given during a virtual meeting of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, or ASAP, which gives guidance to the space agency on how to maintain safety within its biggest programs. "NASA and SpaceX will have to be watchful during 2022 that they're not victims of their success," Sandy Magnus, a former NASA astronaut and member of the panel, said during the meeting. "There's an ambitious 52-launch manifest for SpaceX over the course of the... |
| Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair argues nuclear power isn’t a climate solution Posted: 27 Jan 2022 12:15 PM PST  Former heads of nuclear regulatory bodies across Europe and the US put out a statement this week voicing their opposition to nuclear energy as a climate solution. The debate over the benefits and risks of nuclear energy has been polarizing for years, but it's escalating as world leaders work to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. On one side of the debate, some argue that renewables alone are too dependent on the weather to provide a consistent power supply. Nuclear technology, which today provides about half of America's carbon-free electricity, can reliably back it up, they say. And new nuclear technology is unlikely to trigger disasters like those at Chernobyl and Fukushima that have frightened the public in the past,... |
| A SpaceX rocket slamming into the Moon is a reminder to clean up our deep space junk Posted: 27 Jan 2022 10:09 AM PST  For the last seven years, a leftover piece of an old SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been circling the Earth on a very wide orbit, having a pretty unremarkable time. But that's all about to change on March 4th, when this rocket piece is predicted to accidentally slam into the far side of the Moon. And according to the astronomer who first figured this out, it's a reminder that we need to take better care of our deep space junk. The doomed component is part of a rocket that launched from Florida in February of 2015. The vehicle lofted a particularly valuable satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called DSCOVR, which monitors solar winds coming from the Sun to better predict space weather. In order to perform its job... |
| Moderna starts trial of an omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine Posted: 27 Jan 2022 06:10 AM PST  Moderna gave its omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine to the first participant in a clinical trial, the company announced Wednesday. The report comes a few days after Pfizer / BioNTech launched a trial of its shot targeting the fast-spreading variant. The announcement coincides with the release of data showing that the two-dose series of Moderna's original vaccine struggled to block the omicron variant of the virus, which has mutations that help it dodge those antibodies. A booster shot restored much of its ability to neutralize the virus — and while that protection weakened over time, it still stuck around for at least six months. Still, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement that the omicron variant is enough of a threat that... |
| A lawsuit could accelerate research on tear gas and menstrual changes Posted: 27 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST  Proving tear gas directly causes menstrual changes is tricky |
| Tech giants call on SCOTUS to let EPA regulate CO2 emissions Posted: 26 Jan 2022 10:22 AM PST  Major tech companies are weighing in on a high-profile climate case in support of EPA greenhouse gas regulations. Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, Paypal, and Salesforce are among the companies that filed a brief yesterday asking the Supreme Court to uphold the agency's authority to regulate the pollution causing climate change. "Both corporate action and EPA regulation are needed to reduce emissions at the rate necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change," the brief says. The companies say they are "united in their efforts to combat this threat." The case the companies are weighing in on, West Virginia v. EPA, concerns whether or not the EPA has the regulatory authority to limit greenhouse gas... |
| Prescription video game company goes public via SPAC Posted: 26 Jan 2022 07:57 AM PST  Akili Interactive, the company behind the first video game to get approved as a medical treatment, announced today that it will go public through a merger with Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp, which is run by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. The deal values the company at $1 billion. The Food and Drug Administration approved Aikili Interactive's first product, a video game called EndeavorRX used to treat ADHD in children, in 2020. The company is still working towards full commercialization of the game but said in fillings today that around 1,000 doctors have written prescriptions for the game so far. The company has a slate of other projects in the pipeline, as well. In filings, it said it's working on expanding... |
| The climate solution in California’s compost and crops Posted: 26 Jan 2022 06:24 AM PST  Scaling up composting, tree-planting, and other sustainable agricultural practices in California could trap about a quarter of the state's annual carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, according to a new report. These strategies for drawing down greenhouse gases are cheaper and easier to ramp up than technological alternatives, like devices that suck planet-heating CO2 out of the air, and should play a key role in the state's efforts to address climate change, the report authors argue. Although it often leads the nation in setting aggressive climate goals, California is also a state with one of the biggest carbon footprints, making it imperative that the state consider a wide range of strategies for reducing emissions. That could include... |
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