Science

Philippine army, police, and rescue personnel began forcefully removing villagers near Mayon Volcano on Friday as its disturbance suggested a cataclysmic eruption of one of the country's most active volcanoes within weeks or days. Volcanic emissions, lava flows, rockfalls, and other dangers are prohibited within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon's crater. Many impoverished people have constructed dwellings and farmed near Mayon's danger zone. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated citizens were being evacuated from the permanent danger zone and offered help until the situation ended. Marcos told reporters, “Right now, what we are doing is preparing and moving people away from the area so that, should the time come, I hope it doesn’t happen…we’re ready. However, research war...

Flooding was caused over areas of southwest China on Friday as a result of persistent and heavy rain that fell throughout the day without letup. Roads and houses were both partially submerged as a result of the flooding. On Thursday, the city of Beihai in Guangxi logged 453 millimeters of rainfall, which was a particularly severe first round of summer showers known as "dragon boat water" in the local dialect. According to the China Meteorological Administration, it established a new daily record for the region in the month of June. Videos that were circulating on social media indicated that flooded streets in Beihai had cars that were partially submerged in water, and that at one multi-story building, water was cascading down a staircase as firemen hurried to rescue the occupants o...

Microgravity and other variables can disrupt our physiology from head to toe, with the brain being the main worry. NASA-funded research clarifies the issue. On Thursday, researchers reported that astronauts who spent six months on the International Space Station (ISS) or NASA space shuttles had considerable cerebral ventricle growth. This clear fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It protects the brain from shock and eliminates waste. According to brain scans of 30 astronauts, it takes three years for the ventricles to fully recuperate after such travels, indicating a three-year gap between larger space missions. If the ventricles don't have enough time to recuperate between missions, microgravity fluid changes may affect the brain. For example, if the ventricles are...

Hypnosis has long intrigued and debated. The phenomena, typically portrayed in popular culture as mind control where patients blindly follow the hypnotist's directions, is controversial in science. Is it a scientifically proven psychological tool or pseudoscience? This article reviews hypnosis research and its scientific credibility. Hypnosis: A Change in Consciousness? The American Psychological Association defines hypnosis as “a state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion”. Using guided imagery or suggestion, a hypnotist induces profound relaxation. Modern psychology advanced hypnosis research in the 20th century. Hypnosis can modify brain activity, according to brain...

Three Northern Irish space companies received STEP financing. ADS Group and the UK Space Agency received £300,000 today to strengthen their supply chain and space economy involvement. STEP was one of eighteen UK Space Agency initiatives established in February 2023 to promote the space sector. As stated by the National Space Strategy, ADS will manage the pilot program allowing supply chains SMEs in Northern Ireland to collaborate with major enterprises and employ innovative, new solutions to tackle technological obstacles, opening new markets and boosting UK space capabilities. The program's first three funded initiatives are: ANGOKA Ltd.’s quantum resilient technology safeguards space-based optical communications. IceMOS Technology Ltd. employs a sophisticated engi...

Music, with its diverse sounds and genres, has always shaped human society. Classical symphonies to heavy metal riffs move people. However, attempts to categorize music by genre often fail. Favouritism shapes identities and relationships. Tastes affect our judgment and behavior. Because music is continuously changing, representing musical taste is difficult. It's hard to categorize music tastes because of its intricacy. Melody, rhythm, harmony, instrumentation, and lyrics influence a song's aesthetic. Even within a genre, these elements might vary, making song categorization difficult. German researchers polled almost 2,000 people about their musical interests, including subgenres. Metal, pop, rock, EDM, and European classical music enthusiasts were prioritized. Music, wit...

Aliens in the Milky Way? A new quest for alien life uses radio waves from the core of our galaxy. Pulsars generate narrow-frequency pulses, which humans employ in radar. These pulses stand out against space's radio noise, making them an excellent tool to communicate over large distances and an attractive target for extraterrestrial civilization hunters. In a May 30 Astronomical Journal paper, scientists outlined the alien-hunting approach. The program was tested on known pulsars by Cornell University graduate student Akshay Suresh. These frequency ranges are roughly a tenth of an FM radio station's. The approach was used to search Green Bank Telescope data in West Virginia. Alien existence? "Until now, radio SETI has primarily dedicated its efforts to the search fo...

Astronomers found that the strongest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever had a unique jet shape and was pulling an exceptionally high amount of star debris. This may explain the extreme properties of the burst, which was launched when a massive star 2.4 billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagitta collapsed to form a black hole, and why its afterglow lasted so long. On October 9, 2023, the brightest GRB ever, GRB 221009A, was seen. A powerful burst of high-energy gamma-rays was followed by a low-fading afterglow spanning multiple wavelengths. "GRB 221009A represents a massive step forward in our understanding of gamma-ray bursts and demonstrates that the most extreme explosions do not obey the standard physics assumed for garden variety bursts," said George Washington Unive...

A new coastal rescue facility has opened in Corpus Christi, Texas, and it is providing safe haven for endangered sea turtles and other forms of marine animals. Sea turtles, manatees, dolphins, birds, and other creatures who are in danger as a result of abnormal weather patterns are brought to the Port of Corpus Christi Center at the Texas State Aquarium, where they are treated for their injuries and then returned to the wild after undergoing rehabilitation. The 26,000-square-foot hospital, which opened in March, is the largest sea turtle rescue center in the United States. It employs a unique CT scanner that is devoted just to wildlife in order to take photographs of the creatures that have been saved. It has already responded to many instances of cold-stunning, which is a sudde...

50 top scientists cautioned Thursday that record-high greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing air pollution have accelerated global warming. "Human-induced warming has been increasing at an unprecedented rate of over 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade," they said in a peer-reviewed policymaker research from 2013 to 2022. Over the same period, average yearly emissions reached an all-time high of 54 billion tonnes of CO2 or comparable gases, or 1,700 tonnes per second. Top scientists warn of record 0.2C per decade warming. At the crucial COP28 climate meeting in Dubai later this year, a "Global Stocktake" at the UN talks will review progress toward the 2015 Paris Agreement's temperature objectives. World leaders will be presented with the fresh statistics. The findings appear...