The UN announces bold new framework for space sustainability
With concerns growing over space debris and satellite traffic, the UN and UK government has signed a one-of a-kind agreement to ensure the sustainability of space missions going forward. If you keep up to date with our stories, you’ll know that space junk – though it may sound like a...
Current in Science
Synthetic CBD could be used to treat antibiotic resistant superbugs
Research has established the antibiotic potential of synthetic CBD, after discovering that some cannabis molecules can effectively destroy previously untreatable bacterial strains. With doctors concerned that antibiotics have become increasingly ineffective since Fleming first purified penicillin in 1928, the recent discovery that some cannabis molecules can effectively destroy previously untreatable...
Nasa’s new AI has found millions of trees in the Sahara
A new method of mapping the location and size of trees growing in arid and semi-arid regions is laying the groundwork for a more accurate global measurement of carbon storage on land. According to a recent study that combines Artificial Intelligence with detailed satellite imagery, there are in fact far...
Japan developing wooden satellites to reduce space junk
Kyoto University has teamed up with Sumitomo Forestry to create the first satellites made entirely of wood. It’s hoped that they’ll reduce the levels of space junk in our atmosphere. If you thought human littering and wastage was a problem confined to just our planet, you may want to look...
Is ‘wearable ketamine’ the future of pain management?
A biomedical start-up is currently developing a wearable Bluetooth device that administers ketamine like an insulin pump to fight opioid addiction and treat chronic pain. In light of new findings that psychedelic drugs could transform mental health, scientists and researchers alike are persisting with their dedication to change our minds...
The extraordinary medical potential of psychedelic drugs
Could psychedelics transform mental health? A growing number of scientists have begun asking whether mind-altering drugs such as DMT, magic mushrooms, and LSD may also have the potential to help treat anxiety, addiction, and depression. In the first study of its kind, UK regulators have given dimethyltriptamine (DMT) the green...
Thred Daily – Why is NASA spending millions on a 4G network on the moon?
Having constant access to the internet has become such an essential part of our daily life that now astronauts can't go for a quick recce to the moon without checking their email. Elliot looks into NASA and Nokia's collaboration to build a 4G network on the moon by 2022 in preparations for NASA's Artemis program, and whether it's a smart use of money and resources.
Students to race remote control cars on the moon in 2021
Two teams of high-school students are creating remote control cars to race on the moon. No, this isn’t Mario Kart. In the new year, a few lucky high-school students will get the chance to try their hand at automotive engineering alongside Frank Stephenson, the motor genius behind the design of McLaren’s flagship supercar the M-P1. Get this though, that isn’t even the most exciting part. The competition, devised by SpaceX chief...
NASA launches new satellite to monitor rising sea levels
NASA’s new ocean satellite is set to completely revolutionise the way we collect data on sea levels and the impact of climate change. It sounds crazy to say now, but when NASA first began its research on rising sea levels in the 1990s, scientists were unsure whether or not climate change was even a contributing factor. Thankfully, doubts on that front have been well and truly ousted since then. ‘The question...
New research finds 24 ‘super-habitable’ alien worlds
Rather than searching the night sky for Earth’s literal carbon copy, scientists have found a new criterion for habitability that’s thrown up some astonishing results. ‘A planet is the cradle of mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever’. Tsiolkovsky’s famous antique quote about curing humanity’s ‘failure to launch’ from its earthly dwelling has been picking up steam in the past few decades, with independent space agencies like...
