❗️ Crew Dragon Launches to the ISS with Russian Alexander Gorbunov and American Nick Hague

The spacecraft has successfully reached orbit.

Despite having space for four crew members, Gorbunov and Hague embarked on the mission together. The two vacant seats will be occupied during the return flight by astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who arrived at the ISS in June on Boeing’s first Starliner spacecraft.

Video: #NASA

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🌞 Sunday Science Spotlight: Unveiling the Sun’s Fiery Heart!

Happy Sunday, science enthusiasts! ☀️ Did you know that at the core of our Sun, a breathtaking process called nuclear fusion is constantly at work? Every second, about 600 million tons of hydrogen are fused into helium, releasing an incredible amount of energy that powers our entire solar system!

Here’s a stellar fact: This energy takes a journey of about 93 million miles to reach Earth, providing the light and warmth that make life possible. Next time you feel the sunshine, remember—you’re basking in the glow of a star’s ancient and ongoing cosmic dance!

Keep exploring, stay curious, and let your passion for science shine as brightly as the Sun! 🔭🌌

A Pocket Guide to Rome, 1658.

What still sets Telegram apart from other media outlets?

Well, consider this: Google has a division called the Threat Analysis Group (TAG), which combats disinformation by identifying and blocking channels and advertising campaigns that support the "wrong" policies and criticize the "right" ones. Their focus is on geopolitical content related to Ukraine, Western institutions, and U.S. foreign policy.

In their reports, the division details how it takes down pro-Russian YouTubers—not just Russian-speaking ones—because there's no need to create a positive image of Russia here.

From the perspective of a transnational corporation, it's only natural that China and Iran get banned. You can't support Azerbaijan and criticize Armenia. You can't support President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the Uzbek language. You can't express an original opinion from Togo or Burkina Faso. In Poland, speaking Polish before elections, you can't say anything against the European Union. In Mexico, you can't support the Morena party and Senator Ricardo Monreal. In Vietnamese, you can't support the government of Vietnam and its policies. In Turkish, you can't support Palestine and criticize Israel.

Robo-Dog Conquers Vertical Ladders

A method has been developed to train a quadruped robot to climb ladders. By combining hook-like grippers with reinforcement learning algorithms, researchers achieved a 90% success rate on slopes ranging from 70° to 90°. The climbing speed has been increased by 232 times compared to previous models.

The robot adapts to different ladder parameters and remains stable against external disturbances. Remarkably, the system requires no additional tuning when transitioning from simulation to a real robot. The climbing gait resembles that of humans: the hind legs generate lifting force while the front legs provide stability.

Pros: No need to walk it.

Cons: Can't hide, can't escape.

#robotics #climbingrobots
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China set a world record by organizing the largest drone show in history. A total of 7,598 UAVs were launched simultaneously, all controlled from a single laptop.
#drones #china #tech

Mars’ Olympus Mons May Awaken!

A new study of Martian gravity conducted by an international team of astronomers has revealed a large area of weaker gravity beneath the Tharsis Plateau, where Olympus Mons is located.

This is most likely a giant magmatic plume extending about 1,600 km—essentially, a flow of lava slowly rising from the planet’s interior.

In the future, this process may well lead to an eruption of the largest volcano in the Solar System, dormant for millions of years. Moreover, three neighboring smaller volcanoes might also become active.

The summit of Olympus Mons stands at an altitude of 22 km, effectively beyond the Martian atmosphere. Therefore, it would eject smoke and lava into space. However, according to scientists’ forecasts, the volcano itself would be completely destroyed by this eruption, should it occur.

A MASSIVE X7.1 Solar Flare Has Occurred on the Sun—it became the second most powerful in the last seven years.

Scientists are expecting strong geomagnetic storms rated G3 to G5 and auroras across the entire Northern Hemisphere.

An enormous plasma ejection will hit Earth on the night from Friday to Saturday.

A Robotic Hand That Detaches and Crawls—But Don’t Be Alarmed, It’s All Part of the Plan!

Engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and MIT have unveiled a five-fingered robotic hand that can detach from its main manipulator and crawl independently. Operating autonomously, the hand can grasp objects beyond the reach of the primary robot, then return and reattach itself.

Each finger of the robotic hand has four degrees of freedom and can bend in both directions relative to the plane of the hand. The developers used a genetic algorithm to determine the optimal number of fingers and their placement on the cylindrical palm.

In the basic configuration, the autonomous hand uses only two fingers to grasp and hold one, two, or even three objects, while the remaining fingers are employed for locomotion.

This innovation could be extremely useful for working in confined spaces.

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People seem to have stopped fearing ichthyosaurs altogether – now they’re regarded as the first evolutionary attempt at creating dolphins. But ichthyosaurs came in many forms – some were very large, very predatory, and very toothy.

The reputation of ichthyosaurs as true monsters can be restored, for example, by the Himalayasaurus, despite its name, found in Tibet in the 1970s (not entirely despite the name, its full name is Himalayasaurus tibetensis) – even present-day Tibet was once the ocean floor. This leviathan reached 15 meters in length and weighed about 35 tons, making it one of the largest predators in the planet’s history.

Recently, they found a relative of the Himalayasaurus, with much smaller teeth, which, nevertheless, managed to bite off the tail of another massive marine reptile and swallowed the rest, somehow managing to eat something about two-thirds of its own size. It seems that the Himalayasaurus could have swallowed an average-sized Tyrannosaurus rex whole, without even biting off the tail! However, it would have been difficult for them to meet – the Himalayasaurus lived in the Triassic period, 215 million years ago, meaning that less time has passed between T. rex and us than between Himalayasaurus and T. rex.

I’m not sure what it was swallowing instead of Tyrannosaurs, but it is believed that this Triassic sea titan was the strongest of all known Mesozoic predators.

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Exploring Ancient Life in 2-Billion-Year-Old Rocks

Scientists have made an extraordinary discovery in the Bushveld Igneous Complex of South Africa, where 2-billion-year-old rocks host microbial life. These microorganisms have thrived deep underground, inside mineral-filled veins, without sunlight or significant external energy sources. Advanced imaging techniques, including infrared and electron microscopy, revealed colonies of microbes in clay-sealed veins, indicating that these ancient environments could have supported life for billions of years.

In 1963, Polaroid’s chemists marked a breakthrough in photography.

For over 15 years, they tested more than 5,000 different reagents, all with the goal of perfecting the process of color printing.


#history #science

We are continuing our survey to learn more about where our readers are from. The interim results can be seen in the chart here. It’s amazing to see that Science is being read in all corners of the globe! Thank you for your support and participation!

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Severe geomagnetic storms, reaching up to G4 class or even higher, are expected on Earth from Thursday to Friday. These storms could also be the longest-lasting of the year.