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A new method can track changes in live cell gene expression over extended periods of time. Based on Raman spectroscopy, the method doesn’t harm cells and can be performed repeatedly. Credit: MIT News; iStockA new MIT-developed method combines Raman spectroscopy with machine learning to noninvasively track gene expression in cells over time. This technique enables detailed study of cellular differentiation and has potential applications in cancer research, developmental biology, and diagnostics.Sequencing all of the RNA in…

The study identified 16 different microplastic polymer types across both contemporary and archived samples. Credit: York Archaeology Researchers have for the first time discovered evidence of microplastic contamination in archaeological soil samples. The team discovered tiny microplastic particles in deposits located more than 7 meters deep, in…

Daily article downloads for tweeted vs. control articles after the tweeting date. Data obtained from John Wiley & Sons for five journals for the experimental (blue, n = 10 per journal) and control (red, n = 40 per journal) articles, aligned to the number of days after tweeting occurred for each experimental article. Credit: PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292201 A team of researchers with varied backgrounds has…

Eventually, we're going to want to expand the World Wide Web across the galaxy, and NASA recently demonstrated a key piece of tech that could help, beaming messages via laser across a distance of almost 16 million kilometers (10 million miles). That's about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth, and the accomplishment, achieved in November 2023, represented the first time that optical communications have been sent across such a distance. Traditionally, we use radio waves to talk to distant spacecraft – but higher…

Starship, the world's most powerful rocket, flew further and faster than ever before during its third test launch Thursday, although it was eventually lost as it re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said. Lift-off from the company's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas came at 8:25 am local time (1325 GMT) and was carried live on a webcast watched by millions on social media platform X. The sleek mega rocket is vital to NASA's plans for landing astronauts on the Moon later this decade – and SpaceX CEO Elon…

There's something peculiar about dying star Betelgeuse.Yeah, there was the whole sneeze thing. That's been pretty much resolved for now. But before the Great Dimming Debacle of 2019, scientists spotted something even more peculiar about the giant star. Radio measurements of its changing light suggested it was rotating at 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) per second. The big problem with that is that stars of Betelgeuse's vintage should, theoretically, have a maximum rotation speed at least two orders of magnitude lower. So,…

Scientists have devised a way to produce recyclable and stable polymers from cellulose, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional plastics. This development opens up new possibilities in the production of environmentally friendly materials. Above is a transparent film made from the new recyclable polymer developed in this study. Credit: Feng LiCellulose, widely sourced from plant matter, can be transformed into molecules for the creation of a novel category of recyclable polymers, offering a sustainable…

Sound waves fossilized in the maps of galaxies across the Universe could be interpreted as signs of a Big Bang that took place 13 billion years earlier than current models suggest. Last year, theoretical physicist Rajendra Gupta from the University of Ottawa in Canada published a rather extraordinary proposal that the Universe's currently accepted age is a trick of the light, one that masks its truly ancient state while also ridding us of the need to explain hidden forces. Gupta's latest analysis suggests oscillations…

Wordle answer for March 23: Another day, another Wordle puzzle to solve. People who love solving crossword puzzles might find Wordle an enticing challenge. Unlike crosswords, players do not have access to any hints or clues in Wordle. Therefore, they must use their vocabulary and have a calm mind to guess the answer. While this can be difficult, especially if you're new to Wordle, we've curated a list of the best hints and clues that can help you crack the puzzle and guess the Wordle answer for March 23.Also Read: Wordle…

Every night, I—like millions of others—put on a noise machine to help me sleep. Mine offers several types of noise: white, pink, green, and brown. I’ve noticed something strange, though. After about 30 minutes of the noise pumping into my head, I start to hear things. Sometimes it’s music, like a full orchestral score. Other times it’s people having a conversation just out of the range where I’d hear actual words. Occasionally, it sounds like my husband playing a video game.So I do what most people would do when a random…