29th March 2020

Third mass coral bleaching event in five years

A third mass coral bleaching event in five years has been recorded at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Read more...

28th March 2020

COVID-19 is natural, not man-made

Scientists report that the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus – which causes the COVID-19 disease, and is responsible for the current global pandemic – originated naturally, and not otherwise.

Read more...

24th March 2020

2021 – Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games

Following their postponement in 2020 due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympic Games are held in Tokyo during the summer of 2021.

Read more...

23rd March 2020

New test can detect COVID-19 within 45 minutes

California-based biotech company Cepheid has been granted FDA approval for a new rapid diagnostic test, able to detect the COVID-19 virus in just 45 minutes.

Read more...

21st March 2020

World's fastest supercomputer finds potential drug compounds for COVID-19

Researchers have used Summit, the world's fastest supercomputer, to identify 77 small-molecule drug compounds that might warrant further study in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Read more...

17th March 2020

First human clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine

A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating a potential vaccine to protect against COVID-19 has begun in Seattle.

Read more...

15th March 2020

New coronavirus test is 10 times faster

The FDA has granted emergency authorisation for a new coronavirus test. The automated system provides a ten-fold improvement in the speed of patient testing, and is expected to supply about 400,000 test results per week.

Read more...

14th March 2020

Biological and artificial neurons linked up over the web

A study has shown, for the first time, how three key emerging technologies can work together: brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), artificial neural networks and advanced memory technologies (also known as memristors).

Read more...

12th March 2020

Astronomers find exoplanet where it rains molten iron

Researchers using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) report the discovery of WASP-76b, an exoplanet with temperatures of 2,400°C (4,352°F) that rains molten iron.

Read more...

11th March 2020

Amazon rainforest could be gone within a lifetime

Scientists have identified a tipping point in the decline of large ecosystems, which could lead to their collapse on relatively short timescales.

Read more...

10th March 2020

2083 – V Sagittae becomes the brightest star in the night sky

In 2083, a previously faint star system known as V Sagittae erupts in a spectacular burst of light, the result of a collision between a main sequence star and a white dwarf.

Read more...

8th March 2020

2030 – The entire ocean floor is mapped

By 2030, an undersea mapping project has revealed the global seabed in unprecedented detail.

Read more...

8th March 2020

2027 – The final Avatar movie is released

Following acquisition by Disney, the release schedule for the Avatar sequels was pushed back. A fifth and final movie in the franchise is released in December 2027.

Read more...

7th March 2020

Half of world's sandy beaches could vanish by 2100

Half of the world's beaches could disappear by the end of the 21st century due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, according to a new study.

Read more...

5th March 2020

Protein discovered in meteorite?

Scientists have published details of what they believe is the first known meteorite to contain a protein. The molecule has been named hemolithin.

Read more...

3rd March 2020

21% of Australia's forests burnt by fires

The current Australian bushfire season is "unprecedented", according to new research. If carbon emissions continue to increase globally, today's temperatures in New South Wales would be average by 2040 and exceptionally cool by 2060.

Read more...

2nd March 2020

First non-oxygen breathing animal discovered

Scientists report the discovery of the first known non-oxygen breathing animal, Henneguya salminicola, a parasite that lives within salmon muscle.

Read more...

1st March 2020

Freeman Dyson, 1923–2020

Freeman Dyson, one of the 20th century's greatest theoretical physicists, died this week aged 96. He is known for popularising the Dyson Sphere – a hypothetical megastructure that could surround an entire star.

Read more...

1st March 2020

2021 – First uncrewed maiden flight of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS)

The SLS is designed as the primary launch vehicle for NASA's deep space exploration plans – including crewed lunar flights of the Artemis program and a subsequent follow-on human mission to Mars.

Read more...

« Previous