Author: The Conversation

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised fears among the public about the use of nuclear weapons in Europe or against the United States. This level of concern has not been seen since the end of the Cold War. NATO countries have been taken aback by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s implied threats to use nuclear weapons against “whoever interferes with us” in Ukraine, and his placement of additional nuclear officers on shifts under a “special regime of combat duty.” Both Russia and the U.S. have thousands of nuclear weapons, most of which are five or more times more powerful than the atomic bombs that leveled Hiroshima…

It takes expensive tools to learn about the universe, but projects like the Very Large Array for radio astronomy in New Mexico and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which orbits Earth, have pushed scientific knowledge forward in ways that would not have been possible without these instruments. Every 10 years, astronomers and astrophysicists outline priorities for the hardware they need in the decadal survey on astronomy and astrophysics. The newest version of the survey was published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in late 2021, and debates about funding are in full swing for the next fiscal year. I’m a professor…

The rise in the use of smartphones and an increased adoption of mobile internet in Africa are fundamentally altering the media ecology for election campaigns. As mobile phones become commonplace, even in Africa’s poorest countries, the uptake of social media has become ubiquitous. Applications like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and blogs form an integral part of today’s political communication landscape in much of the continent. These platforms are becoming a dominant factor in electoral processes, playing a tremendous role in the creation, dissemination and consumption of political content. Their influence and embedded power over political content invites further scrutiny, which informed my research. Is the rise…

More than 5 million people in the United States are affected by limb loss or paralysis. Technological devices that directly interact with the brain, known as brain-computer interfaces, offer the potential to decode an individual’s thoughts and translate them into action using a robotic arm or a cursor on a screen. These neuroprosthetics can take the place of an amputated or paralyzed arm, for instance, helping the user take an action. Much research in this field to date has focused on decoding brain signals – what is it that the person wants to do? But there’s another equally important part of any real-world prosthetic system.…

As manufacturers introduce new models of electric vehicles, demand for them is growing steadily. New EV sales in the U.S. roughly doubled in 2021 and could double again in 2022, from 600,000 to 1.2 million. Auto industry leaders expect that EVs could account for at least half of all new U.S. car sales by the end of the decade. EVs appeal to different customers in different ways. Many buyers want to help protect the environment; others want to save money on gasoline or try out the latest, coolest technology. In areas like California and Texas that have suffered large weather-related power failures in recent years, consumers are starting to consider EVs…

As the global population has expanded over time, agricultural modernisation has been humanity’s prevailing approach to staving off famine. A variety of mechanical and chemical innovations delivered during the 1950s and 1960s represented the third agricultural revolution. The adoption of pesticides, fertilisers and high-yield crop breeds, among other measures, transformed agriculture and ensured a secure food supply for many millions of people over several decades. Concurrently, modern agriculture has emerged as a culprit of global warming, responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, namely carbon dioxide and methane. Meanwhile, inflation on the price of food is reaching an all-time high, while malnutrition…

The BOLT II hypersonic flight experiment will launch tonight from NASA’s Wallops Test Flight Facility in Virginia. Hypersonic vehicles, which can fly much faster than passenger jets, would allow passengers to go from Sydney to Los Angeles, for instance, in just a couple of hours. They could also offer more flexible options for launching payloads into space than conventional rockets and their speed and manoeuvrability mean they have a range of potential tactical military uses too. Russia and China already claim to have operating hypersonic missiles, but hypersonic passenger aviation is still a dream rather than reality. Read more: Hypersonic missiles are fuelling fears…

I was recently reading comments on a post related to COVID-19, and saw a reply I would classify as misinformation, bordering on conspiracy. I couldn’t help but ask the commenter for evidence. Their response came with some web links and “do your own research”. I then asked about their research methodology, which turned out to be searching for specific terms on Google. As an academic, I was intrigued. Academic research aims to establish the truth of a phenomenon based on evidence, analysis and peer review. On the other hand, a search on Google provides links with content written by known…

Robots are featuring more and more in our daily lives. They can be incredibly useful (bionic limbs, robotic lawnmowers, or robots which deliver meals to people in quarantine), or merely entertaining (robotic dogs, dancing toys, and acrobatic drones). Imagination is perhaps the only limit to what robots will be able to do in the future. What happens, though, when robots don’t do what we want them to – or do it in a way that causes harm? For example, what happens if a bionic arm is involved in a driving accident? Robot accidents are becoming a concern for two reasons. First, the increase…

Want to go to space? It could cost you. This month, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will make the first fully-private, crewed flight to the International Space Station. The going price for a seat is US$55 million. The ticket comes with an eight-day stay on the space station, including room and board – and unrivalled views. Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin offer cheaper alternatives, which will fly you to the edge of space for a mere US$250,000-500,000. But the flights only last between ten and 15 minutes, barely enough time to enjoy an in-flight snack. But if you’re happy to keep your feet on the ground, things start to…