Author: The Conversation

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launched on the morning of June 5, 2024, sending astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams into space. Following a delay of several years, this was the third launch attempt made over the past month after issues with both the spacecraft and ground system. Though the spacecraft still needs to dock with the International Space Station and return the astronauts home, this successful launch marks a major step for both Boeing and NASA. Part of NASA’s commercial crew program, this long-delayed mission represents the vehicle’s first crewed launch. Its success will give NASA – and in the future, space tourists – more options…

An advanced algorithm that has been developed by Google DeepMind has gone some way to cracking one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in biology. AlphaFold aims to predict the 3D structures of proteins from the “instruction code” in their building blocks. The latest upgrade has recently been released. The latest upgrade has recently been released. Proteins are essential parts of living organisms and take part in virtually every process in cells. But their shapes are often complex, and they are difficult to visualise. So being able to predict their 3D structures offers windows into the processes inside living things, including humans. This provides…

Research shows that many of our contemporary problems, such as the rising prevalence of mental health issues, are emerging from rapid technological advancement and modernisation. A theory that can help explain why we respond poorly to modern conditions, despite the choices, safety and other benefits they bring, is evolutionary mismatch. Mismatch happens when an evolved adaptation, either physical or psychological, becomes misaligned with the environment. Take moths and some species of nocturnal flies, for example. Because they have to navigate in the dark, they evolved to use the moon for direction. However, due to the invention of artificial lighting, many moths and flies are drawn…

Modern life relies on electricity and electrical devices, from cars and buses to phones and laptops, to the electrical systems in homes. Behind many of these devices is a type of energy storage device, the supercapacitor. My team of engineers is working on making these supercapacitors even better at storing energy by studying how they store energy at the nanoscale. Supercapacitors, like batteries, are energy storage devices. They charge faster than batteries, often in a few seconds to a minute, but generally store less energy. They’re used in devices that require storing or supplying a burst of energy over a short span…

We all experience loss and grief. Imagine, though, that you don’t need to say goodbye to your loved ones. That you can recreate them virtually so you can have conversations and find out how they’re feeling. For Kim Kardashian’s fortieth birthday, her then-husband, Kanye West, gave her a hologram of her dead father, Robert Kardashian. Reportedly, Kim Kardashian reacted with disbelief and joy to the virtual appearance of her father at her birthday party. Being able to see a long-dead, much-missed loved one, moving and talking again might offer comfort to those left behind. After all, resurrecting a deceased loved one…

Over 100 years ago, Alexander Graham Bell asked the readers of National Geographic to do something bold and fresh – “to found a new science.” He pointed out that sciences based on the measurements of sound and light already existed. But there was no science of odour. Bell asked his readers to “measure a smell.” Today, smartphones in most people’s pockets provide impressive built-in capabilities based on the sciences of sound and light: voice assistants, facial recognition and photo enhancement. The science of odour does not offer anything comparable. But that situation is changing, as advances in machine olfaction, also…

The 2020s have already seen many lunar landing attempts, although several of them have crashed or toppled over. With all the excitement surrounding the prospect of humans returning to the Moon, both commercial interests and scientists stand to gain. The Moon is uniquely suitable for researchers to build telescopes they can’t put on Earth because it doesn’t have as much satellite interference as Earth, nor a magnetic field blocking out radio waves. But only recently have astronomers like me started thinking about potential conflicts between the desire to expand knowledge of the universe on one side and geopolitical rivalries and commercial gain on the other, and how to balance those…

For as long as we have used the internet to communicate and connect with each other, it has influenced how we think, feel and behave. During the COVID pandemic, many of us were “cut off” from our social worlds through restrictions, lockdowns and mandates. Understandably, many of us tried to find ways to connect online. Now, as pandemic restrictions have lifted, some of the ways we use the internet have become concerning. Part of what drives problematic internet use may be something most of us are familiar with – the fear of missing out, or FOMO. In our latest research, my colleagues and I investigated…

Sexting — sending sexually suggestive or explicit messages and images — is now a widespread practice, and can be a healthy way to express and explore sexuality. However, there is a need to distinguish between consensual sexting and forms of sexual harassment like cyberflashing. Cyberflashing refers to the act of non-consensually sending sexual imagery (like nudes or “dick pics”) to another person. It is facilitated through communications technologies including text, AirDrop and social media applications like Snapchat and Tinder. Similar to flashing — when a person unexpectedly and deliberately “flashes” their genitals to others — that occurs in person, cyberflashing…

Social media and messaging apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Messenger are increasingly used to buy and sell drugs in many countries. This trend is particularly popular among young people, who are often involved in trading recreational drugs such as cannabis and MDMA. These deals are generally small-scale, which means people believe the risks of getting caught and facing legal action are low. However, our new research shows how drug-linked “digital trace data” may lead to unexpected consequences in the future. Young people could see their data sold and used against them by job recruiters, insurance companies and others for decades to…