Learning & Developments Archives - Page 7 of 13

Jan22025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Scientists Demonstrate ‘Negative Time’ in Quantum Breakthrough

Researchers at the University of Toronto have achieved a remarkable milestone, demonstrating "negative time" in a cutting-edge quantum experiment. This phenomenon, where light seems to emerge from a material before entering it, challenges long-held notions about the flow of time and opens new doors to understanding quantum mechanics. The research focused on atomic excitation a process where photons absorbed by atoms elevate electrons to higher energy levels. Typically, when these electrons return to their original states, they release the absorbed energy, causing a time delay in the photons' transit. However, the Toronto team observed an unexpected twist: photons behaved as if atoms spent a "negative amount of time" in their excited states. This startling finding suggests that time, ...

Dec312024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Each Cigarette Costs Men 17 Minutes, Women 22 Minutes of Life: Study

Breaking News, Environment, Learning & Developments

London: Smoking takes a far greater toll on life expectancy than previously believed, a new study from University College London (UCL) reveals. For men, each cigarette smoked shortens life by 17 minutes, while for women, the cost is even higher at 22 minutes per cigarette. These figures surpass earlier estimates, which suggested an 11-minute loss per cigarette. Commissioned by the UK’s Department for Health and Social Care, the study urges smokers to make quitting their top resolution for the New Year. The research concludes that a pack of 20 cigarettes robs an average smoker of nearly seven hours of life. Over a lifetime, smokers who don’t quit lose approximately a decade of life, according to Dr. Sarah Jackson, a principal research fellow at UCL. “Smokers lose about the same num...

Dec312024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

ISRO’s SpaDeX Mission: India’s First Step Towards Its Own Space Station

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space, Tech

New Delhi: India is poised to achieve a historic milestone in space exploration with the launch of ISRO’s Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission. Scheduled to lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 10:00 PM IST on December 30, SpaDeX marks the final and most ambitious mission of 2024 for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This pioneering mission is a critical step toward India establishing its own space station, the Bharatiya Antriksh Station, by 2035. If successful, India will join an elite group of nations the United States, Russia, and China that possess the capability to dock spacecraft in space. What is the SpaDeX Mission? SpaDeX, or Space Docking Experiment, is designed to test and demonstrate the complex docking p...

Dec302024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Scientists Announce Axial Seamount Undersea Volcano Blast Oregon Coast in 2025

Breaking News, Disasters, Learning & Developments

An undersea volcano located approximately 470 kilometers off the coast of Oregon, Axial Seamount, is showing signs of an impending eruption. Researchers have identified critical indicators such as ground deformation, increased seismic activity, and magma buildup beneath the surface. These findings suggest that the volcano could erupt as early as 2025, marking a significant milestone in volcanic monitoring, where predictions of eruptions are rarely this precise. Axial Seamount, one of the world’s most closely observed submarine volcanoes, has been the subject of continuous study through state-of-the-art instruments installed on the seafloor. These devices record real-time data, enabling scientists to track its activity. A study presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting title...

Dec282024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

35 Years After Newcastle Earthquake, Calls for Better Preparedness Grow

Breaking News, Disasters, Learning & Developments

On December 29, A 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook Newcastle, New South Wales, leaving a trail of devastation that claimed 13 lives, injured 162 people, and caused widespread destruction. Thirty-five years later, former Lord Mayor John McNaughton, a key figure in the city’s response, warns that Newcastle may still be unprepared for a future disaster of similar magnitude. The earthquake, lasting just six seconds, leveled buildings, toppled power lines, and brought life to a standstill. Among the hardest-hit sites was the Newcastle Workers Club, where nine people perished, and others were trapped beneath the rubble. McNaughton, now 87, recalls the chaos vividly. “I was on our sailing boat at Tea Gardens when I felt the quake. When I got ashore, people were in shock, not realizing how dev...

Dec282024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Scientists Achieve Quantum Teleportation Over Fibre Optic Cables

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Tech

In a landmark scientific breakthrough, researchers have successfully demonstrated quantum teleportation using existing fibre optic cables that carry everyday internet traffic. While the term “quantum teleportation” may evoke images of human transportation akin to science fiction, the reality involves the instantaneous transfer of information over vast distances using quantum mechanics. The pioneering study, led by Prem Kumar of Northwestern University, Illinois, represents a monumental leap toward integrating quantum communication with traditional networks. Quantum teleportation relies on a phenomenon known as "quantum entanglement," where two particles, regardless of their separation, share an invisible link. Changes in one particle instantaneously affect its entangled partner, enablin...

Dec262024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

What Do Insects Do All Winter?

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment, Learning & Developments, Thoughts & Talks

As winter envelops forests in snow and icy temperatures the familiar buzz of insects disappears. Yet, contrary to appearances, insects don’t vanish they hibernate, hidden in the bark of trees, buried in the soil, or nestled under the insulating blanket of snow. This incredible survival strategy, known as diapause, allows these cold-blooded creatures to endure months of freezing conditions. Not all insects hibernate instinctively. While some species naturally enter diapause every year, others rely on environmental cues, particularly day length, to prepare for winter. For example, the speckled wood butterfly senses shorter days during its larval stage, triggering it to gain weight and transition into a hibernating pupa. This timing is crucial misjudging winter’s arrival could result in...

Dec242024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Astronomers Discover Universe’s Largest Water Reservoir in Distant Quasar

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space

Astronomers have identified an enormous water reservoir surrounding a quasar located over 12 billion light-years away, offering a glimpse into the universe’s distant past. This quasar, APM 08279+5255, is powered by a supermassive black hole approximately 20 billion times the mass of the Sun and emits energy equivalent to a thousand trillion suns. The discovery reveals an astonishing 140 trillion times the volume of Earth’s oceans in water vapour, making it the largest and farthest known water source in the universe. The quasar’s environment is highly unique, with a mix of hydrogen-rich gases like water vapour and carbon monoxide forming a region spanning hundreds of light-years. Despite the gases being sparse compared to Earth’s atmosphere, they are remarkably warm and dense for such...

Dec232024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Wobbly Earth Shifts in Molten Core Could Be Altering Day-Length Fluctuations

Breaking News, Environment, Learning & Developments

Earth's day-night cycle, defined as a precise 24-hour period, serves as the cornerstone of our daily routines. Yet, the reality of our planet's rotation is far from precise. As Earth hurtles around the Sun at a staggering 107,000 kilometers per hour (67,000 miles per hour), its wobbly, molten interior and interactions with the Moon introduce subtle irregularities to the planet's rotation. Decoding Earth's Wobbly Spin While many short-term fluctuations in Earth's day-length have well-known causes such as the Moon's gravitational pull and shifting water volumes geophysicists have observed minute variations over millennial timescales that remain enigmatic. These fluctuations, amounting to just 3 to 4 milliseconds every thousand years, have perplexed scientists for decades. A team of ...

Dec212024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

NASA Juno Uncovers the Secret of Io Volcanic Activity

Breaking News, Environment, Learning & Developments

NASA’s Juno mission has resolved a 44-year-old mystery about Io, Jupiter’s fiery moon. New research reveals that each of Io’s volcanoes is powered by its own localized magma chamber, dismissing the long-held theory of a global magma ocean beneath the moon's surface. The groundbreaking discovery was unveiled in a study published in Nature on December 12 and was also a highlight of the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting in Washington. The finding deepens our understanding of Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system, and its role in planetary science. Io, about the size of Earth’s Moon, hosts over 400 volcanoes that constantly spew lava and gas. While the moon was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610, its volcanic activity wasn’t observed until 1979, when NASA...