When the Sun is visible in the sky and you see sunbeams (or rays of sunshine) emanating from it, they appear to spread out and diverge. But if sunbeams are all parallel, why is this the case?Pixabay / Free-Photos Rays of sunshine are one of those natural sights that leave indelible marks on our minds

The medication that you’re giving me can do what? (Photo: Getty Images) Fleas and ticks can get on your pet’s nerves. But apparently so can some medications to get rid of these pests. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning that medications in the isoxazoline class such as Bravecto, Credelio, Nexgard and Simparica may

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Moscow may abandon a project to build a space station in lunar orbit in partnership with U.S. space agency NASA because it does not want a “second fiddle role,” a Russian official said on Saturday. National flags of Russia and the U.S. fly at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia April 11,

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Complex 40 launch pad as seen through a time exposure in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Since the dawn of the Space Age – and even earlier – visionaries have dreamed of routine spaceflight for science, exploration, and commerce. Achieving

Why is communication with physicians & and healthcare providers (clinictions as well as general staff) so difficult? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by David Chan, MD from UCLA, Stanford oncology fellowship, on Quora: People have an unrealistic

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin An artist’s rendering of the AI. SpaceFactory MARSHA habitat.AI. SpaceFactory This is part three of a three-part series on Martian infrastructure. You can read Part One on Martian communications infrastructure here and Part Two on resource development on Mars here. You’re an astronaut living and working

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – A planet-hunting orbital telescope designed to detect worlds beyond our solar system discovered two distant planets this week five months after its launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, officials said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, is shown in this NASA photo obtained by Reuters on March 28,

Are addictions a byproduct of evolution, or do they serve a purpose? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Franklin Veaux, entrepreneur, on Quora: Addictions are a byproduct of chemical warfare. Plants evolved chemicals like caffeine, opioids, nicotine,

City / County State Ban DEL MAR  CA  City-wide ban on plastics bags and a 10-cent fee on paper and reusable bags ALAMEDA COUNTY  CA  County-wide ban on plastic bags with a 10-cent fee on paper and reusable bags in all stores, and in all restaurants ST. HELENA  CA  City-wide ban on plastic bags and

BERGEN, Norway (Reuters) – From the safety of their research vessel, scientists are exploring one of Earth’s last frontiers – the sea floor – to discover more about valuable minerals vital in the manufacture of smartphones. FILE PHOTO: A bastnaesite mineral containing rare earth is pictured at a laboratory of Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor

Mosquito control is key to limit the spread of the potentially deadly Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV). Here Sarah MacGregor (C), owner of Dragon Mosquito Control, speaks to employee Andrea Frey while fellow employee Devin Hanington looks on, while spraying a swamp for mosquitoes. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images) Its acronym is appropriately EEE. Because, “eeeee”,

As of this writing, flood waters continue to rise in many areas of North Carolina and points north and east due to the tremendous rainfall brought by (former) Hurricane Florence. Both North and South Carolina set records for the greatest precipitation associated with tropical systems. As Hurricane Florence approached the Carolina coast, forecasts called for

What do most people misunderstand about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Paul Mainwood, Doctorate in Philosophy of Physics, on Quora: Most people get the logic of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity entirely backwards.

A British satellite has become the first ever to clear up some space junk, using its onboard net technology. The aptly named RemoveDEBRIS satellite, built by a consortium of space companies and research institutions led by the Surrey Space Centre, released a video of its experimental phase of operation today, featuring the first demonstration of

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Our lifestyle and daily routine can impact significantly the environment. A 2016 study of pollutants in Great Britain showed, not surprisingly, traces of pesticides, derived from farming, and PAHs, polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons derived from burning fuel, in the groundwater. A cup of coffee. Image by Wikipedia/Julius Schorzman ,

Fluorescence micrograph of a human kidney stone from the Mayo Clinic.Mayandi Sivaguru, Jessica Saw from Bruce Fouke Lab, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, U. of I. Recent research found that kidney stones have many more similarities with real stones than anyone previously thought. The team of both medical students and geologists were able

The Weather Channel’s incredible visualization powered by the Unreal EngineYouTube – The Weather Channel Hurricane Florence may have been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone as of 5 a.m. Tuesday, but the Carolinas are still reeling from one of the worst storms to hit the area in recent memory, with the death toll reaching 32, around

HAWTHORNE, Calif. (Reuters) – SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space transportation company, on Monday named its first private passenger on a voyage around the moon as Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, the founder and chief executive of online fashion retailer Zozo. FILE PHOTO: Yusaku Maezawa, the chief executive of Zozo, which operates Japan’s popular fashion shopping site Zozotown

This portrait of Goodricke was painted shortly before his death.James Scouler, 1785 September 17 marks the 254th birthday of astronomer John Goodricke, whose brief career laid the groundwork for much of what we know today about variable stars. Like far too many children of his era, Goodricke fell seriously ill as a young boy. We’ll

HAWTHORNE, Calif. (Reuters) – SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space transportation company, on Monday named its first private passenger as Japanese businessman Yusaku Maezawa, the founder and chief executive of online fashion retailer Zozo. FILE PHOTO: Yusaku Maezawa, the chief executive of Zozo, which operates Japan’s popular fashion shopping site Zozotown and is officially called Start Today

Container ships at dusk. Source: Getty A global corporation called Wärtsilä is pushing ”An Oceanic Awakening,” due in part to all the stuff people order online. The awakening is taking place around a SEA20 effort, which is calling on major port cities including New York, Singapore, Hamburg, Helsinki and Rotterdam to develop a digitalized marine ecosystem – or Smart Marine – by 2020. “This encompasses

West Nile virus is a flavivirus commonly found in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East. The virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and some other mammals. (Photo: Getty Images) Here’s something else that may suck more because of climate change: mosquitoes. And when mosquitoes suck more they may be more likely to transmit pathogens

(Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/S3studio/Getty Images) Apple and Amazon are both flirting with one trillion dollar valuation. Apple deserves it. Amazon doesn’t, at least not yet. A trillion dollars may sound too big a valuation for a single company. It is roughly 5% of the American GDP. That sounds scary for some investors who

Aerial view of the Virgo gravitational-wave detector, situated at Cascina, near Pisa (Italy). Virgo is a giant Michelson laser interferometer with arms that are 3 km long, and complements the twin 4 km LIGO detectors.Nicola Baldocchi / Virgo Collaboration For the past three years, humanity has known a new kind of astronomy from the traditional

“If you don’t like the weather, just wait 15 minutes” – Anonymous Every afternoon, each of the National Weather Service (NWS) offices issues temperature forecasts for the next seven days. One of the products they issue for cities within their area of responsibility is called a Point Forecast Matrix (PFM). These are auto-generated forecasts from

ALCANTARA SPACE CENTER, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazil is ready to launch small commercial rockets from its space base near the equator as soon as it agrees to safeguard U.S. technology that is dominant in the industry, the Brazilian Air Force officer managing the space program said on Friday. A view of Alcantara space center during

Aerial photography of buildings in Alicante, SpainArtem Sapegin on Unsplash The Ocean-Climate Agenda debuted at the ongoing Global Climate Action Summit earlier today, with a focus on the role oceans play in adapting to and mitigating the consequences of climate change. “We need a safe ocean for economic reasons, cultural reasons, and for our children to have

One week old newborn, Credit: Getty Royalty Free Whooping cough, caused by the bacterium bordetella pertussis was a commonly seen infection prior to the 1950’s, after which widespread immunization helped to significantly reduce frequency of this disease.  Whooping cough (or pertussis) presents as a nasty cough, lasting up to three months, in adults.  But whooping cough

A visualization created during the forecasting of Hurricane Harvey. “It is pretty close to reality,” Clint Dawson noted.Clint Dawson All hurricane forecasting models aren’t created equal, even when it comes to those used to model the same storm. The storm surge models used by the U.S. national government “tend to over-predict so people are scared and

A method has been devised by scientists that uses radar weather maps to predict the movements of millions of birds as they fly through the skies above the continental United States A migratory flock of red winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), Kansas, November 2006.(Credit: Bob Webster / CC-BY 3.0)Bob Webster via a Creative Commons license Twice

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Super Typhoon Mangkhut approaching landfall in The Philippines on September 15, 2018.NOAA Super Typhoon Mangkhut is nearing landfall in the northern Philippines as an intense storm with maximum sustained winds of 165 MPH. The storm, also known as Ompong by the weather bureau of the Philippines,

Non-Electric vehicles fill a parking lot in Rosemead, California, where two electric vehicle charging stations are offered. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) ChargePoint wants to make it easier to find electric vehicle charging stations in North America and Europe. The charging technology company announced plans at the Global Action Climate Action Summit in San Francisco

(Reuters) – Elon Musk’s space transportation company SpaceX said it has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the moon aboard its BFR launch vehicle. The top of a replica Crew Dragon spacecraft is show at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, U.S. August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo “Find out who’s flying and

In a wide-ranging interview on the publication of his latest book, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson told me why we haven’t been back to the Moon; why asteroids are a bigger threat than hostile E.T.s; and why it’s likely to be another two decades before we put a human on Mars. Famous color photograph of the

The anatomical reflection between humans and plants.MARY ANN DANIEL @UPSIDEDOWNCAKE When humans are attacked, sensory cells transmit signals through our nervous system, spitting out the neurotransmitter–glutamate. Glutamate stimulates our brain’s amygdala and hypothalamus. This triggers the stress hormone–adrenaline–that jolts us into fight or flight mode. Plants don’t have neurotransmitters. They don’t have nervous systems. The

FURKA, Switzerland (Reuters) – A team of scientists has embarked on a four-year quest to discover what beyond water the world loses when glaciers melt. Hannes Peter of the Alpine and Polar Environment Research Center (Alpole) from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) collects microorganisms from a stream to extract their DNA to better

LONDON (Reuters) – Uncertainty over drug regulation and a reluctance by Britain’s health service to use certain pricey modern medicines pose a threat to the country’s respected life sciences sector, the head Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche, the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, attends a news

LONDON (Reuters) – British companies and academics will be excluded from the future development of the European Union’s Galileo space project if the country leaves the bloc without a deal in March 2019, according to a series of technical notices published on Thursday. The UK government said in the notice that companies currently involved in

REIMS, France (Reuters) – Usain Bolt sprinted through thin air and sipped champagne floating on his back as he enjoyed near zero-gravity conditions in an aircraft performing stomach-lurching parabola dives. The eight-times Olympic champion grinned as he experienced weightlessness in the modified plane normally used for scientific research, but on this occasion to showcase a

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Apple Inc. iPhone XR and iPhone XS smartphones are displayed during an event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018. Apple Inc. took the wraps off a renewed iPhone strategy on Wednesday, debuting a trio of phones that aim

As an expert within the field of meteorology, I have been fielding calls from media much of the day about Hurricane Florence. A recurring theme of my response has been how strange the storm is from a meteorological perspective. I have 3 degrees in meteorology from Florida State University, served as President of the American

SPACEPORT AMERICA, New Mexico (Reuters) – The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched and tested a new umbrella-like heat shield on Wednesday, opening the door to landing humans on Mars. FILE PHOTO: Tourists take pictures of a NASA sign at the Kennedy Space Center visitors complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida April 14, 2010.

This photo provided by NASA shows Hurricane Florence from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, as it threatens the U.S. East Coast. Forecasters said Florence could become an extremely dangerous major hurricane sometime Monday and remain that way for days. (NASA via AP) Federal Emergency Management Agency head Brock Long said on

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A small stone flake marked with intersecting lines of red ochre pigment some 73,000 years ago that was found in a cave on South Africa’s southern coast represents what archaeologists on Wednesday called the oldest-known example of human drawing. A stone flake discovered in Blombos Cave with red ochre markings that archeologists

PARIS (Reuters) – Usain Bolt on Wednesday sprinted through thin air and sipped champagne floating on his back as he enjoyed near zero-gravity conditions in the back of an aircraft performing stomach-lurching parabola dives. Retired sprinter Usain Bolt, French astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy, CEO of Novespace and French Interior designer Octave de Gaulle who designed a

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Infrared satellite imagery of a disheveled Tropical Storm Olivia approaching Hawaii on September 11, 2018.NOAA/NASA While the country’s focus remains on category four Hurricane Florence’s track toward the Carolinas, as well as a developing disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States’ 50th state is

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin In the episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before“ Captain Kirk defeats a humanoid with god-like powers by triggering a landslide with his “Phaser”, burying and killing his adversary. There is a lot of geology to be spotted in Star Trek and landslides in space were

Hurricane Florence as it approaches the Carolinas.earth.nullschool.net As Hurricane Florence rapidly approaches the southeast, I’m left thinking of James Taylor’s famous lyrics “In my mind, I’m going to Carolina.” The category 4 Hurricane Florence brings with it 130 mph sustained winds and the potential for flooding rain. The hurricane currently sits about 950 miles east-southeast of