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☆ Tyre Nichols' death has reignited the debate around police brutality. Here are 5 proven ways to reduce it - and 2 strategies that don't work.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Michelle Mark | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Here are five proven, data-based changes that could make a difference, and two approaches that don't seem to work, according to Campaign Zero. Track complaints about officers' use of forceMost complaints against officers aren't public, making them hard to track. These changes, along with requiring departments to report and publish online data on all uses of force, could reduce police violence. Body cameras are another method that haven't been proven effective when it comes to excessive force instances. Research has shown that 93% of prosecutors' offices have used body cameras mostly in cases against citizens, not against police.

☆ Lasers Can Guide Dangerous Lightning Strikes to a Safer Path, Study Shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/lasers-can-guide-dangerous-lightning-strikes-to-a-safer-path-study-shows-11673884829

☆ Largest-Known Flower Preserved in Amber Is Nearly 40 Million Years Old, Study Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An exquisitely preserved blossom found in the Baltic region of Northern Europe is the largest-known fossilized flower encased in amber, dating back almost 40 million years. The fossil flower, which was discovered about 150 years ago, is related to modern-day plants that can be found in Asia, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports that recently re-examined the specimen. Amber, or fossilized resin, from trees that are millions of years old can encase insects, fungi and other ancient organisms—preserving them as near-perfect, three-dimensional time capsules from prehistoric time periods.

☆ Ancient DNA Paints a New Picture of the Viking Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some DNA samples were obtained from human remains in the wreckage of a warship that sank off Sweden in 1676. Bones and teeth of ancient Scandinavians excavated from burials, a sunken warship and the sites of a violent massacre have helped an international group of scientists craft an unprecedented picture of the region’s storied Viking culture. The researchers looked at ancient DNA spanning 2,000 years of Scandinavian history from such remains to piece together a comprehensive look at the movement of peoples into the region during the Viking Age, more than a millennium ago. These genomes are among new means to understand and explore the Vikings’s history and legacy.

☆ NASA's Stellar 2022: Spectacular Images From Historic Year in Space
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

NASA notched several milestones in 2022, from sending a megarocket toward the moon and deflecting an asteroid to capturing dramatic new images with the James Webb Space Telescope. Here’s a look at the agency’s big year in space.

☆ Photos show a 46-vehicle pileup that killed 4 people in Ohio in the 'bomb cyclone'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. A photo from the scene from Ohio State Highway Patrol. Ohio State Highway PatrolAuthorities in Ohio did not say how many people were injured or what conditions they were in. At least 17 people have been confirmed dead across the US as multiple states battle bomb cyclone conditions, according to Sky News. "Bomb cyclone" is a meteorological term used by forecasters use to describe an intense, hurricane-like storm that builds at mid-latitudes, Insider's Aylin Woodward previously reported.

☆ Winter Solstice 2022: When It Is and How It’s Observed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The annual winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, which this year occurs on Dec. 21, marks the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year in that half of the world. It coincides with the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, which marks the start of summer and the year’s longest day there. In the months leading up to the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice, the sun’s rays gradually shift southward from the equator until the sun reaches its most southerly point in the sky at the Tropic of Capricorn, a mapmaker’s line that parallels the equator at 23.5 degrees south latitude. After a brief pause at that line on the solstice, the sun appears to reverse direction and begins its journey northward.

☆ Winter Solstice 2022: When It Is and How It Is Observed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Nations Pledge to Protect Animal, Plant Diversity
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Countries meeting in Montreal on Monday for the United Nations Biodiversity Conference said they would try to curb the decline and disappearance of species. Nearly 200 countries agreed to take steps over the next 10 years to protect the world’s diversity of animals and plants. Under the agreement reached Monday in Montreal, the countries, led by China and Canada but which didn’t include the U.S., agreed to conserve 30% of their land, inland waterways and coastal and ocean areas. They also agreed to limit the risks of pesticides and cut nutrient runoff from farms.

☆ Nuclear Fusion Energy: What to Know About the Latest Scientific Breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Energy Department said Tuesday that scientists had achieved a breakthrough in research on nuclear fusion, bringing them one step closer to possibly changing the future of clean energy. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., where the milestone known as fusion ignition was achieved, have been studying nuclear fusion for more than a decade. The broad appeal of nuclear fusion to researchers, as well as investors and companies, stems from its potential as a clean-energy alternative to sources that involve the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases.

☆ Nuclear-Fusion Breakthrough Accelerates Quest to Unlock Limitless Energy Source
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Aylin Woodward | Jennifer Hiller | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Energy Department said Tuesday that scientists at a federal research facility had achieved a breakthrough in research on nuclear fusion, long seen as a potential source of clean, virtually limitless energy. A controlled fusion reaction at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., produced more energy than it consumed, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other government officials said during a press conference from DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C.

☆ New Dinosaur Species Was Like a ‘Swimming Velociraptor’ That Hunted Underwater
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-dinosaur-species-was-like-a-swimming-velociraptor-that-hunted-underwater-11669908736

☆ Rare Gold Coins Reveal New Roman Emperor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A coin depicting Sponsian, who researchers say was likely a Roman army officer who declared himself emperor in the third century. A new analysis of rare Roman coins said to have been unearthed more than three centuries ago but long dismissed as forgeries provides compelling evidence that the gold pieces are authentic—and that the crown-wearing man whose likeness appears on one of them was a real historical figure who ruled as a Roman emperor almost 2,000 years ago. “The coins are the only evidence that he existed,” Paul Pearson, a University College London professorial research associate, said of Sponsian, the man depicted on the coin. “There’s no historical written evidence at all. It’s a real thrill to sort of bring somebody back from obscurity.”

☆ Ghostly Neutrino Particles Provide a Peek at Heart of Nearby Galaxy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Neutrinos are accelerating toward Earth from the center of a galaxy known as Messier 77, according to a new study. A gigantic observatory buried in the Antarctic ice has helped scientists trace elusive particles called neutrinos back to their origins at the heart of a nearby galaxy—offering a new way to study a supermassive black hole shrouded from view. According to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science, neutrinos are accelerating toward Earth from the center of a spiral-shaped galaxy known as Messier 77, which is about 47 million light years from Earth. There, a matter- and radiation-dense region surrounds a black hole many millions times as massive as our sun.

☆ Orionid Meteor Shower: When It Is and How to Watch the Peak
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Orionids, an exceptionally bright and speedy meteor shower, will be visible all over the world early Friday. The Orionid meteor shower will peak in the predawn hours of Friday morning, giving sky-watchers a chance to see what the National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronomers call one of the most beautiful of the 30 or so annual meteor showers. The Orionids are known for producing exceptionally bright and speedy meteors. Some move up to 41 miles per second, or about 148,000 miles an hour, as they streak through and burn up in the atmosphere.

☆ Scarred Dinosaur ‘Mummy’ Suggests Such Fossils Aren’t Quite So Rare
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An illustration of a type of dinosaur known as an Edmontosaurus, above, and its mummified right hand, below. Most dinosaur specimens are just fossilized bones, but a handful also have fossilized soft tissues—and a new look at a duck-billed dinosaur specimen nicknamed Dakota suggests that these dinosaur “mummies” are more common than previously believed. Dakota’s fossilized skin bears unhealed wound and bite marks likely made by scavengers after the animal’s death, according to a study published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One. That suggests the Edmontosaurus—a multi-ton herbivore that died about 70 million years ago, before its fossilized remains were found in southwestern North Dakota in 1999—had been exposed to the air long enough to become desiccated before being buried by sediment and later fossilized.

☆ NASA’s Asteroid-Smashing DART Mission Deemed a Success
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The first mission to test a technology that one day might protect Earth from a catastrophic asteroid impact achieved its goal on Sept. 26, when a fast-moving spacecraft smashed into and changed the trajectory of a distant space rock, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Tuesday. NASA said the intentional collision between its uncrewed spacecraft and the 525-foot-wide asteroid, called Dimorphos, successfully shifted the asteroid’s orbit around a larger asteroid called Didymos.

☆ NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Completes Closest Flyby of Jupiter Moon Europa in Decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A National Aeronautics and Space Administration spacecraft gave scientists one of the closest-ever looks at an ice-covered moon orbiting Jupiter that the agency said is widely considered the most promising place to search for life beyond Earth. The craft named Juno buzzed by Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, Europa, on Thursday, coming within 222 miles of its surface around 5:36 a.m. It is the first time the agency has glimpsed Europa that closely since its Galileo orbiter mission flew at a similar distance in 2000.

ScienceThe benefits and difficulties of liquid hydrogen as a propellant for rocket launches are well known to engineers at the space agency. Some space companies aren’t using the fuel for engines on rockets they are developing.

☆ NASA’s DART Spacecraft to Smash Into Asteroid in Planetary Defense Test
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An uncrewed spacecraft is on track to smash into and deflect a distant asteroid on Monday, the dramatic climax of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission to test whether the technique could one day be used to protect Earth. “For the first time ever we will measurably change the orbit of a celestial body in the universe,” said Bobby Braun, head of the space exploration sector at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. The research center built the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission spacecraft and is responsible for its operation at the direction of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

☆ NASA’s DART Spacecraft Slams Into Asteroid in Effort to Alter Its Orbit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An uncrewed spacecraft smashed into an asteroid Monday in an effort to deflect the distant space rock, the dramatic climax of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission to test whether the technique could one day be used to protect Earth. “We’re all just losing our minds right now,” said Harrison Agrusa, a University of Maryland astrophysicist and investigation team member on the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, mission.

☆ NASA’s Asteroid-Deflection Mission Spotlights Planetary Defense Effort
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Can the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shift the orbit of an asteroid by smashing into it with a fast-moving spacecraft? The agency might find out Monday, when a bus-size craft traveling at a speed in excess of 14,000 miles an hour tries to hit a 525-foot-wide space rock. The anticipated collision between the uncrewed spacecraft and the asteroid, named Dimorphos, marks the climactic moment of NASA’s $325 million Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission. DART is the world’s first mission to test a technology that one day might protect Earth from a catastrophic asteroid impact.

☆ Check Out Images of NASA’s DART Mission to Redirect a Distant Asteroid
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Aylin Woodward | Dave Cole | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How much Dimorphos’ orbit shifts depends on what it is made of, and whether it is one rock or a pile of rubble. Mission scientists aren’t sure about the asteroid’s shape or composition, but data from DART is expected to fill in some gaps in their understanding. Johns Hopkins APL/NASA

☆ Scientists shot tardigrades out of a gun at more than 2,000 mph to see if the critters could survive
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-22 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tardigrades can survive in extreme environments, but a new study shows they're not indestructible. Scientists found these creatures couldn't survive speeds above 2,000 mph when shot out of a gun. The researchers shot canisters full of tardigrades out of a high-speed gun at various speeds to see whether the creatures could survive the pressure of each resulting impact. After being shot out at speeds under 900 meters per second (about 2,000 mph) — that's faster than your average bullet — the tardigrades could be revived. But if tardigrades can't survive the pressures of a collision with our moon, it's unlikely they could survive a meteorite impact with another planet, the study authors wrote.

Persons: Alejandra Traspas, Traspas, Megumu Tsujimoto, tardigrades Organizations: Service, Queen Mary University, of, NASA Locations: Wall, Silicon, London, Israeli

☆ Research shows there are at least 5 proven ways to reduce police brutality — and 2 strategies that don't work
▼ + stars: | 2020-06-03 | by ( Michelle Mark | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Here are five proven, data-based changes that could make a difference, and two approaches that don't seem to work, according to Campaign Zero. Track complaints about officers' use of forceMost complaints against officers aren't public, making them hard to track. These changes, along with requiring departments to report and publish online data on all uses of force, could reduce police violence. Body cameras are another method that haven't been proven effective when it comes to excessive force instances. Research has even shown that 93% of prosecutors' offices have used body cameras mostly in cases against citizens, not against police.

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