#science

[politijohn]

Source

[nasa]

Hubble Space Telescope: Exploring the Cosmos and Making Life Better on Earth

In the 35 years since its launch aboard space shuttle Discovery, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided stunning views of galaxies millions of light years away. But the leaps in technology needed for its look into space has also provided benefits on the ground. Here are some of the technologies developed for Hubble that have improved life on Earth.

Image Sensors Find Cancer

Charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors have been used in digital photography for decades, but Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph required a far more sensitive CCD. This development resulted in improved image sensors for mammogram machines, helping doctors find and treat breast cancer.

Laser Vision Gives Insights

In preparation for a repair mission to fix Hubble’s misshapen mirror, Goddard Space Flight Center required a way to accurately measure replacement parts. This resulted in a tool to detect mirror defects, which has since been used to develop a commercial 3D imaging system and a package detection device now used by all major shipping companies.

Optimized Hospital Scheduling

A computer scientist who helped design software for scheduling Hubble’s observations adapted it to assist with scheduling medical procedures. This software helps hospitals optimize constantly changing schedules for medical imaging and keep the high pace of emergency rooms going.

Optical Filters Match Wavelengths and Paint Swatches

For Hubble’s main cameras to capture high-quality images of stars and galaxies, each of its filters had to block all but a specific range of wavelengths of light. The filters needed to capture the best data possible but also fit on one optical element. A company contracted to construct these filters used its experience on this project to create filters used in paint-matching devices for hardware stores, with multiple wavelengths evaluated by a single lens.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[the-wolf-and-moon]

Moon Behind Big Sur, Doorway to the Universe

[mbari-blog]

Send this to another deep-sea lover 🌊🩵⁠ ⁠ The deep sea is the largest living space on Earth. Each dive into the ocean’s inky depths teaches us something new about this environment. MBARI’s advanced underwater technology is revealing the stunning community of life that thrives in the deep, including many species previously unknown to science.⁠ ⁠ Studying our blue backyard has revealed our connection to the ocean—how it sustains us and how our actions affect its future. MBARI scientists, engineers, communications staff, and marine operations crew are driven by a curiosity to learn more about the ocean and a passion to protect its future.⁠

[amnhnyc]

Meow, it’s Caturday! Say “hello” to the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). It’s found across a range that spans Nepal through Southeast Asia and into China, but this stealthy animal is rarely seen in the wild. It’s a formidable hunter, with great tree-climbing and swimming abilities. Meals include primates, birds, and deer. Fun fact: This cat, which can open its mouth wider than any other, has the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any living felid—earning it the nickname of a “modern day saber-tooth!”

Photo: Charlie Marshall, CC BY 2.0, flickr

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Understanding a Scientific Article

Abstract

A brief description of the key points you will find in the paper. This can include:

Objectives: What questions the researchers hope to answer.

Methods: What type of study the researchers used to conduct the study.

Results: What the researchers discovered.

Discussion/conclusion: What the results mean and/or the author’s interpretation of the results.

Look at the date of the study.

Was it conducted in the past year? 5 years? 15 years? As new information is learned, scientific standards and techniques change, and practices evolve.

New research may support results from older studies as well as lead to new methods to diagnose and treat conditions and diseases.

New research can, at times, also contradict other research, which may require additional research to explore and resolve these differences.

Research can separate the good results from the bad results. In this way, the scientific method is self-correcting, which is reassuring.

Looking at the date can provide insight into how the study fits into the larger evidence base on a particular topic.

Methods

Detailed information on the type of research or approach used, the study’s design, the participants, the measurements or outcomes recorded, and steps taken to avoid bias.

Types of Research

Basic research: Scientists ask questions about theories or concepts, and test hypotheses to improve scientific knowledge. It’s the first step in any research.

Translational research: Researchers build on the observations and results of basic research to develop and test new ways to prevent, detect, or treat conditions and diseases.

Clinical trials: Well-planned clinical trials are done with people and may vary in size and type. Clinical trials give the clearest information about whether a treatment or a lifestyle change is effective and safe in humans. However, because they are complicated, lengthy, involve many research participants and can be very expensive, they are usually done only after smaller preliminary studies have been completed.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: When researchers review each other’s research to check for quality and look for converging evidence among studies, they may write systematic reviews and meta-analyses. These look at different studies on the same topic. When many studies come to the same conclusion, it helps us know that the results are reliable and valid.

While all research studies are important and contribute to our knowledge base, clinical trials are the types of studies you probably hear about most often in the news. They can have the most immediate impact on improving health and treating disease.

Results

What the study showed.

The data, summaries, and analyses of the study are presented in this section. Tables, graphs, and charts that show the results are often included.

To better understand the results, you can ask these questions:

How do these results compare with previous studies?

A single study rarely provides a final, definitive answer.

Repeating a study using the same methods with different volunteers and investigators helps us know that the results are reliable and valid.

What do “statistically significant” and “clinically significant” mean?

Statistically significant means the differences observed between the groups are real and not likely due to chance.

Clinically significant is a measure of the size of the effects observed in the study, which shows the impact of the treatment.

A study can find statistically significant differences between two treatment groups, but the differences may be so small that they are not clinically significant in terms of usefulness for patients.

Are there potential conflicts of interest?

Did the study sponsor or the investigators have any financial or reputational "stake" in the outcome?

Most medical journal articles include information about relevant financial relationships.

Discussion

What the results mean.

This is where you can often find out how the study relates to your own health.

This section includes the authors’ explanation of, and own opinions about, what the results mean.

Since the conclusions are the authors’ own, others may or may not completely agree with their explanation of the results.

References

Previously published articles the authors used to review what related research was done before, to help design the study and interpret its results.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[lizardsfromspace]

Scientists shouldn't have to pretend they're bringing back the dire wolf. Geneticists should be able to say "I want to make wolves larger for no reason", and we should have the resources to say "that sounds cool as hell. Here's a billion dollars"

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

Me: Ugh, why is dating so difficult? I guess the dating pool where I live is bad :(

Also me, attempting to flirt: How's your day been? :) Did you know that trees pump nutrients into nearby stumps in an effort to keep them alive, resulting in stumps that survive for years entirely on the support of the tree community around them? I like how the trees can sense through their shared root system that their neighbor has been felled, and instead of taking advantage of the new lack of competition, they use their own nutrients to support their now-cut brethren. It's an act of innate, selfless community love from an organism that you'd think is incapable of such a thing, and, in a sense, it's a form of grief, because those surrounding trees won't be able to keep the stump alive forever, and yet they try to keep it alive for as long as possible anyways. It's both touching and a bit disturbing, the sense that trees are trying to hold off the death in their community for as long as possible, almost like they're unable to come to terms with it initially. It seems as though the themes of loss and grief transcend even animal life and have a presence in everything in the world around us. What're your thoughts on that? :D

(As it turns out, turning cool science facts into an analysis of literary themes doesn't make for a good pickup line. Who would've thought?)

[the-wolf-and-moon]

NGC 5335, Angel Eye

[the-wolf-and-moon]

NGC 6164, Dragon's Egg

[cornerstars]

I’m so happy I get to be alive at the same time as the first live healthy photographed BABY colossal squid

I'm just-

we classified the colossal squid in 1925, put together from pieces found in sperm whale stomachs.

we've found them dead or dying or in distress, floating on the surface or entangled by trawlers.

but now

in 2025

100 years later

we finally find one alive and thriving in the deep Antarctic sea

and it's a baby.

[politijohn]

Source

[tinagodiva]

Edinburgh, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[todropscience]

BOTTOM TRAWLING RELEASES HIDDEN CO₂ FROM THE SEAFLOOR

A new study reveals that bottom trawling, an industrial fishing practice that drags heavy nets across the seafloor, may significantly reduce the ocean's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂). When sediment is resuspended by trawling, storms, or tides, it exposes previously buried compounds like pyrite (FeS₂) to oxygen. The oxidation of pyrite releases CO₂ into the water, contributing to the ocean’s carbon flux and potentially adding to atmospheric greenhouse gases.

Until now, most research had focused on how disturbing organic carbon in sediments accelerates its remineralization into CO₂. This new research, however, highlights that the oxidation of pyrite, a sulfur-based mineral, could be an even greater source of carbon dioxide from the seafloor. Since fine-grained sediments rich in pyrite are widespread on continental shelves, many of which overlap with commercial fishing zones, the implications are global.

This finding underscores an urgent need to reconsider bottom trawling practices, not only for their ecological impacts but also for their role in climate dynamics. Marine protected areas and bottom trawling bans could play a vital role in preserving the ocean's function as a carbon sink. As the climate crisis intensifies, protecting the seafloor may prove as important as conserving forests.

Main photo: Tube worms and brittle stars thriving in mud bottom. Photo Oceana

Reference: Kalapurakkal et al., 2025. Sediment resuspension in muddy sediments enhances pyrite oxidation and carbon dioxide emissions in Kiel Bight. Communications Earth & Environment

[sataidelenn]

Assuming a spherical puppy in a vacuum…

Two boys talked on the playground about who was stronger: a kitten or a puppy. "For the sake of fairness, let's say they're both the size of a pea," one boy said. "Agreed," said the other boy. "It's only fair."