World Top Scientists Awards

The discovery A planet thought to orbit the star 40 Eridani A – host to Mr. Spock’s fictional home planet, Vulcan, in the “Star Trek” universe – is really a kind of astronomical illusion caused by the pulses and jitters of the star itself, a new study shows. Key facts The possible detection of a planet orbiting a star that Star Trek made famous drew excitement and plenty of attention when it was announced in 2018. Only five years later, the planet appeared to be on shaky ground when other researchers questioned whether it was there at all. Now, precision measurements using a NASA-NSF instrument, installed a few years ago atop Kitt Peak in Arizona, seem to have returned the planet Vulcan even more definitively to the realm of science fiction. Details Two methods for detecting exoplanets – planets orbiting other stars – dominate all others in the continuing search for strange new worlds. The transit method, watching for the tiny dip in starlight as a planet crosses the face of its star, ...

Low-power, RF and mixed-signal chipsets provider announces 3GPP Compliant Platform for 5G private networks boasting ‘pivotal’ capabilities in terms of performance and power consumption As businesses across all industry sectors such as factories, ports, mines and hotels embrace 5G private networks to take advantage of dedicated and defined enhanced data transmission speeds, reduced latency, and enhanced security and management, Arctic Semiconductor has announced that its IceWings 4x4 transceiver is seeing use in a small cell platform, allowing private network developers to deploy custom 5G networks at scale, which has just passed specification from mobile standards body the 3GPP. Arctic believes private 5G networks offer unparalleled connectivity within defined boundaries. In addition, it said using distributed small cells, known for their efficient power usage, lays the foundation for these exclusive networks, resulting in cost reduction and enhancing the feasibility of such tailored s...

Google is preparing to build what will be the first subset fiber-optic cable connecting the continents of Africa and Australia. The news comes as the major cloud hyperscalers battle it out for business dollars, with Google playing catch-up with AWS and Microsoft’s Azure. Google’s announcement follows widespread outages across Africa, which have been attributed to faulty undersea cables. And for a company that relies on resilient connectivity to deliver its services to consumers and businesses alike, Google’s clearly trying to capitalize on this to position itself as the solution. Dubbed “Umoja,” its new cable starts off in Kenya and runs through various countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, before concluding its land journey in South Africa — notably, home to Google’s first African data center region, which has been operational in Johannesburg since the start of this year. The terrestrial part of the route is actually already c...

Previously unpublished photos of Mars' moon Phobos hint that the mysterious satellite may actually be a trapped comet — or perhaps just a piece of one, along with its twin moon Deimos. Mars' moon Phobos may actually be a comet — or at least part of one — that was gravitationally captured by the Red Planet long ago, a new preprint study based on previously unpublished photos suggests. For years, researchers have puzzled over the origins of Phobos and its twin, Deimos. Some have theorized that the moons are former asteroids lured in by Mars' gravity, because their chemical composition is similar to that of certain rocks in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, computer models simulating this capture process have not been able to replicate the pair's near-circular paths around Mars. Another hypothesis suggests that a giant impact, like that which created our moon, gouged the duo out of the Red Planet; but Phobos has a different chemical composition fro...

Mintlayer, a prominent Layer-2 scaling solution, has partnered with Salus, a security firm specializing in zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, to introduce the Thunder Network—a cutting-edge Layer-3 ZK rollup-based network designed to enhance Bitcoin's scalability and functionality. Advancing Bitcoin's capabilities with Thunder Network The Thunder Network initiative is poised to transform Bitcoin's utility by integrating advanced privacy features, improved transaction speeds, and greater scalability. This Layer-3 solution enhances these aspects and brings Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible functionalities. With it, developers can seamlessly build applications that are both secure and reliable on a Bitcoin-connected infrastructure. This integration means that existing EVM dApps will be compatible, simplifying the process for developers to innovate on the Bitcoin network via the Mintlayer protocol. "Partnering with Salus is a significant milestone in Mintlayer’s mission ...

  With its perpetually upturned pectoral fins, and blunt nose, the Dream Chaser looks more like a killer whale than a spacecraft. But unlike an orca, the Dream Chaser will soon be going to orbit: it’s set to take food and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year when it travels to space for the first time. The Dream Chaser’s trip to space will make it the latest commercial vehicle to visit the ISS as part of NASA’s “commercial resupply services” program. But leaders at Sierra Space, the company that built this finned craft, have visions that go beyond such deliveries: they hope that someday Dream Chaser will carry people to space and that it can act as a kind of ready-made space program for countries that don’t want to or don’t have the resources to reinvent these particular wheels. Beyond that, Sierra Space officials think Dream Chaser could deliver supplies or people to various places on Earth for the Department of Defense by going from point to poin...

India Ratings and Research expects India to maintain pace of renewables capacity addition owing to a significant drop in equipment prices, continued policy support, availability of liquidity, and investment plans of some of the large corporate players India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) expects India’s annual renewable capacity addition to remain at 15-18 GW in FY 2025 and FY 2026. It expects 75-80% of the annual RE capacity addition, i.e., up to 14.5 GW, to come from solar and around 20% from wind. The capacity addition will be driven by a significant reduction in equipment prices, continued policy support, availability of liquidity and investment plans of some of the large corporate players in the renewable sector for growth. “However, the execution timelines of renewable capacity addition would continue to hinge on the regulatory stance towards import duties on cell and modules, support towards domestic cells and modules manufacturing, and indigenisation push towards domestic equip...

The city of Alameda has indefinitely shut down the Marine Cloud Brightening Program—a study based out of the University of Washington and set up on the deck of the U.S.S. Hornet to utilize the San Francisco Bay's ideal cloudy conditions—citing concerns over health and safety. The city has contracted biological and hazardous material consultants to independently investigate the environmental safety and health of the experiment, officials said, adding that "there is no indication that the spray from the previous experiments presented a threat to human health or the environment." The program stopped its experiments prior to Alameda's public announcement, according to a statement released by Dr. Rob Wood, principal investigator and Dr. Sarah Doherty, program director. The scientists added that the city was informed of the study's corresponding educational exhibit in advance but asked for a closer review of the study after news articles released details in April. ...

Capturing an analemma of the Moon isn’t easy. These figure-8 designs are most often seen when a photographer captures the position of the Sun at the same time each day for a year. But, with the Moon, things are a bit trickier, as the Moon returns to the same position in the sky around 50 minutes and 29 seconds later each day. Despite this trickiness, one photographer captured images of the Moon over the course of two months as it traveled across the sky each day, showcasing the various locations where Earth’s satellite could be seen. The photo even showcases its different phases across the captured time period. What’s even more exciting about astrophotographer Betul Turksoy’s image, though, is that it actually showcases a double lunar analemma. The image was so striking that it was featured as NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on October 10, 2022. And now, almost two years later, it’s still leaving people’s mouths agape in awe. Turksoy captured the images of the Moon over Kayseri, T...

THE ACCELERATING BUILD OUT of solar farms on Earth is already hitting speed bumps, including public pushback against the large tracts of land required and a ballooning backlog of requests for new transmission lines and grid connections. Energy experts have been warning that electricity is likely to get more expensive and less reliable unless renewable power that waxes and wanes under inconstant sunlight and wind is backed up by generators that can run whenever needed. To space enthusiasts, that raises an obvious question: Why not stick solar power plants where the sun always shines? Space-based solar power is an idea so beautiful, so tantalizing that some argue it is a wish worth fulfilling. A constellation of gigantic satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) nearly 36,000 kilometers above the equator could collect sunlight unfiltered by atmosphere and uninterrupted by night (except for up to 70 minutes a day around the spring and fall equinoxes). Each megasat could then convert gigawa...

One in every three adults globally has high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Every year, about 10 million people die due to the condition. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom say they have identified more than 100 new regions of the human genome and more than 2,000 independent genetic signals that appear to influence blood pressure. Scientists say these findings may help doctors better predict a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure. Researchers estimate that one in every three adultsTrusted Source around the world has hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. Every year, about 10 million people die worldwide due to this condition. While certain unmodifiable risk factors, such as ageTrusted Source, ethnicityTrusted Source, and some existing health conditionsTrusted Source can increase a person’s potential for developing hypertension, there are also a number of lifestyle changes — including losing weightTrusted Source, eati...

The Project seeks to enhance collaboration between China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to promote South-South cooperation among ASEAN Member States in the areas of employment, public employment services, and entrepreneurship development. Project background Countries in South-East Asia acknowledge that employment deficits hinder both economic growth and their ability to achieve sustainable and inclusive development. Although certain policies have been implemented to protect workers and businesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the region's recovery is still incomplete and uneven. In addition, countries in South-East Asia face significant challenges related to increased international labour migration, technological disruptions in the world of work, large proportions of informality and the transition to a green economy in response to climate change. These dynamics intensify the importance of promoting dec...

A new Japanese mission to photograph space junk from orbit marks a milestone in orbital debris cleanup efforts. A private Japanese company has taken the world's first close-up photo of an individual piece of space debris, by parking another satellite next to it in orbit. This orbital photo op is the first step in an ongoing mission to capture and destroy potentially hazardous pieces of space junk that are clogging up our sky. It's easy to imagine space as a vast, empty frontier. But since the first satellite launched in 1957, the space surrounding our planet has gotten more and more crowded. Human-made space junk — including used rocket stages, decommissioned satellites, frozen fuel and flecks of paint — has been steadily accumulating in Earth's orbit over the past seven or so decades. Now, the space industry is trying to find ways to remove it. There is currently more than 9,900 tons (9,000 metric tons) of space junk hanging out in Earth's orbit. That debris is a veri...

                                          Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a leading AI-powered, cloud-delivered cyber security platform provider, today unveiled its 2024 Cloud Security Report. The report exposes a critical surge in cloud security incidents, marking a significant increase from 24% in 2023 to 61% in 2024, highlighting the escalating complexity and frequency of cloud threats. The latest survey from Check Point reveals a concerning trend: while most organizations continue to prioritize threat detection and monitoring, focusing on known vulnerabilities and patterns of malicious behavior, only a mere 21% emphasize prevention. This is particularly alarming as companies struggle to keep pace with rapid technological advancements, including the speed of DevOps and the deployment of new codes and applications in the cloud. The survey underscores a daunting reality— al...