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Wednesday 31 May 2023 Dublin: 15°C

science

All time
# IPocalypse
Watch out: we're about to fill up the internet
We’re only about 10 days away from running out of internet ‘postcodes’, says an internet provider encouraging an upgrade.
# Saoirse
Brother of tragic Saoirse may be sent to US for trial treatment
Parents of little girl who died yesterday of rare Batten’s Disease “hopeful” that her brother Liam may get latest medical help.
# Health
Teeth pulled for stem cell harvest
Some parents in the US have been bringing their children to have baby teeth removed in the hopes that stem cells harvested from them might help with future health problems.
# Dinosaur Discovery
Meet the world's newest dinosaur - just 230 million years old
A team in Argentina says it’s discovered a distant relative of the Tyrannosaurus – but about 4 feet in height.
# Heart Disease
Too much TV wrecks your heart, says new study
No matter how much exercise you do, sitting in front of a TV or computer screen increases your risk of heart disease.
# Sunswift IVy
Meet the IVy: The world’s fastest solar-powered vehicle
The Sunswift IVy clocks an average speed faster than any other solar vehicle… at a not-mind-melting 55mph.
# Tech university
Institutes of Technology want to form a university
Four Dublin colleges launch joint bid to merge and become a ‘technological university’ a day before Hunt Report on third-level education strategy due.
# Autism
British journal rips apart link between vaccines and autism
A now-retracted study that linked autism to childhood vaccines is ridiculed by a leading medical journal.
# Implanon
Women report falling pregnant while using Implanon contraceptive
Hundreds of women in the UK, and over 30 in Ireland, report unwanted pregnancies while using implanted contraceptive.
# blood donations
IBTS welcomes surge in new donations
After issuing an appeal for emergency donations, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service sees its stocks increase.
# New life?
Who’s there? NASA finds new life form… on earth
Discovery of arsenic-based life form is unlike anything ever seen before.
# Asthma
Infants who take paracetamol more likely to develop asthma
Study from New Zealand concludes that “liberally” giving products containing paracetamol given to children may have serious side-effects.
# Supertasters
Picky eater? Wrong - you're a supertaster
New research suggests those with specific diets aren’t fussy – they actually have a more developed sense of taste.
# Smoking
Passive smoking kills 600,000 every year
First global study confirms that secondhand smoke is a massive killer – and 200,000 of its victims are children.
# Diet pills
Death-warning drug was never licensed in Ireland
Medicines Board reassures that weight-loss medicine which is linked to 500 deaths was not prescribed here.
# Bird Flu
Hong Kong reports first Bird Flu in eight years
Forget SARS, forget swine flu, forget foot-and-mouth disease… the original virus of doom is back.
# King of the Swingers
Scientists declare bush cricket top of the testes class
The animal kingdom has a new record holder – a cricket has the largest male organs in relation to its body mass.
# Out of this World
Yet more images of space - from a paper aeroplane
First a New York dad, now a Devon science buff takes photographs from space – with a helium balloon and paper plane.
# Ahead of deadline
Evolution began earlier than previously thought
Scottish researchers have discovered the evolution of complex cells began 1.2 billion years ago – 400 million years earlier than scientists had believed.
# True Blood
Forget blood shortages - just inject your skin with some DNA
Scientists claim to have discovered a new technique that converts skin cells into blood by injecting DNA proteins.
# Vision
Vision chip helps blind people to see again
A pioneering new technology brings “the realms of science fiction” into the lives of people devastated by blindness.
# Living
Babies born through IVF may have twice the risk of cerebral palsy
New research shows that the treatment itself may double the risk.
# Homo promiscuous
Neanderthals were promiscuous because they had longer fingers
Scientists conducting fossil research on neanderthals reveal that promiscuity and aggressiveness went hand in hand for the ancient human relatives.
# Plague
Irish researchers trace origins of Black Death
UCC scientists find roots of three deadly plagues – including the one that killed almost one-third of Middle Ages Europe – travelled on Silk Road from China.
# India
Amber fossils shed light on India’s past
The discovery of perfectly preserved insects in India has challenged the assumption that the country was an isolated island continent about 52 million years ago.
# Health
Can meditation change your brain?
Want some “lovingkindness” in your life? Meditation could offer a permanent change of mind-frame.
# Science
Video shows solar flares along Sun's northern hemisphere
NASA released incredible footage of activity on the Sun.
# Living
Daily aspirin helps prevent colon cancer, says study
Those who regularly take a low dose of aspirin could be reducing their risk of developing colon cancer – Ireland’s second deadliest cancer.
# Science
New insect found on Polynesian island in the Pacific
Easter Island has yielded a tiny new scientific discovery.
# Space
X-shaped objects in space?
NASA’s Hubble Telescope has captured images of a strange object in space believed to be the result of an asteroid collision.
# Stem Cells
First human trial of stem cell treatment underway
Controversial study begins treating its first patient in the US.
# Autopilot
Google reveals latest innovation: cars that drive themselves
The company has been working on automated cars that pull data from Google Maps to drive where you want.
# Languages
Dead? Far from it - scientists discover 'new' language
Researchers discover a language spoken in the Himalayas that had never been recorded before.
# Raheny Supernova
'Champagne' supernova spotter celebrates with a nice cup of tea
TheJournal.ie has first photograph Irish amateur astronomer took of supernova, the “biggest thing ever discovered in Irish astronomy”
# Stuxnet
Irishman shows the world the dangers of Stuxnet
You might not have heard of Stuxnet – but after seeing this video you might get a little bit nervous about it.
# Nobels
So long, Silicon Valley
Two British-based scientists win Nobel Prize for Physics for experiments with super-thin carbon extract which might replace silicon transistors in computers
# Health
City dwellers more likely to be resistant to disease, says study
Turns out city living is good for your health.
# Don't Try At Home
What would happen if you put your hand in the Large Hadron Collider?
Scientists attempt to answer the question that’s been keeping us all awake at night.
# Astronomy
Catch a glimpse of Jupiter at its closest for nearly 50 years
Largest planet in the Solar System will pass close to Earth on Monday & Tuesday- coinciding with an approach from Uranus and a full moon.
# Space
Video charts number of known asteroids since 1980
Incredible timelapse video artfully depicts discoveries.