Science
Stephen Hawking and the academic boycott of Israel
By Chris Marsden, 15 May 2013
In a letter explaining his decision to pull out of Israel’s Presidential conference, noted theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking explained that Israeli government policy “is likely to lead to disaster.”
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reach new heights
By Bryan Dyne, 13 May 2013
Carbon dioxide levels are at the highest in human history, a further indication that human activity is driving global warming.
A decade of infrared space astronomy comes to a close
The end of the Herschel Space Observatory mission
By Don Barrett, 7 May 2013
On April 29, the Herschel Space Observatory exhausted its supply of ultra-cold liquid helium coolant, required to do its most sensitive observations.
Genome sequencing of “living fossil” fish sheds light on the evolution of land animals
By Philip Guelpa, 30 April 2013
Decoding of the full genetic sequence of the coelacanth, a member of a group known as lobe-finned fish, has helped to explain some of the key genetic mechanisms associated with the evolution of life.
Two planetary systems with potentially Earth-like conditions
By Bryan Dyne, 22 April 2013
Earth-like extra-solar planets have been found orbiting in the “habitable zone,” where radiation levels would permit the existence of the building blocks of life.
Thousands of scientists protest US cuts to medical research
By Nick Barrickman, 9 April 2013
Up to 15,000 scientists from around the country attended Monday’s rally, which was called by the American Association for Cancer Research.
Two cases of a “functional cure” for HIV/AIDS
By Shane Feratu, 30 March 2013
Researchers have been able to neutralize the HIV virus from causing harm in two separate studies.
CERN confirms Higgs discovery
By Bryan Dyne, 23 March 2013
The major collaborators in research at the Large Hadron Collider have jointly announced that the new particle discovered last year is the Higgs boson.
Australian court upholds patent for breast cancer gene
By Frank Gaglioti, 26 February 2013
The decision serves to entrench the rights of biotech companies as they scramble to obtain, enforce and profit from patents on genetic material.
Study finds mammals diversified only after the extinction of dinosaurs
By Philip Guelpa, 22 February 2013
A major study using both fossil and genetic data has produced a detailed reconstruction of the ancestral placental mammal and supports the interpretation that the great adaptive radiation of mammals took place only after the extinction of dinosaurs.
Science, society and the Chelyabinsk meteor
By Don Barrett, 18 February 2013
The meteor explosion over Chelyabinsk, Russia marks the first conjunction of a frequent and natural occurrence—the collision of the Earth with debris left over from the formation of the solar system—with a modern metropolis.
Astronomers confirm fundamental relationship in atomic physics
By Will Morrow, 4 January 2013
A team of astronomers has determined that the ratio of the mass of the proton to the mass of the electron has been stable for at least seven billion years.
Stone tools and the evolution of modern human cognition
By Philip Guelpa, 18 December 2012
A newly reported microlithic technology from a site in South Africa helps close the apparent temporal gap between the biological evolution of modern humans and the archaeological evidence of fully modern cognitive abilities.
The growing impact and dangers of global warming
By Bryan Dyne, 27 November 2012
The impact of climate change on all aspects of life has been more concretely analyzed in reports issued over the past decade.
The future study of hurricanes at risk
By Bryan Dyne, 6 November 2012
The end of the current generation of environmental satellites will likely produce a gap lasting up to four years, in which crucial data used in predicting the intensity of hurricanes will not be collected.
Earth-mass planet found orbiting the nearest star
By Bryan Dyne, 24 October 2012
A planet with similar mass to the Earth has been found orbiting α Centauri B, our closest interstellar neighbor.
Voyager spacecraft approaching interstellar space—35 years after launch
By Bryan Dyne, 28 September 2012
Voyager 1 and 2 have flown through the Solar System for 35 years and now Voyager 1 is on the verge of becoming humanity’s first interstellar spacecraft.
New fossils support a multiple-species view of early human evolution
By Philip Guelpa, 31 August 2012
Newly reported fossils from East Africa indicate multiple branches in early human evolution.
Curiosity rover lands on Mars: A milestone of space exploration
By Bryan Dyne, 7 August 2012
Curiosity, NASA’s latest Mars rover, has successfully landed on target at Gale crater.
Melting of Greenland ice shelf likely caused by global warming
By Bryan Dyne, 2 August 2012
The sudden melting of the Greenland ice shelf is an indicator that global warming is beginning to have a very widespread impact on human life.
Did Neanderthals create cave art?
By Philip Guelpa, 10 July 2012
It is possible that simple representations such as disks and negative hand prints, which new dating indicates were the earliest forms of cave art, were, in fact, originated by Neanderthals.
CERN discovers new fundamental particle
By Bryan Dyne, 5 July 2012
Results jointly released from the Large Hadron Collider have confirmed the existence of a new fundamental particle, which has the high possibility of being the long sought after Higgs boson.
The 2012 transit of Venus
By Don Barry, 5 June 2012
The Sun, the planet Venus and the Earth will line up so that Venus appears to pass across the disk of the Sun.
New search for life among Jupiter’s ice moons
By Aidan Claire, 17 May 2012
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a €1.1 billion unmanned mission to the ice moons of the planet Jupiter.
Extreme weather forebodes point-of-no-return for climate change
By Nicholas Russo, 20 April 2012
An unusual heat wave east of the Rocky Mountains has made March 2012 the warmest March on record for the contiguous United States.
Large Hadron Collider upgrade aids exploration of the origin of mass
By Bryan Dyne, 13 April 2012
What makes things heavy? How does the origin of mass connect with other physical theories? The Large Hadron Collider was built in Switzerland to experimentally test theoretical work that suggests an answer to these questions.
Obama’s 2013 budget to increase corporate influence over public research
By Nicholas Russo, 25 February 2012
Reprioritization of funding in the proposed budget, together with statements by Obama, indicates a decisive shift toward further subordination of public research to corporate interests.
A further reply on Thomas Kuhn
By William Whitlow, 17 February 2012
The following contribution from William Whitlow extends a discussion that began with his article last fall, Thomas S. Kuhn, post-modernism and materialist dialectics, and continued with a response by Philip Guelpa, A friendly response to William Whitlow’s comments on Thomas Kuhn.
Bird flu scientists respond to media hysteria, suspend critical research
By Nicholas Russo, 10 February 2012
The investigators discovered how a mutation of the deadly virus could lead to its airborne transmission between human beings.
Galapagos tortoise species, thought to be extinct, has survived
By Patrick Martin, 3 February 2012
A team of biologists from Yale University has found evidence that a species of Galapagos tortoise, believed extinct for more than a century, has survived in one of the remote parts of the Galapagos island chain.
A friendly response to William Whitlow’s comments on Thomas Kuhn
By Philip Guelpa, 30 January 2012
This commentary is written as a supplement to the WSWS article “Thomas S. Kuhn, post-modernism and materialist dialectics,” by William Whitlow.
Tantalizing evidence of the Higgs boson
By Bryan Dyne, 29 December 2011
Physicists are close to confirming detection of the last undiscovered particle predicted by the “Standard Model” of particle physics.
New research may show that Neanderthals did not go extinct
By Philip Guelpa, 27 December 2011
DNA derived from the Neanderthals has been found in many human populations around the globe
Exciting and engaging: Richard Dawkins’ The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True
By Christine Schofelt, 12 November 2011
In his latest book, written for young people, evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins shows how—and why—to fall in love with reality.
Tentative evidence of particles travelling faster than light
By Margaret Bourne, 4 November 2011
Initial results from a group of scientists appear to indicate that neutrinos travel at a velocity greater than the speed of light.
Thomas S. Kuhn, post-modernism and materialist dialectics
By William Whitlow, 28 October 2011
William Whitlow replies to a reader’s inquiry about sociologist Thomas S. Kuhn, author of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
New hominin fossil finds in South Africa may fill a gap in the record of human evolution
By Philip Guelpa, 23 September 2011
A newly reported fossil discovery from the Malapa, South Africa may provide greater insight into the evolution of the genus Homo from our australopithecine ancestors. The fossils consist of remains of two individuals, an adult female and juvenile male, possibly a mother and son.
Mass Viking grave identified in southern England
By Joan Smith, 16 September 2011
Archaeologists have discovered a mass grave of decapitated Vikings on the southern coast of England dating from AD 910-AD1034. Scientists think they may have been caught and killed by locals.
CERN experiment weighs antimatter to unprecedented precision
By Bryan Dyne, 26 August 2011
The research provides further confirmation of quantum mechanics.
The end of the US space shuttle program
By Patrick Martin, 19 August 2011
The American manned space program is shutting down indefinitely, an event that has considerable historical significance.
A further advance in quantum computing
By Bryan Dyne, 12 August 2011
A team led by Susumu Takahashi has pioneered a new step forward toward the development of a fully functional quantum computer.
Herschel telescope discovered twisted ring of gas and dust at the centre of our galaxy
By William Whitlow, 5 August 2011
The Herschel Space Observatory has identified a twisted ring of dust and gas at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. Parts of the ring have been seen before but this is the first time it has been observed as a whole.
Dawn spacecraft reaches the asteroid Vesta
By Patrick Martin, 20 July 2011
The NASA mission will study the two largest asteroids, first Vesta, then Ceres.
James Watt and Our World, an exhibition at the Science Museum, London
By William Whitlow, 23 June 2011
Anyone with an hour or two to spare in London over the next year will be rewarded by a visit to the James Watt exhibition at the Science Museum.[1] As befits an exhibition relating to this genius whose inventions were at the core of the Industrial Revolution, there are several steam engines on display, including the massive “Old Bess,” the second steam engine built by James Watt and his partner Matthew Boulton in their Birmingham “Manufactory,” in 1777.
New research sheds light on cognitive abilities of animals
By Frances Gaertner, 10 June 2011
Recent research has begun to investigate the cognitive abilities of animals and is helping to identify the evolutionary developments made by human beings that began to distinguish them from apes.
Extra-solar planet could sustain Earth-like life
By Bryan Dyne, 6 June 2011
The planet Gliese 581 d is believed to be twice the mass of Earth, and could sustain liquid water on the side that faces its star.
Scientists see increasing floods with changing climate
By Dan Brennan, 23 May 2011
Climate change is responsible for increasingly extreme weather events.
Einstein’s theory of gravity confirmed by NASA probe
By William Whitlow, 13 May 2011
NASA has just announced that Einstein’s theory of gravity has been verified with astonishing accuracy by its Gravity Probe-B.
Scientists find evidence of cannibalism in Palaeolithic Britain
By Joan Smith, 29 April 2011
The alternation of glacial and warmer periods conditioned the prehistory of what is now Britain.
US budget cuts threaten scientific research
By Nicholas Russo, 22 April 2011
Great international scientific advances are being undermined by cuts in funding.
Fifty years since the first manned spaceflight
By Patrick Martin, 16 April 2011
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in orbit around the Earth, on April 12, 1961.
First spacecraft begins orbiting the planet Mercury
By Patrick Martin, 25 March 2011
MESSENGER is the first space mission to Mercury in more than three decades.
Large Hadron Collider will continue experiments into 2012
By Bryan Dyne and Don Barry, 18 March 2011
The physics research conducted in 2010 has allowed for the Large Hadron Collider to extend its operations through 2011 and 2012.
Planet formation viewed by astronomers
By Chris Talbot, 11 March 2011
Astronomical observation directly confirms the nebular hypothesis of Kant and Laplace.
Fossil discovery confirms “Lucy” walked upright
By Chris Talbot, 25 February 2011
A new 3.2 million-year-old fossil discovery at Hadar, Ethiopia shows that Australopithecus afarensis, an ancestor of modern humans, had arched feet and was “committed” to walking upright.
Stardust spacecraft gives second glimpse of comet Tempel 1
By a reporter, 18 February 2011
The fly-by took place on February 14, some 210 million miles from Earth
Amazon drought highlights impact of global warming
By Chris Talbot, 11 February 2011
Rain forest and the Arctic ice cap are being affected by rising temperatures.
Smallest rocky planet outside our solar system discovered
By Chris Talbot, 28 January 2011
NASA has confirmed this month that its Kepler space observatory has now identified the smallest yet planet outside our solar system, exoplanet Kepler-10b.
Evidence of intensifying climate change grows
By Dan Brennan, 26 January 2011
Global surface temperatures for 2010 matched record highs, with the past decade the hottest ever recorded.
Mars rovers mark seven years on the planet’s surface
By Patrick Martin, 22 January 2011
The two robot exploration vehicles have revolutionized scientific understanding of the planet.
The Denisova discovery: Ancient genomics shed new light on human origins
By Thomas H. Douglass, 17 January 2011
An international team of scientists made headlines last year when they used genetic evidence to show that an ancient people, once living in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia, were distant cousins of the Neanderthals and contributed to the modern human genome before their extinction.
Recent developments bring quantum computers closer to implementation
By Bryan Dyne, 8 January 2011
Fundamental advances in recent research have led to the ability to more directly manipulate the building blocks of quantum computers.
The Artificial Ape: How humans invented themselves
By Philip Guelpa, 3 January 2011
The new book by Timothy Taylor proposes that a technological invention was critical to the biological evolution of modern humans.
The first spintronic transistor
By Chris Talbot, 31 December 2010
For the first time now, researchers have developed a new type of transistor―running at normal temperatures―that utilises a feature of electrons known as spin, rather than charge.
New species of lemur discovered in Madagascar
By Frances Gaertner, 24 December 2010
What is thought to be a new species of fork-marked lemur has been discovered in the forests of Madagascar.
Bacteria that consumes arsenic boosts search for “alien” life
By Chris Talbot, 10 December 2010
The new bacteria was discovered by a research team at Mono Lake, California.
Brain more complex than previously thought, research reveals
By Chris Talbot, 3 December 2010
Major advances have recently been made that have considerably advanced our understanding of the brain at the level of its cellular structure.
Experiment at CERN traps antimatter atoms
By Bryan Dyne, 27 November 2010
For the first time ever, physicists at CERN have captured antimatter for a long enough time for its properties to be studied.
Struggling California condor population suggests persistence of DDT
By Frances Gaertner and Kristina Betinis, 23 November 2010
Recent reports of a struggling California condor population indicate the persistence of DDT contamination, threatening animal life and human health.
Gamma-ray bubbles discovered around our galaxy
By Chris Talbot, 18 November 2010
A giant structure around our Milky Way galaxy has been discovered by the NASA Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.
LHC particle accelerator begins lead ion collisions
By Bryan Dyne and Don Barry, 13 November 2010
The week, scientists operating the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva shut down its proton-proton collisions to begin colliding lead nuclei.
Fractal visionary dies: Benoit Mandelbrot, 1924-2010
By Chris Talbot, 4 November 2010
Benoit Mandelbrot coined the word fractal in 1975 to describe the revolutionary approach to geometrical mathematics that he pioneered.
Nobel Prize physicists protest British immigration restrictions on scientists
By Chris Talbot, 20 October 2010
Russian-born physicists Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim, now based at the University of Manchester, joined six other Nobel Prize winners in opposing the cap on immigrants into Britain from outside the European Union.
Scientist awarded Nobel Prize for developing IVF treatment
By Chris Talbot, 13 October 2010
Robert Edwards has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in recognition of his pioneering work in the technique of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Scientists directly image an extra-solar planet’s orbit around a young star
By Bryan Dyne, 19 July 2010
For the first time in the history of the search for planets outside the solar system, astronomers have observed a planet going from one side of its parent star to the other.
Large Hadron Collider accelerates particles to record energy level
By Bryan Dyne and Don Barry, 10 May 2010
Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider announced March 30 that the LHC had collided particles to 7 trillion electron-volts, the highest energy ever achieved in such a device.
“Strange Fruit” by Kenan Malik: A polemic against racism and identity politics
By Nancy Hanover, 8 May 2010
Kenan Malik has situated himself in the crosshairs of the dispute over the nature of race, arguing from the standpoint of Enlightenment rationalism and scientific objectivity.
Australia: Sacked workers rally over unpaid entitlements
By Margaret Rees, 3 May 2010
Sacked metalworkers owed unpaid superannuation, leave and other entitlements demonstrated last Friday in Melbourne.
Solar Dynamics Observatory―an eye on the Sun
By Bryan Dyne, 13 March 2010
One month after its successful launch, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has begun capturing high-resolution images of solar phenomena at 10-second intervals.
Large Hadron Collider to resume operations at CERN
By Bryan Dyne, 22 February 2010
Operations resumed this month at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the huge new experimental device operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland. The largest and costliest apparatus ever built to conduct physical research, the LHC was shut down for repairs for a year after an accident.
Spacecraft Kepler discovers five extrasolar planets
By Bryan Dyne, 2 February 2010
NASA reported last month that Kepler, the first spacecraft dedicated to searching for planets beyond our solar system, has discovered its first five extrasolar planets. Though they are uninhabitable for Earth-like life—four of the five are even larger than Jupiter—their rapid discovery indicates that Kepler is fully capable of achieving its primary mission, finding a planet resembling Earth, in future years.
What does particle physics tell us about the nature of matter?
By Chris Talbot, 20 January 2010
Frank Wilczek’s book can be recommended as an attempt to explain to a lay person the implications of more than 50 years of particle physics. Wilczek is a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist.
Marxism, socialism and climate change
By Nick Beams, 22 December 2009
The problems of climate change are so profound and far-reaching that they require the rational mobilisation of all available economic, material, scientific and technical resources, something that is only possible only under socialism.
Climate change, emissions trading schemes and the profit system
By Patrick O’Connor, 21 December 2009
Public meetings called by the WSWS and the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) in Sydney and Melbourne last week exposed the real agenda behind emissions trading schemes and the official climate change “debate”. The following is the report delivered by WSWS writer Patrick O’Connor.
Australian SEP meetings discuss socialism, climate change and emissions trading schemes
By our reporters, 19 December 2009
Public meetings in Sydney and Melbourne this week exposed the real agenda behind emissions trading schemes and the official climate change “debate”.
Moon experiment shows presence of water
By Patrick Martin, 17 November 2009
The deliberate crashing of a US rocket into the surface of the Moon has produced evidence of “a significant amount” of water ice, a discovery that could revolutionize the exploration of the Earth’s satellite and even open the way to long-term settlement.
New fossils provide insights into early human evolution
By William Moore, 20 October 2009
After 15 years of painstaking study, the journal Science has published a series of articles on the fossilized remains of Ardipithecus ramidus, which is interpreted to be an early form of hominin, the group including humans and all human ancestors back to the evolutionary split with the last common ancestor with chimpanzees.
Severe dust storm hits Australian coastal cities
By Alex Safari, 29 September 2009
A huge dust storm blanketed large areas of Australia’s southeastern coast last Wednesday, covering cities and towns in the states of New South Wales and Queensland, before moving out to sea towards New Zealand.
Newly repaired Hubble telescope releases first images
By Bryan Dyne, 23 September 2009
The first images from the repaired and upgraded telescope include a dazzling combination of planetary nebula, star clusters and galaxies.
Four hundred years since Galileo’s astronomical discoveries
By Hector Cordon, 15 August 2009
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 has been designated by the International Astronomy Union and UNESCO in honor of the 400th anniversary of the discoveries of Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler, two of the most important pioneers of modern astronomy.
Swine flu infections spread to 160 countries
By Perla Astudillo, 13 August 2009
According to the World Health Organisation, the swine-origin influenza virus has spread to 160 countries in less than four months.
The Google Book Search copyright settlement and the future of information—Part 2
By K. Reed, 13 August 2009
The second of a two-part article on the Google Book Search settlement.
The Google Book Search copyright settlement and the future of information—Part 1
By K. Reed, 12 August 2009
The first of a two-part article on the Google Book Search settlement.
Subordinating science to religion
Obama names evangelical Christian to run National Institutes of Health
By Patrick Martin, 30 July 2009
In selecting Francis S. Collins as the director of the National Institutes of Health, President Obama has sent a clear political message that he is willing to subordinate scientific research to Christian fundamentalist dogma.
Hubble Space Telescope receives final upgrade
By Bryan Dyne, 23 June 2009
New instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope are currently undergoing calibration following the latest upgrade to the venerable scientific instrument.
Marx and Darwin: Two great revolutionary thinkers of the nineteenth century
Part 3
By Chris Talbot, 19 June 2009
Marx and Engels immediately recognised the significance of Darwin’s theory when On the Origin of Species appeared 150 years ago, laying out a scientific conception of the process of historical evolution of the biological world.
Marx and Darwin: Two great revolutionary thinkers of the nineteenth century
Part 2
By Chris Talbot, 18 June 2009
Marx and Engels immediately recognised the significance of Darwin’s theory when On the Origin of Species appeared 150 years ago, laying out a scientific conception of the process of historical evolution of the biological world.
Marx and Darwin: Two great revolutionary thinkers of the nineteenth century
Part 1
By Chris Talbot, 17 June 2009
Marx and Engels immediately recognised the significance of Darwin’s theory when On the Origin of Species appeared 150 years ago, laying out a scientific conception of the process of historical evolution of the biological world.
The primate fossil “Ida”: the science and the hype
By William Moore, 13 June 2009
While the recently announced discovery of “Ida,” a remarkably well-preserved early primate fossil, promises insights into the evolution of later primate forms, including humans, the way it has been presented to the public distorts both its significance and the processes of biological evolution.
Walking, running, and human evolution
New insights derived from the hobbits of Flores
By William Moore, 13 May 2009
Recent research results suggest Flores hobbits are more distinctive than previously thought, providing new insights into human evolution.
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