This Week in Science: Warp Drives, Terminators, and Hologram Doctors
It’s time for “Nerd News,” covering the most important news for your brain.
Here’s a quick rundown of this week in science . . .
1. In alien news: A study found we might be able to find them by looking for traces of warp drive activity in outer space. Something called gravitational waves.
2. In Terminator news: Scientists in Japan came up with a way to wrap a robot in living human skin cells grown in a lab. And yes, it’s creepy looking.
4. Space Station astronauts had to take shelter on Tuesday after an old Russian satellite broke apart and caused a cloud of debris. They think Russia might have blown it up testing a new anti-satellite missile.
5. In other space news: China brought back the first samples from the far side of the Moon . . . the two astronauts Boeing sent to the Space Station might have to be brought home by SpaceX, which would be embarrassing . . . and NASA is going to pay SpaceX $843 million to destroy the Space Station in 2030.
They’re designing a craft that can dock with it and guide it back to Earth, so it lands in the ocean. The plan is to help private companies build their own space stations, which NASA and tourists would get to use.
6. In medicine: A hospital in Texas is the first in the U.S. to start using hologram technology for doctor visits. It’s kind of like a 3-D Zoom call.
7. And finally: Neanderthals may have been kinder and more compassionate than we thought. Experts say a fossil of a Neanderthal child with Down syndrome suggests a whole community helped take care of her.