Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

The researchers analyzed recycled plastic pellets like these and found a shockingly high amount of chemical compounds that call the material's use into question · The researchers analyzed recycled plastic pellets like these and found a shockingly high amount of chemical compounds that call the material's use into  question. · While the use of recycled plastics is normally considered a noble endeavor, a new study says it's time to think…

Ducati has a new motorbike, and it's celebrating this fact with a series of photos and videos so flagrantly ribald and saucy they'd be pixelated out in Japan. I mean, look at them. In fact, forget the bike, can I buy some of this guy's talent? · If you're gonna name a bike "Mono," you'd better deliver – but we'd expect nothing less from Ducati. It's nearly 20 years since Ducati decided what the heck, let's make a supermotard with a massive…

Teaming with former GT1 world champion Andrea Bertolini, Maserati has crafted a blacked-out, nighthawk version of the MC20 supercar, only 50 copies of which will be made. · Always inventive with the names, Maserati is calling the limited-run vehicle Notte, which means "night" in Italian. About as inventive as calling its four-door luxury sports sedan the "Quattroporte," which translates to "four doors." But at least the lack of imagination ends…

Astronomers have discovered evidence of a theorized type of black hole lurking in the distant universe. Known as an “Outsize Black Hole,” this object could help explain some fundamental cosmic mysteries, including how supermassive monsters form. · Black holes as we know them tend to fall into two categories: there’s the stellar mass black holes, which as the name suggests have masses equivalent to a few stars. They form when large stars die in…

There has been little attention paid to Cochrane’s review of covid‐19 vaccines, in stark contrast to the world-wide media attention paid to its review of face masks. · Since Cochrane reviews have been lauded as “rigorous” and “trustworthy,” it is prudent to apply equal scrutiny to the latest update of the “Efficacy and safety of COVID‐19 vaccines.” · Findings of the Cochrane review? · Published in December 2022, the review analyses 41…

Austrian mobility technology company AVL had a pretty good day for itself earlier this month, when it confirmed simulations that showed its prototype 2.0-liter turbo hydrogen race engine developing over 200 hp-per-liter. AVL uses a water-injection system alongside its turbocharger to moderate combustion for safer burn and improved power production ... and so far it's working like a charm. · Most of the fanfare around automotive hydrogen has…

A large UK study has linked abnormal heart rhythm to cognitive decline, which is the latest in a growing body of evidence suggesting that there is a significant correlation between common heart conditions and the risk of dementia. · University College London (UCL) researchers looked at 4.3 million individuals on the UK’s primary electronic health record to identify 233,833 people with the common heart condition atrial fibrillation (AF) and…

Despite many studies showing pigeons are surprisingly smart, from being as good at counting as primates, to being able to identify breast cancer in X-rays, scientists are fighting a losing battle to dispute their widely held reputation as being a bit “dim-witted.” · A new study has pitted the pigeon up against an artificial-intelligence model and found that both bird and computer follow a similar process in order to work out the problem they’re…

It’s generally thought flipping a coin is a quick and fair way to settle random disputes. Someone calls heads or tails as a coin is flipped, offering 50/50 odds it will land on either side. But what if the chances of heads or tails aren’t even? A team of 48 researchers in Amsterdam spent days flipping coins and discovered the results of this game of random chance may not be as random as most assume. · In the early 2000s a trio of US…

Scientists from Caltech and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have found evidence that Earth’s core is leaking. High levels of a particular isotope of helium were found in lava flows in Canada, which the team proposes originated in the planet’s core. · Although we seem content to waste it by blowing it into balloons, helium is relatively rare on Earth. Why? Your first instinct is probably right – it literally floats into the upper…