China’s Lunar Ambitions 🌕🚀

China is aiming to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030! Recently, the country successfully tested the launch and landing of its new lunar lander Lanyue.

To simulate lunar gravity, engineers used special cables that offset Earth’s pull, allowing the lander to practice touchdowns on an artificial lunar surface.

The Lanyue module is designed not only to carry two astronauts but also to deliver scientific instruments to the Moon’s surface.

#Space #China #Moon #Exploration #Science

📷 Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan

🌍 Earth’s seasons are out of sync

Satellite data reveal that Earth’s seasons don’t line up the same across regions. In places like Mediterranean climates and tropical mountains, plants show different growth cycles — sometimes even just a valley apart.

This mismatch could shape ecosystems, agriculture, and even evolution, as species adapt to out-of-phase seasonal rhythms.

🔗 Read more on ScienceAlert

🚀 Microsoft unveils an analog optical computer (AOC) for AI!

A team of four Microsoft researchers spent four years developing this breakthrough system, capable of solving AI tasks using simple LEDs—like those in smartphones.

🔑 Key highlights:
• ⚡ 500 tera-operations per watt — over 100× more efficient than NVIDIA’s H100
• ⏱️ One iteration in just 20 nanoseconds
• 🔋 Only 2 femtojoules per operation
• 🌡️ Runs at room temperature using micro-LEDs

The AOC combines analog electronics with 3D optical architectures, performing matrix multiplications optically, while complex calculations remain on silicon.

✨ Advantages over quantum computing:
• ✅ 100% accuracy on binary tasks, 95%+ on mixed tasks
• ⚖️ Quantum systems manage only 40–60% on similar problems
• 🏆 Beat records from the QPLIB benchmark, solving optimization tasks with 500+ binary and 10,000+ continuous variables
• No cryogenics needed — works at room temperature!

The race is on: which will reach the market first — optical or quantum computing?

#Microsoft #OpticalComputing #Photonics #AI

Comets are usually imagined as much smaller than they really are.
Here’s the actual scale of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko — the one visited by the Rosetta spacecraft. 🚀✨

Unique NASA Images of Solar Flares

NASA has released rare, high-resolution images of solar flares with unprecedented detail. ☀️🔭

@science

🚀 Chinese scientists have created a DNA cassette tape with a staggering 36 petabytes of storage!

Instead of magnetic tape, this breakthrough uses synthetic DNA molecules to encode digital data through sequences of A, T, C, and G — the letters of life itself.

Highlights:
• Up to 1,570 addressable sections per second
• Rewind & fast-forward functions, just like classic cassettes 🎶
• Built-in error correction with Reed–Solomon codes for data integrity
• Market forecast: from $93M in 2024 to $3B by 2030

The future of storage may fit inside a strand of DNA — and yes, one day our smartphones might carry genetic labs just to keep all our memes safe. 🧬💾

#DNA #Storage

🔗 Read more

@science

Let’s https://t.iss.one/boost/science !

🚨 Have you ever wondered how smartwatches know when you’re asleep?

It’s not magic — it’s @science!

Modern devices like Apple Watch or Fitbit analyze your heart rate, breathing, and even micro-movements of your body. When your heartbeat becomes steady and slow — you’re asleep. Sudden changes? They signal that you’re awake.

⚡ But the technology has gone much further:
• In 2023, MIT introduced algorithms that can track not only sleep but also emotions — for example, detecting stress through subtle heart rate changes.
• In 2024, researchers showed how AI-powered smartwatches could predict sleep quality by considering stress levels, daytime activity, and even room lighting.
• And in 2025, the first clinical trials revealed that wearables can detect early signs of sleep apnea and arrhythmia — long before a person visits a doctor.

🌍 Why does this matter? Because watches are no longer just gadgets — they’re turning into real medical assistants, spotting health problems before you even notice them yourself.

😄 Who knows, maybe soon they’ll not only tell you to go to bed, but also remind you when it’s time to take a vacation?

#Science #AI #Technology #Health

🐒🎥 A Chinese zoo has banned visitors from showing short videos (reels) to a chimpanzee named Ding-Ding.

Ding-Ding became an internet star because of his love for watching short clips on visitors’ phones. But the staff raised concerns: constant screen time could harm his eyesight.

The case sparked discussions online about digital addiction — and whether it’s really unique to humans.

Of course, primates are on a different evolutionary step, so for people the risk isn’t quite the same. Still, maybe it’s a reminder for us too: clean your glasses and enjoy the view of the real world every once in a while. 👓🌍

#Science #Animals #Psychology #Technology

🌿 In the wild, gray langurs and spotted deer share a remarkable partnership.

🐒 The langurs often drop fruits from tall trees, providing food for the deer.
🦌 In return, the deer act as an early warning system, alerting the monkeys to approaching predators.

This fascinating example of mutualism shows how different species can cooperate for survival.

📷 hrishiwild

🚉 Guangzhou South Railway Station — a true giant of modern transport.

Opened in early 2010 in Guangdong Province, China, it long held the title of the largest railway station in Asia by area. Today it remains one of the country’s four major passenger hubs.

⚡ Facts:
• 15 platforms operating simultaneously
• Serves hundreds of high-speed trains daily
• Handles tens of millions of passengers each year

It’s not just a station — it’s a gateway to China’s high-speed rail revolution.
@science

Tensegrity: The Art and Science of Balance

Tensegrity is a fascinating design principle where rigid rods carry compression while cables handle tension. What makes it truly striking is that the rods never touch each other — instead, they seem to “float” in space, held together only by the balance of stretched cables.

This concept began to take shape in the early 20th century. American architect Buckminster Fuller coined the term “tensegrity”, and it quickly became a symbol of futuristic design and structural innovation.

In the video, you’ll see a famous example — the so-called floating table, a mesmerizing object that brings this principle to life. 🛋️✨

@science

🤖 Robots don’t have to look like clunky metal machines — and soon, they won’t.

Meet the AI-powered robotic head from Chinese company AheadForm. Its facial expressions are driven by a dedicated artificial intelligence, making interactions far more natural.

And here’s the twist: a robot’s “intelligence” doesn’t even need to live inside its head. In many cases, robots are controlled directly from the cloud, tapping into vast computing power far beyond what fits in hardware.

The future of robotics may look — and think — very different from what sci-fi once imagined.

🚨 China surpasses the world in robot installations!

According to the latest report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China installed nearly 300,000 industrial robots in 2024 — more than the rest of the world combined. 🤖🌏

🔹 Total operational robots in China now exceed 2,027,000 units.
🔹 China’s share of global installations has reached 54%.
🔹 It took just 3 years for China to go from 1 million to 2 million robots on its factory floors.
🔹 For comparison: the U.S. installed about 34,000 robots in 2024, while Japan added around 44,000.

China’s rapid automation is reshaping global manufacturing and accelerating the future of smart factories.

#robotics #China #automation #industry40 #science

🚨 Magnetic Storms Linked to Heart Attacks — Especially in Women

The Earth is shielded by its magnetosphere, which constantly shifts in response to solar activity. When powerful disturbances occur — known as geomagnetic storms — they don’t just disrupt satellites and power grids, but also our bodies.

A team of Brazilian researchers analyzed hospital data on myocardial infarction (heart attacks) over several years, comparing the frequency of cases and deaths during periods of strong geomagnetic activity with calm days.

🔬 Their findings:
• Using the planetary K-index to track geomagnetic storms, the scientists discovered a clear trend:
• Women showed a significant increase in both hospitalizations and mortality during solar storm days.
• Men, despite making up the majority of patients overall, showed no comparable effect.

💡 Why does this happen?
The heart relies on finely tuned electrical impulses to maintain rhythm. Intense external magnetic fields may interfere with this system, especially in people with pre-existing cardiovascular issues, triggering critical events.

🌍 This research suggests that space weather isn’t just a cosmic curiosity — it may directly affect human health.

#Science #SpaceWeather #Medicine #SolarStorms