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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for October 26, 2020:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Physics news
 | Surprising communication between atoms could improve quantum computingA group of University of Wisconsin–Madison physicists has identified conditions under which relatively distant atoms communicate with each other in ways that had previously only been seen in atoms closer together—a development that could have applications to quantum computing. |
 | Estimating risk of airborne COVID-19 with mask usage, social distancingThe continued increase in COVID-19 infection around the world has led scientists from many different fields, including biomedicine, epidemiology, virology, fluid dynamics, aerosol physics, and public policy, to study the dynamics of airborne transmission. |
Astronomy and Space news
 | Data reveals evidence of molecular absorption in the atmosphere of a hot NeptuneAn international team of scientists recently measured the spectrum of the atmosphere of a rare hot Neptune exoplanet, whose discovery by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was announced just last month. |
 | Tiny moon shadows may harbor hidden stores of iceHidden pockets of water could be much more common on the surface of the moon than scientists once suspected, according to new research led by the University of Colorado Boulder. In some cases, these tiny patches of ice might exist in permanent shadows no bigger than a penny. |
 | New sub-Saturn-mass exoplanet discoveredUsing the microlensing technique, an international team of astronomers has detected a new distant alien world. The newly found exoplanet, designated OGLE-2018-BLG-0799Lb, is about five times less massive than Jupiter and orbits a very low-mass dwarf. The finding is reported in a paper published October 17 on the arXiv pre-print server. |
 | SOFIA discovers water on sunlit surface of moonNASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has confirmed, for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places. |
 | Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraftA NASA spacecraft is stuffed with so much asteroid rubble from this week's grab that it's jammed open and precious particles are drifting away in space, scientists said Friday. |
 | OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collects large sample of asteroid surface material, NASA confirmsTwo days after touching down on asteroid Bennu, NASA's University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission team received images confirming that the spacecraft has collected more than enough material to meet one of its main mission requirements—acquiring at least 2 ounces, or 60 grams, of the asteroid's surface material. |
 | The first habitable-zone, Earth-sized planet discovered with exoplanet survey spacecraftTESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, was launched in 2018 with the goal of discovering small planets around the Sun's nearest neighbors, stars bright enough to allow for follow-up characterizations of their planets' masses and atmospheres. TESS has so far discovered seventeen small planets around eleven nearby stars that are M dwarfs—stars that are smaller than the Sun (less than about 60% of the Sun's mass) and cooler (surface temperatures less than about 3900 kelvin). In a series of three papers that appeared together this month, astronomers report that one of these planets, TOI-700d, is Earth-sized and also located in its star's habitable zone; they also discuss its possible climate. |
 | Astronomers enlist AI in the search for 'lethal' baby star eruptionsYoung stars—just like young humans—are prone to temper flares. But star flares can incinerate everything around them, including the atmospheres of nearby planets starting to form. |
 | Study offers more complete view of massive asteroid PsycheA new study authored by Southwest Research Institute planetary scientist Dr. Tracy Becker discusses several new views of the asteroid 16 Psyche, including the first ultraviolet observations. The study, which was published today in The Planetary Science Journal and presented at the virtual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences, paints a clearer view of the asteroid than was previously available. |
 | The magnetic fields of the jellyfish galaxy JO206An international team of astronomers has gained new insights into the physical conditions prevailing in the gas tail of so-called jellyfish galaxies. They are particularly interested in the parameters that lead to the formation of new stars in the tail outside the galaxy disk. They analyzed, for example, the strength and orientation of the magnetic fields in the galaxy JO206. |
 | OSIRIS-REx spacecraft goes for early stow of asteroid sampleNASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is ready to perform an early stow on Tuesday, Oct. 27, of the large sample it collected last week from the surface of the asteroid Bennu to protect and return as much of the sample as possible. |
 | About 3% of Starlink satellites have failed so farSpaceX has drawn plenty of praise and criticism with the creation of Starlink, a constellation that will one day provide broadband internet access to the entire world. To date, the company has launched over 800 satellites and (as of this summer) is producing them at a rate of about 120 a month. There are even plans to have a constellation of 42,000 satellites in orbit before the decade is out. |
 | SpaceX starship passes static fire test with three raptor engines, finally gets nose coneIt's beginning to look like SpaceX will attempt to make the 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) hop test before Christmas. After two successful 150-meter (~500 foot) hops with the SN5 and SN6 prototypes, engineers at SpaceX's Boca Chica launch facility in South Texas rolled out the SN8—the first Starship prototype to have three Raptor engines. But before the SN8 can conduct a high-altitude test flight, the engineers needed to run a static fire test. |
Technology news
 | Capacitivo: A contact-sensitive technique that can be used to make smart tableclothsA team of researchers at Dartmouth College, working with Microsoft Corp., has developed a contact-sensitive object-recognition technique called Capacitivo for creating interactive fabrics. In their paper published on the ACM digital library site for the upcoming User Interface Software and Technology Conference, the group describes their technique and how well the prototype they built worked when tested. |
 | Facebook demands academics disable ad-targeting data toolAcademics, journalists and First Amendment lawyers are rallying behind New York University researchers in a showdown with Facebook over its demand that they halt the collection of data showing who is being micro-targeted by political ads on the world's dominant social media platform. |
 | Team examines operating limits in solid-state batteries to improve driving range of electric vehiclesThere is huge momentum toward adoption of battery electric vehicles primarily because performances are meeting or exceeding the properties of traditional automobiles. Consumers want electric vehicles that have similar driving range (energy density) and charging styles and times (power density) to gasoline powered vehicles. |
 | AI improves control of robot armsMore than one million American adults use wheelchairs fitted with robot arms to help them perform everyday tasks such as dressing, brushing their teeth, and eating. But the robotic devices now on the market can be hard to control. Removing a food container from a refrigerator or opening a cabinet door can take a long time. And using a robot to feed yourself is even harder because the task requires fine manipulation. |
 | A blast of gas for better solar cellsTreating silicon with carbon dioxide gas in plasma processing brings simplicity and control to a key step for making solar cells. |
 | Dog training methods help teach robots to learn new tricksWith a training technique commonly used to teach dogs to sit and stay, Johns Hopkins University computer scientists showed a robot how to teach itself several new tricks, including stacking blocks. With the method, the robot, named Spot, was able to learn in days what typically takes a month. |
 | How to figure out what you don't knowIncreasingly, biologists are turning to computational modeling to make sense of complex systems. In neuroscience, researchers are adapting the kinds of algorithms used to forecast the weather or filter spam from your email to seek insight into how the brain's neural networks process information. |
 | Dubai introduces facial recognition on public transportDubai is introducing a facial recognition system on public transport to beef up security, officials said Sunday, as the emirate prepares to host the global Expo exhibition. |
 | Motorists' smartphones may help keep highways safeMotorists with smartphones could help highway chiefs maintain road quality by sending "crowdsourced" data from their mobiles that would allow engineers to assess when carriageway repairs are needed, according to a new study. |
 | Powering the future: new insights into how alkali-metal doped flexible solar cells work"When eco-friendly, inexpensive, versatile, and efficient solar cells are developed, all thermal and nuclear power plants will disappear, and solar cells installed over the ocean or in outer space will power our world," says Professor Dong-Seon Lee of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in Korea. His highly optimistic view of the future mirrors the visions of many researchers involved in the effort to improve solar cells. |
 | Working to extend battery life in smartphones, electric carsA University of Central Florida researcher is working to make portable devices and electric vehicles stay charged longer by extending the life of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries powering them. |
 | Bridges with limb-inspired architecture can withstand earthquakes, cut repair costsStructural damage to any of the nation's ailing bridges can come with a hefty price of billions of dollars in repairs. New bridge designs promise more damage-resistant structures and, consequently, lower restoration costs. But if these designs haven't been implemented in the real world, predicting how they can be damaged and what repair strategies should be implemented remain unresolved. |
 | From beekeepers to ocean mappers, Lobe aims to make it easy for anyone to train machine learning modelsSean Cusack has been a backyard beekeeper for 10 years and a tinkerer for longer. That's how he and an entomologist friend got talking about building an early warning system to alert hive owners to potentially catastrophic threats. |
You can get a 3-D printed studio (yes, a printed apartment) for just over $100KA tiny California start-up is looking to printers to solve the housing crisis—actually, a very large 3-D printer. | |
 | Facebook takes mobile games into the cloudFacebook on Monday put its spin on cloud gaming by letting players instantly hop into an array of mobile games at the social network without downloading apps—but won't be offering the service for Apple iOS devices. |
 | Big week for Big Tech as earnings, hearings loomBig Tech is bracing for a tumultuous week marked by quarterly results likely to show resilience despite the pandemic, and fresh attacks from lawmakers ahead of the November 3 election. |
 | Lee Kun-Hee, force behind Samsung's rise, dies at 78Lee Kun-Hee, the ailing Samsung Electronics chairman who transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics, has died. He was 78. |
 | Airlines suffering from business class blues in age of COVIDThe COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in the era of video meetings. But can Zoom really replace in-person meetings that require business executives to travel? |
 | German software giant SAP trims outlook on virus woesGerman software giant SAP on Sunday downgraded its outlook for 2020, saying a resurgence in coronavirus cases would weigh on demand from "hard hit" customers. |
 | US insists on need to ban TikTokUS President Donald Trump's administration has insisted on the need to ban TikTok due to national security concerns in a new court filing ahead of a plan to make the video app unavailable on November 12. |
 | Chinese fintech could shatter records with $35B share offerThe world's largest fintech company, China's Ant Group, will try to raise nearly $35 billion in a massive public offering of stock that would shatter records. |
 | Lufthansa says 30,000 jobs at risk over pandemicGermany's Lufthansa has warned that 30,000 jobs are under threat as it scaled down its winter schedule to levels not seen since the 1970s as demand for travel collapses because of the coronavirus pandemic. |
 | New control architecture defends complex interconnected systems against cyberattacksResearchers have developed a novel control architecture that defends complex, interconnected systems previously vulnerable to cyberattacks. Details were published in IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica. |
 | Sorry, but you need to upgrade your phone every year nowYou may not like what I'm going to say, so let me just spit (type) it out: |
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