Science News Roundup: Bezos' large lunar lander, Smart caption glasses, Physics Nobel


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 04-10-2018 04:49 IST | Created: 04-10-2018 02:29 IST
Science News Roundup: Bezos' large lunar lander, Smart caption glasses, Physics Nobel

Bezos' space company designing a large lunar lander

Jeff Bezos' space company is in the conceptual design phase of a large lunar lander that it says will provide reusable access to the moon's surface and its resources, Blue Origin said on Wednesday. The lander is part of Blue Origin's broader mission of enabling a future in which millions of people live and work in space, the company said.

Smart caption glasses refocus the action for deaf playgoers

For all his adult life keen theatregoer Tim Hardy, who is partially deaf, has watched plays with a torch in his hand and a script on his lap so he can follow what's being said on stage. But from Wednesday he'll be able to swap those props for a pair of augmented reality glasses that, by displaying subtitles in real time, will let him focus fully on the action.

Trio wins chemistry Nobel for work on antibody drugs, smart enzymes

Two Americans and a Briton won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday for harnessing the power of evolution to generate novel proteins used in everything from environmentally friendly detergents to cancer drugs. The fruits of this work include the world's top-selling prescription medicine -- the antibody injection Humira sold by AbbVie for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

Physics Nobel for laser pioneers includes the first woman in 55 years

A trio of American, French and Canadian scientists won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physics on Tuesday for breakthroughs in laser technology that have turned light beams into precision tools for everything from eye surgery to micro-machining. They include the first female physics prize winner in 55 years.

In a surprise, first alien moon discovered is big and gaseous

Astronomers have pinpointed what appears to be the first moon detected outside our solar system, a large gaseous world the size of Neptune that is unlike any other known moon and orbits a gas planet much more massive than Jupiter. The discovery, detailed by researchers on Wednesday, was a surprise, and not because it showed that moons exist elsewhere - they felt it was only a matter of time for one to be found in another star system. They were amazed instead by how different this moon was from the roughly 180 known in our solar system.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)

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