How Can a Locomotive Pull a Long Train That’s Much Heavier?

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For railroads, it’s all about managing static and kinetic friction.

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SpaceX launches 15,000-pound TV satellite to orbit on its 30th mission of the year (photos, video)

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 15,000-pound EchoStar XXV TV satellite to orbit from Florida’s Space Coast just after midnight on Tuesday (March 10).

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NASA’s asteroid-smashing DART spacecraft hit so hard, it changed its target space rocks’ orbit around the sun

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The mission without a doubt proves that we could deflect a hazardous asteroid away from Earth — so long as we discover it in the nick of time.

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Incoming! 1,300-pound NASA satellite will crash to Earth on March 10

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NASA’s Van Allen Probe A will crash to Earth on Tuesday (March 10) after nearly 14 years in orbit, according to the Space Force’s current best estimate. But don’t panic; you’ll probably be fine.

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Mushroom Pool: The subtle spring with the spectacular story

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Mushroom Pool is nondescript in appearance, but its impacts on microbiology and on how research is done in Yellowstone National Park have been profound.

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NASA’s DART asteroid smash shows we could deflect a future threat

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When NASA’s DART spacecraft deliberately crashed into the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, it did more than change the asteroid’s local orbit — it slightly shifted the path of the entire asteroid pair around the Sun. The impact blasted debris into space, doubling the force of the spacecraft’s hit and nudging the system’s solar orbit by a…

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A New Framework to Minimize Costs and Maximize the Benefits of Biodiversity in Land Restoration

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A new CASC supported framework aims to help land managers prioritize sites for restoration by evaluating biodiversity benefits, species’ historical and future habitats, climate projections, and habitat preferences to optimize limited conservation resources while supporting ecosystem resilience.

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2026 William T. Pecora Award Nominations Now Being Accepted

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The William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to individuals or teams using satellite or aerial remote sensing that make outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth (land, oceans, and air), educating the next generation of scientists, informing decision-makers, or supporting natural or human-induced disaster response. Both national and international nominations are welcome.

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Scientists finally solve the mystery of yeast’s tiny centromeres

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Scientists have uncovered how brewer’s yeast developed its unusually tiny centromeres, the DNA regions that guide chromosome separation during cell division. By studying related yeast species, researchers found centromeres that appear to represent evolutionary halfway points. These structures seem to have formed from retrotransposons—mobile “jumping genes” in the genome. The discovery shows how DNA once…

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Scientists found a surprising way to make exercise work better

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Exercise normally boosts the body’s ability to use oxygen, a key marker of health and longevity — but high blood sugar can block that benefit. Researchers found that a ketogenic diet helped mice normalize blood sugar and dramatically improved how their muscles responded to exercise. Their muscles became better at using oxygen and built more…

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