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Stories
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Starship's 10th flight breaks streak of bad luck
After a series of failures during recent test flights, SpaceX's massive Starship had a smooth ride for Tuesday's blast-off, and successfully deployed some fake satellites.
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SpaceX postpones 10th test launch of massive Starship rocket
SpaceX wants to put the two-stage rocket's massive booster through its paces. On Sunday, it postponed the launch "to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems."
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Artificial light has essentially lengthened birds' day
Millions of audio recordings of hundreds of bird species have revealed that artificial light is making the birds wake up earlier and go to bed later.
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Who made these knotted records during the Inca Empire?
Inca society kept records by encoding information into knotted cords called khipu. A new analysis of hair woven into these cords suggests this record-keeping was practiced by commoners as well as elites.
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A planet from the Avatar movies may exist in real life
One of the brightest stars in the night sky seems to be orbited by a planet like Jupiter. The news is sure to cheer fans of the Avatar series, which centers on a moon that orbits a fictional gas giant planet in this particular star system.
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Study finds female mountain gorillas prefer to join 'buddies'
A long-term study of mountain gorillas finds that when female gorillas move into a new group, they pick one that contains buddies they've lived with before.
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Don't wait for the Perseids in August — look for meteors this week
A bright moon will make it hard to see the Perseid meteor shower in mid-August, but one night this week offers a decent chance of seeing some shooting stars.
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Scientists study how people would react to a neurotic robot personality in real life
Neurotic robots are a staple of science fiction. One study recently found that neurotic traits in a robot can make them seem more relatable.
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People like extroverted robots — but they relate to the neurotic ones
Neurotic personalities are a staple of science fiction. Researchers who study how people react to robot personalities have recently found that neurotic traits in a robot can make them seem more relatable.
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Neurotic robots can be more relatable than extroverted bots, study finds
Neurotic robots are a staple of science fiction. Researchers who study how people react to robot personalities, however, haven't focused on this much -- though one study recently found that neurotic traits in a robot can make them seem more relatable.
