It’s been busily orbiting and observing Jupiter and its moons for four years now, but the scientific spacecraft Juno still has some surprises to share. For the first time, it has imaged the north pole of one of the oddest objects in the Solar System, Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. There, the constant rain of plasma from
The United States accused Russia on Thursday of test-firing an anti-satellite weapon in space, warning that the threat against Washington’s systems was “real, serious and increasing.” US Space Command “has evidence” that Moscow “conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon” on July 15, it said in a statement. “Last week’s test is another
A massive survey of the world’s coral reefs has turned up a shocking decline in the populations of reef sharks. Over a three year period, almost no sharks at all were recorded at 19 percent of the reefs being monitored, meaning the predators are “functionally extinct” in up to eight nations. The cause is likely
Scattered through the genomes of humans around the world we can find remnants of a Neanderthal ancestry. In some, this bestows resilience to illness, or even a unique head shape. A rare few, it seems, have inherited the Neanderthals‘ sensitive side. Evolutionary geneticists have taken a close look at a genetic variation in Neanderthal DNA
A new DNA study published Thursday sheds fresh light on the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, from the legacy of rape that can be seen in today’s genetics to how disease likely decimated some groups forced to work in deadly conditions. For example, DNA from one African region may be under-represented in the US
China launched a rover to Mars on Thursday, a journey coinciding with a similar US mission as the powers take their rivalry into deep space. The two countries are taking advantage of a period when Earth and Mars are favourably aligned for a short journey, with the US spacecraft due to lift off on July
We humans are a rowdy, disruptive bunch. Our very day-to-day living causes the planet to hum. Quite literally – driving and travelling, digging and construction, industry, and even sports events all contribute to a constant background hum of high-frequency seismic noise. Now, thanks to global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is experiencing the
As scientists scramble to figure out where exactly the coronavirus pandemic emerged, other virologists are still chasing the origins of another once-devastating disease – smallpox. Now, they’ve found viral DNA of an ancient strain of smallpox in Viking Age archaeological remains from northern Europe. The samples, dated at the earliest to 603 CE, provide definitive
When we peer out into intergalactic space, evidence for dark matter is everywhere. It’s in the rotation of galaxies, which cannot be accounted for by observable matter alone. It’s in the way galaxies cluster together, and the path of light as it travels through the Universe. We can’t see dark matter directly, but the effects
Scientists have, for the first time, discovered an active leak of methane gas from the sea floor in Antarctica. It is a process that’s likely to accelerate the process of global heating. The finding was published in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the Royal Society B scientific journal on Tuesday. Methane is powerful greenhouse gas that accelerates climate
Tools excavated from a cave in central Mexico are strong evidence that humans were living in North America at least 30,000 years ago, some 15,000 years earlier than previously thought, scientists said Wednesday. Artefacts, including 1,900 stone tools, showed human occupation of the high-altitude Chiquihuite Cave over a roughly 20,000 year period, they reported in
Antarctica is known for its remote and pristine wilderness, as one of the last intact expanses of land on our planet. But after just two centuries of exploration, new research has found there are very few parts of this icy continent that have never been touched by humans. While 99.6 percent of Antarctica can still
The answers to many questions in astronomy are hidden behind the veil of deep time. One of those questions is around the role that supernovae played in the early Universe. It was the job of early supernovae to forge the heavier elements that were not forged in the Big Bang. How did that process play out?
On 15 July 2020, what looked like your typical dry waterway was engulfed by a sickening dust puffing black sludge, reminiscent of the villainous cartoon toxin, Hexxus from FernGully: The Last Rainforest. The Cañada del Oro Wash in Arizona became choked with this monstrosity – known as a sediment slug - after what officials said was a minor storm,
If doomsday comes, know this: precautions have been taken. On an isolated Arctic archipelago, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault – aka Norway’s ‘Doomsday Vault’ – holds over 1 million seed samples in a fortress-like bunker designed to be the most invulnerable seed bank in the world. Svalbard protects more than just seeds, though. On the
Just over 300 light-years away is a star that’s a lot like a very young version of our Sun, with multiple exoplanets orbiting it. That’s an interesting find in itself. But what makes the system truly dazzling is that it just became the first of its kind to be directly imaged, planets and all. On
Dogs have an enviable sense of direction. Even in a completely unfamiliar place, our pets have an uncanny way of tracking down a shortcut. For the first time, Czech scientists have found evidence that canines can sense and navigate using Earth’s weak magnetic field. Exactly how they do this and to what extent is still
In ancient Greece, several hundred years before the common era and long before the invention of wheelchairs, some holy sanctuaries may have been specially designed with disability in mind. While ramps were not particularly common in the fourth century BCE, ancient healing temples are often ringed by these permanent stone structures. Archaeologist Debby Sneed from California
We all know what goosebumps are, but why have we evolved to hang on to this seemingly pointless physical reaction to the cold? New research suggests an answer: regulating stem cells that control hair follicles and hair growth. In a detailed analysis of mice, scientists found that the specific muscles that contract when goosebumps appear
When sinkholes open up on land, it’s terrifying. In an instant, they can swallow whatever’s on top of them, whether that’s a road, a landscape, or an ancient creature destined to not see the light of day again for millennia. Sinkholes aren’t just confined to land, though. A similar phenomenon also takes place in the
How did Earth’s tectonic plates form? You’d think this would be an easy question to answer, considering we’re now trying to nail down the specifics of when it happened, and whether there’s tectonic activity on the Moon. But our knowledge on how this planetary mechanism came to be is surprisingly scant. Researchers from China, Hong Kong,
For years, scientists have been gripped by the existence of a strange anomaly weakening Earth’s magnetic field. It’s located in the midst of the South Atlantic ocean, extending all the way from South America to the west coast of southern Africa. This giant, puzzling expanse of reduced magnetic intensity – which in recent times looks
Climate change is starving polar bears into extinction, according to research published Monday that predicts the apex carnivores could all but disappear within the span of a human lifetime. In some regions they are already caught in a vicious downward spiral, with shrinking sea ice cutting short the time bears have for hunting seals, scientists
Humans have turned the building of spaces into an art form, but we’re not the only species with such dazzling achievements. A particular genus of Southeast Asian and Australian stingless bee really takes that idea to another level, creating spiral beehives that rival New York’s Guggenheim. We know bees are smart, but it’s been a bit
Astrophysicists on Monday published the largest-ever 3D map of the Universe, the result of an analysis of more than 4 million galaxies and ultra-bright, energy-packed quasars. The efforts of hundreds of scientists from around 30 institutions worldwide have yielded a “complete story of the expansion of the Universe”, said Will Percival of the University of
The question of when human settlers first arrived in North America is not an easy one to answer, but archaeologists now have another piece of useful evidence to work from – a new study of 14,000-year-old poop. Found in the well-known Paisley Caves in Oregon, the faeces add to the growing consensus that human history
The planet Venus is scorching hot beneath its suffocatingly thick atmosphere, much of its surface shaped by the surges and flows of volcanic activity. Nevertheless, planetary geologists have been unable to find hard evidence that the planet remains volcanically active. Well, we just got some of the best evidence yet. Venus has plenty of volcanic
Some Salmonella bacteria strains have found a way of evading plant defences and sneaking their way into leafy greens – a strategy that’s effective enough to protect them against plant immune systems and from being washed off in the kitchen. It’s a classic trojan horse manoeuvre that’s both deeply worrying and impressive in its ingenuity:
A changing climate doesn’t just affect the weather. Entire ecosystems are forced to change, often leading to dramatic shifts in local environments, which can be challenging – even fatal – for species that depend on those ecosystems. But the hunter-gatherer humans who lived in Patagonia between 6,500 and 2,500 years ago rolled with the punches.
Comet NEOWISE – a glowing ball of space ice with two colourful tails – has starred in countless photos as it streaks through the skies across the Northern Hemisphere this week. On Tuesday, three cosmic co-stars joined it, making for an astonishing spectacle. The image above shows a split-second meteor streaking across the sky, the
The first Arab space mission to Mars blasted off Monday aboard a rocket from Japan, after weather delays set back the launch of the probe dubbed ‘Hope’. A live feed of the launch showed the rocket carrying the uncrewed probe, known as “Al-Amal” in Arabic, lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan.
We might have a problem with our roads: researchers have discovered that sunlight and rain might be able to turn certain compounds in asphalt into a potentially dangerous hydrocarbons, threating the surrounding environment and people using these routes. In particular, it’s the binder (also called asphalt cement) that’s the problem. This heavy, black glue is
Emissions of methane – a planet-warming gas several times more potent than carbon dioxide – have risen by nine percent in a decade driven by humanity’s insatiable hunger for energy and food, a major international study concluded Wednesday. Methane (CH4) has a warming potential 28 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period and its
You’d think at least 184 million years of evolution on entirely separate continents would be enough to make two species of fish sexually incompatible. That was the assumption scientists in Hungary were going on when they placed sperm from an American paddlefish near eggs from a Russian sturgeon in the lab. The idea was to
As exciting and thrilling as it is to watch all the historic footage from the Apollo Moon landings, you have to admit, the quality is sometimes not all that great. Even though NASA has worked on restoring and enhancing some of the most popular Apollo footage, some of it is still grainy or blurry. But
Researchers have discovered a neural overlap between human and machine that helps to explain why what we see in our mind’s eye is different to the information being processed by our actual eyes when we’re peering at something in reality. With the help of an fMRI scanner and an artificial neural network – an AI
Ever wondered what space smells like? Well, according to those that have been, it’s a bit burned, a little like gunpowder, has some rum notes, and, if you’re astronaut Tony Antonelli, it’s “a smell that’s different than anything else.” Back in 2008, NASA actually talked with a chemist and director of a fragrance company Steven Pearce to
Millions of working parents have spent months largely trapped in their homes with their children. Many are trying to get their jobs done remotely in the constant presence of their kids, and they are desperate for some peace and quiet. Many mothers and fathers have sought any available remedy that would enable them to do
When magma comes out of the Earth onto the surface, it flows as lava. Those lava flows are fascinating to watch, and they leave behind some unique landforms and rocks. But a lot of what’s fascinating about these flows can be hidden underground, as lava tubes. These lava tubes are turning out to be a
Drastically reducing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) we’re pumping into the atmosphere is the best way of tackling our climate crisis, but soaking up CO2 could make a huge difference as well – and scientists have found one way to significantly boost the amount of CO2 that crops are able to absorb. The trick is
A heatwave in Siberia that saw temperature records tumble as the region sweltered in 38-degree Celsius highs was “almost impossible” without the influence of human-made climate change, leading scientists said. An international team of researchers found that the record-breaking warm period was more than 2 degrees Celsius hotter than it would have been if humans
It’s not unusual for people to panic over their star signs. But every few years or so, poor old NASA has to explain to the internet that no, they haven’t suddenly changed your zodiac from Sagittarius to Scorpio – nor should this change who you are as a person. Astronomers don’t even have that power.
Every now and again, some dead stars called pulsars do something quite odd. They sort of hiccup, making an abrupt acceleration in their rotation speed before – usually – gradually slowing to normal. We’re not sure what causes them; astronomers believe it is some sort of internal process, such as starquakes, or the unpinning of
If we’re going to get serious about long-term space voyages, then being able to patch up injuries will be essential – and that’s no longer a far-off concept. A cosmonaut on board the International Space Station just engineered human cartilage in the microgravity of space for the first time. Bioprinters that can produce human tissue
Neowise is the first bright comet to be visible with the naked eye from the Northern Hemisphere since the mid-1990s. Another thing that makes this comet interesting is that it has a relatively long orbital period, meaning it was only discovered a few months ago. Halley’s comet, for example, takes about 75 years to return
Similar to orcas and pilot whales, the enigmatic beluga whale has long been assumed to live out their lives in pods based around close maternal ties. But new research shows their social structures go far beyond sibling quid-pro-quo. By combining DNA profiling with mathematical network analysis, researchers have found belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) across the Arctic hang
Black holes don’t glow – in fact, they’re famous for doing the opposite. But if they’re actively devouring material from the space around them, that material can blaze like a billion X-ray Suns. And for the first time, astronomers have now seen that blaze mysteriously snuffed out, before gradually returning to brightness. The supermassive black
Russian prosecutors on Wednesday said they were conducting an inspection of a facility supposed to treat acid runoff from an abandoned Urals mine after photographs emerged of streams running orange. Drone footage uploaded last week by an Instagram travel blogger showed a bright-orange landscape near the disused copper-sulphide mine close to the village of Lyovikha
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