Science Journals
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Two Clusters of stars found on the edge of Milky Way
2015-03-09 16:44:02 UTC
Two clusters of stars have been found in a cloud hovering on the outskirts of the galaxy. Thousands of light-years from the spiral arms of the Milky Way, the clusters are the most distant ever observed in the galaxy, scientists report online February 26 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astrono...
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New evidence: Asteroid's 'bad timing' killed off dinosaurs
2014-07-28 05:24:16 UTC
Dinosaurs might have survived the catastrophic impact that ended their reign had the devastating asteroid that slammed into the Earth arrived at a "more convenient time", a scientist has claimed. As a result humans would probably not exist.
The violent collision 66m years ago, which occurred i...
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Mars: Space agency to test new device over Hawaii
2014-06-02 15:48:33 UTC
The skies off the Hawaiian island of Kauai will be a stand-in for Mars as Nasa prepares to launch a saucer-shaped vehicle in an experimental flight designed to land heavy loads on the red planet.
For decades, robotic landers and rovers have hitched a ride to Earth's planetary neighbour using t...
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Brain Injury Releases Astonishing Mathematical Powers
2014-05-13 07:42:11 UTC
When two thugs bashed Jason Padgett outside a bar they weren't trying to release skills he never knew he had, less still conduct one of the most groundbreaking neuroscience experiments of the century. But as it turned out, that's what they did. Hopefully the events will never be repeated, but the...
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Stephen Hawking-The implications of artificial intelligence
2014-05-05 18:43:31 UTC
Stephen Hawking: 'Transcendence looks at the implications of artificial intelligence - but are we taking AI seriously enough?'
With the Hollywood blockbuster Transcendence playing in cinemas, with Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman showcasing clashing visions for the future of humanity, it's tempt...
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Black death was not spread by rat fleas
2014-04-01 08:47:21 UTC
Archaeologists and forensic scientists who have examined 25 skeletons unearthed in the Clerkenwell area of London a year ago believe they have uncovered the truth about the nature of the Black Death that ravaged Britain and Europe in the mid-14th century.
Analysis of the bodies and of wills re...
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Our home in space, the Solar System
2014-03-23 07:57:24 UTC
Hello, tiny human! If you needed a quick reminder of how small you are in the universe, just check out this video, created by designer Philipp Dettmer. It'll give you the basic run-down of the solar system: how many moons each planet has, how far apart they are, etc., plus a few fun tid-bits (Sat...
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Behemoth star destroys potential solar systems
2014-03-19 06:58:17 UTC
A massive star in the Orion Nebula is obliterating some planet nurseries while sparing others. Measurements of the dust swirling around Orion’s young stars reveal a zone of destruction near the massive star, one of the brightest in the nebula. Yet despite the carnage, many more planet-building di...
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Do your bit for bumblebees
2014-03-19 06:53:29 UTC
Bumblebee populations are in decline, but scientists don’t have enough data on which bee species live where to target conservation efforts. People throughout North America, armed with smartphones and cameras, can now help find the bumblebees.
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation an...
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Gravitational waves unmask universe just after Big Bang
2014-03-19 07:00:21 UTC
Astronomers have detected the earliest echoes of the Big Bang, confirming a decades-old hypothesis that describes the universe’s ultrafast expansion during its first moments. The findings provide researchers with the first direct measurement of conditions at nearly the instant that cosmic expansi...
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NASA: humans will outsmart dinosaurs
2014-03-10 16:26:03 UTC
An asteroid at least 10km wide may have seen off the dinosaurs 66m years ago, but will humankind be smart enough to avoid a similar fate?
Nasa is working on it. The space agency has spent the last 16 years searching for near-Earth asteroids larger than 1km in size, and claims to have found 98%...
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Hubble Telescope captures shattering asteroid
2014-03-07 02:42:56 UTC
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the first pictures of a disintegrating asteroid.
Asteroid P/2013 R3 was detected in September in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It appeared as a fuzzy object. Further observations by ground telescope...
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Get ready for a cosmic event - Plutopalooza
2014-02-17 04:59:28 UTC
It's time to get cracking on plans for a cosmic event. If all goes according to plan, in July 2015, the New Horizons probe, which was launched on Jan. 19, 2006 with Clyde Tombaugh's ashes on board, will arrive at Pluto.
There was a lot of excitement about that during Tombaugh Day on Feb. 1, ou...
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Indonesian volcano brings life as well as death
2014-02-16 07:19:22 UTC
SIDOMULYO, Indonesia (AP) — The ash and debris that Indonesia's Mount Kelud blasted from its belly brought death and misery, and disrupted international air traffic. But for many of the millions of people cleaning up in the wake of the explosive eruption, it was also a money earner and a shot...
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Methane Leaks from the U.S. natural gas production
2014-02-14 09:44:08 UTC
WASHINGTON — The sign is ubiquitous on city buses around the country: “This bus runs on clean burning natural gas.”
But a surprising new report, to be published Friday in the journal Science, concludes that switching buses and trucks from traditional diesel fuel to natural gas could actually h...
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New research shows how circumbinary planets form
2014-02-01 10:38:58 UTC
One planet, two stars: New research shows how circumbinary planets form.
Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine would have formed far from its current location in the Star Wars universe, a new University of Bristol study into its real world counterparts, observed by the Kepler space telescope,...
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Exceptionally close stellar explosion discovered
2014-01-27 19:25:02 UTC
An exceptionally close stellar explosion discovered on Jan. 21 has become the focus of observatories around and above the globe, including several NASA spacecraft. The blast, designated SN 2014J, occurred in the galaxy M82 and lies only about 12 million light-years away. This makes it the nearest...
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Ocean water may reach upper mantle through deep sea faults
2014-02-01 10:39:53 UTC
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shown that deep sea fault zones could transport much larger amounts of water from Earth's oceans to the upper mantle than previously thought.
Water is carried mantle by deep sea fault zones which penetrate the oceanic plate as it bends into the su...
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One Step at a Time, Researchers Learning How Humans Walk
2014-01-19 10:35:25 UTC
Humans and some of our hominid ancestors such as Homo erectus have been walking for more than a million years, and researchers are close to figuring out how we do it.
It's never been completely clear how human beings accomplish the routine, taken-for-granted miracle we call walking, let alone ...
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Chimps Can Use Gestures to Communicate in Hunt for Food
2014-01-19 10:31:01 UTC
Remember the children's game "warmer/colder," where one person uses those words to guide the other person to a hidden toy or treat? Well, it turns out that chimpanzees can play, too.
Researchers at Georgia State University's Language Research Center examined how two language-trained chimpanzee...
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Male Honey Bees More Susceptible Than Females
2014-02-01 10:41:11 UTC
Gender differences in nature are common, including in humans. A research team from Bern, Switzerland has found that male European honey bees, or drones, are much more susceptible than female European honey bees, known as workers, to a fungal intestinal parasite called Nosema ceranae. Originally f...
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Key Proteins Identified Responsible for Electrical Communication in Heart
2014-01-14 08:32:58 UTC
Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute researchers have found that six proteins -- five more than previously thought -- are responsible for cell-to-cell communication that regulates the heart and plays a role in limiting the size of heart attacks and strokes.
The smallest of these proteins directs the l...
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Bacteria Seed Ocean With Nutrient-Rich Packets
2014-01-13 10:35:30 UTC
The most abundant photosynthetic organism in the world sheds countless little sacs into the oceans, which could be having a dramatic impact on marine ecosystems, according to a new study. These microbial buds contain proteins and genetic material, which may influence the growth of other marine mi...
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The True Color of Ancient Sea Creatures
2014-01-12 09:55:22 UTC
Looking a bit like a dolphin, but with a long slim snout filled with pointy teeth, one species of ichthyosaur was practically invisible in the murky depths of Jurassic seas, thanks to dark pigmentation that covered its entire body. That’s one conclusion of a new study that provides an unprecedent...
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Bacteria Lay Out Welcome Mat for Tubeworms
2014-01-12 09:49:23 UTC
Although they remain firmly attached to rocks on the sea floor and other surfaces for most of their lives, ocean-dwelling tubeworms spend their early days as free-swimming larvae, looking for a place to call home. A key factor in their decision to latch on somewhere is the presence of certain bac...