October 2020 - Science News

Researchers decipher the secret ingredients of ancient Egyptian ink

An analysis of 12 ancient papyrus fragments has revealed some surprising details about how the Egyptians mixed their red and

The mystery of the platypus deepens with the discovery of its biofluorescent fur

Scientists are seeing the Australian platypus in a whole new light. Under an ultraviolet lamp, this bizarre-looking creature appears even

Scientists in Japan just found a Detailed Record of Earth’s Last Magnetic Switcharoo

Every 200,000 to 300,000 years, Earth’s magnetic poles reverse. What was once the north pole becomes the south, and vice

Insects play a key (and also icky role) in decomposition by turning corpses into bones

It’s that time of the year when skeletons, skulls, and bones have found their way onto cookies, porches, and storefront

Underground fungal colonies act as aid networks for some older trees, scientists find

Scientists have examined the relationship between forest fungi and mature trees in greater detail than ever before. Turns out the

This 3D-printed tugboat is smaller than a human hair, but it represents so much more

Imagine, if you will, a microscopic submarine, motoring around inside your blood vessels, delivering medicine, or perhaps performing surgery all

50-million-year-old foot fossil may belong to the largest bird that ever flew

Earth’s past has served up some super-sized beasties – from mega sharks to giant wombats. Birds are no exception. Palaeontologists

To avoid an ‘era of pandemics,’ we must protect nature, UN warns

Future pandemics will happen more often, kill more people, and wreak even worse damage to the global economy than COVID-19

There could be at least 300 million potentially habitable worlds in the Milky Way

There are many unanswered questions about our place in the Universe. Why are we here? What is the likelihood of

Our canine best friends were surprisingly diverse already 11,000 years ago

Humans and dogs have shared a long and beautiful relationship, but the story of how we got together has been

NASA’s leaking asteroid sample is finally secure! Now to get it back to Earth

NASA said Thursday its robotic spacecraft Osiris-Rex was able to stow a rock and dust sample scooped up from the

Trump administration just ended gray wolf protections against advice of scientists

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday removed endangered species protections for the gray wolf, paving the way for the

The Philae lander has revealed ‘one final mystery’ from beyond its cometary grave

Philae has been dead for years. Its last transmission was received in July 2015; now, its unresponsive form rests under

Astronomers Discovered 39 New Gravitational Wave Events In Just Six Months

A little over five years ago, humanity was yet to detect gravitational waves. Now, observations are pouring in at an

Fireball meteorite that struck Michigan reveals ancient extraterrestrial compounds

A meteorite that landed on a frozen lake in 2018 contains thousands of organic compounds that formed billions of years

The shape of Greenland’s coast is rapidly changing as it loses record levels of ice

Rapid melt is reshaping coastal Greenland, potentially altering the human and animal ecosystems along the country’s coast. New research published in

Scientists are freaking out over the first-ever footage of this bizarre squid

Ram’s horn shells are small, delicate spiral structures beachcombers can commonly find throughout the world. Yet despite their ubiquity, the original owners

Colossal reef discovered off Australia’s coast is taller than Empire State Building

Scientists have discovered a new detached coral reef at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef – and it

Octopuses can taste you with their arms. Here’s how that’s possible

With strange smarts, shifting skin, and squishy bodies powered by three hearts, octopuses can get up to all sorts of

Lightning ‘Sprites’ Have Been Detected on Jupiter For The First Time, NASA Says

NASA’s Juno spacecraft just captured images of colourful bursts of lightning-like electricity high in Jupiter’s atmosphere. These phenomena, which include

Melting time crystals could help us model complex networks like the human brain

Passing electricity through a piece of quartz crystal generates a pulse you can literally set your watch by. Set a time

‘Weird’ molecule detected on Titan has never been found in any atmosphere

Titan, the already pretty weird moon of Saturn, just got a little bit weirder. Astronomers have detected cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in

Even Vampire Bats Socially Distance Themselves When They Feel Sick

Bats have long endured a bad reputation, even before COVID-19 emerged. These highly mobile creatures that live in clustered colonies

Ice loss will trigger increased warming in a vicious feedback loop, study warns

The loss of billions of tonnes of ice from Earth’s frozen spaces is likely to increase global temperatures by an

Psychologists found the personality trait that makes it hardest to endure lockdown

To help defeat – or at least contain – COVID-19, people all over the world have been told to stay

Giant Asteroid Survivor of Failed Planet Discovered to Be Slowly Rusting in Space

Roughly two to three times Earth’s distance from the Sun, in the Asteroid Belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter,

Two-headed snake discovered in Florida reveals rare natural phenomenon

What has two brains, no legs and the best profile pic on Facebook? That would be this rare, two-headed racer snake recently

Astronomers peer into the atmosphere of a rare exoplanet that ‘shouldn’t exist’

The discovery of the extraordinary exoplanet LTT 9779b was first announced a month ago. Just 260 light-years away, the planet was

Extreme ‘Black Widow’ Star Identified as Source of Mystery Gamma Radiation

For more than two decades, astronomers have been systematically tracing mystery sources of high-energy gamma rays to their sources. One, however,

Scientists Just Reported The First Unambiguous Detection of Water on The Moon

It’s official. There’s water on the Moon. We’ve thought that there was for over a decade, based on detections described

Weird structures found to be ancient leftovers of violent Milky Way collision

In 2005 astronomers found a dense grouping of stars in the Virgo constellation. It looked like a star cluster, except

These Tiny, Little-Winged Dinosaurs Were Probably Worse at Flying Than Chickens

The discovery of two small dinosaurs with bat-like wings a few years ago was a palaeontologist’s dream. Just how flight

The first nest of giant ‘murder hornets’ discovered in the US has been eradicated

Agricultural department workers wearing protective suits have eradicated the first nest of giant “murder hornets” discovered in the United States,

Your dreams are more complex depending on what stage of sleep you’re in, study finds

The quality and complexity of dreams appear to change with our stages of sleep, according to a new analysis. Before

Monkeys may have self-domesticated just like humans did, study suggests

Monkeys, much like humans, could be engaged in the process of self-domesticating themselves, altering the course of their own evolution

125-year study of chess matches suggests we don’t peak at the game until our 30s

There comes a time in everyone’s life when the brain and the body reach their peak before age begins to

The BepiColombo probe just took a ridiculously close video of Venus as it flew by

Two years after it left Earth, Mercury probe BepiColombo has completed the first of its first flybys of Venus. The

Earth’s volatile environment 320,000 years ago helped make humans so adaptable

People thrive all across the globe, at every temperature, altitude, and landscape. How did human beings become so successful at

New research shows the best way to express gratitude to your loved one, and it’s easy

A new psychology study investigating the best way to say ‘thank you’ has now offered a few preliminary tips for

NASA probe has collected a bit too much asteroid dust and is now leaking its treasure

NASA said Friday that its robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx had succeeded in collecting a large sample of particles from the Bennu

Naked mole rats have been caught kidnapping other mole rat babies, and it gets creepier

Naked mole rats are beloved for having some of the strangest mammalian superpowers. They can resist cancers, defy the usual

An ancient Maya city had a surprisingly effective water filtration system

Water is essential for basic human survival. But it can also be dangerous; contaminated water can spread deadly diseases that

Medieval church ruins found with ‘witch marks’ removed for a high-speed rail

Learning no lessons from horror films of yore, Britain has plans for a high-speed rail project that will lay tracks

Just like humans, chimps focus on high-quality friendships in old age

When it comes to friendships, people are known to become more selective with age. It turns out the same is

Special Type of DNA in Owl Eyes May Be a ‘Lens’ That Supercharges Night Vision

Owls are one of the rare avian predators that catch their prey by night, and new research suggests that there’s

For the first time, astronomers see plumes of sulfur dioxide from the volcanoes of Io

For the first time, astronomers have seen clear evidence of plumes of toxic volcanic gas erupting forth from the volcanoes

Wild pandas have been caught mating on film for the first time – and it’s not pretty

Our love of pandas has helped these cute and fuzzy giants bounce back from dwindling numbers. But despite all the

You’ve heard of Vantablack. Scientists just created ‘super white’, and it’s very cool

Scientists have created a super white paint that is the yin to Vantablack’s yang. While ultra black materials can today