“Two, four, six, eight; bog in, don’t wait”. As children, we learn numbers can either be even or odd. And there are many ways to categorize numbers as even or odd. We may memorize the rule that numbers ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 are odd while numbers ending in 0, 2, 4,
Month: April 2022
Sometimes it takes an animation on Twitter to truly comprehend – or at least begin to comprehend – the amazing diversity of worlds making up our Solar System. Enter planetary astronomer James O’Donoghue from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He tweeted out a brief animation that starts off with the Ceres dwarf planet, and moves
By 2100, we could be heading towards a loss of life in our oceans that rivals some of the largest extinction events in Earth’s history – if we don’t continue to tackle the climate catastrophe, new modeling warns. But “it is not too late to enact the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions needed to avoid
Tiny parasites could be hitchhiking on microplastics floating in the ocean and then hopping to ocean life. Under laboratory conditions, researchers have shown three common germs – Toxoplasma gondii, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium – are more than capable of adhering to synthetic microbeads and microfibers. This may not be happening in the real world, but the
You may recall we reported earlier this month that the Perseverance rover finally spotted its parachute and backshell off in the distance. This is the hardware that safely brought the rover to Mars surface on 18 February 2021. But now, the incredible Ingenuity helicopter has snapped better images of those items, while it was hovering in the
Sending humans virtually anywhere in space beyond the Moon pushes logistics of health, food, and psychology to limits we’re only just beginning to grasp. A staple solution to these problems in science fiction is to simply put the void-travelers to bed for a while. In a sleep-like state akin to hibernation or torpor, metabolism
The definition of a second, the most fundamental unit of time in our current measurement system, hasn’t been updated in more than 70 years (give or take some billionths of a second). But in the next decade or so, that could change: Ultraprecise atomic optical clocks that rely on visible light are on track to set the
The world of particle physics has been on shaky ground lately. For years, researchers have been scrutinizing particles to make sure that the rules we use to explain the Universe hold up – with troublingly inconsistent results. To add to the endeavor, physicists using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have now measured the heaviest known
Something deep in the heart of the Milky Way galaxy is glowing with gamma radiation, and nobody can figure out for sure what it might be. Colliding dark matter has been proposed, ruled out, and then tentatively reconsidered. Dense, rapidly rotating objects called pulsars were also considered as candidate sources of the high-energy rays, before
In two weeks’ time, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is going to present the world with new information about our Milky Way. It’s anyone’s guess what the announcement will be, but based on what we know of their recent efforts, there’s reason to get excited – the results being presented are from the Event Horizon
Researchers have found the broken tooth of one of the largest carnivores ever to stalk the Earth. No, it isn’t T. rex. It isn’t even a dinosaur. Rather, the tooth belongs to a rare and mysterious species of giant ichthyosaur – a flesh-eating marine reptile that patrolled the world’s seas during the late Triassic period, about 205
Picking a breed of dog is usually about more than just looks. If you want a smart and playful pup, some would say a collie is your best choice. Whereas if you’re looking for an outgoing friend for the whole family, a labrador might top your list. Dog breeds have long been defined by certain
The widely used anesthetic propofol has a dramatic effect on the oscillating waves circulating through the brain, a new primate study shows – important findings for understanding more about our bodies under anesthesia, and ensuring it remains safe to use. When we’re conscious, the brain is dominated by higher frequency waves (beta waves) – but
Early risers this month have been treated to an incredible and rare spectacle – the almost perfect alignment of four planets in the night sky. But it’s not over yet! In the early hours of 30 April 2022, we’ll have the chance to see Venus and Jupiter ‘nearly collide‘ as they appear to move incredibly
At least one in five reptile species are threatened with extinction, including more than half of turtles and crocodiles, according to the first major global assessment of the world’s so-called cold-blooded creatures. Catastrophic declines in biodiversity across the world are increasingly seen as a threat to life on Earth – and as important as the
A long-dormant underwater volcano near Antarctica has woken up, triggering a swarm of 85,000 earthquakes. The swarm, which began in August 2020 and subsided by November of that year, is the strongest earthquake activity ever recorded in the region. And the quakes were likely caused by a “finger” of hot magma poking into the crust,
Sometimes, you just feel like you’re more ‘on it’ than normal: you’re in the zone, you’re on the ball, you’re in the flow of whatever it is you’re doing at the time, whether it’s working late in the office or working out at the gym. Now scientists have come up with a mathematical formula that
By exchanging a classical material for one with unique quantum properties, scientists have made a superconducting circuit that’s capable of feats long thought to be impossible. The discovery, made by researchers from Germany, the Netherlands, and the US, overturns a century of thought on the nature of superconducting circuits, and how their currents can be
Europe’s Large Hadron Collider has started up its proton beams again at unprecedented energy levels after going through a three-year shutdown for maintenance and upgrades. It only took a couple of days of tweaking for the pilot streams of protons to reach a record energy level of 6.8 tera electronvolts, or TeV. That exceeds the
We still don’t know just how the first life emerged on Earth. One suggestion is that the building blocks arrived here from space; now, a new study of several carbon-rich meteorites has added weight to this idea. Using new, extremely sensitive analysis techniques for these meteorites, a team led by scientists from Hokkaido University in
The male communal orb-weaving spider Philoponella prominens is a regular relationship ghoster. After a bit of hanky panky with a female, male spiders will abruptly beat a retreat, hurling themselves away from their partner faster than most cameras can record. In the end, though, they usually come crawling back for more. What sounds like a
A gigantic “potentially hazardous” asteroid that may be twice the size of the Empire State Building is set to zoom past Earth Thursday (April 28), according to NASA. The asteroid, named 418135 (2008 AG33), has an estimated diameter between 1,150 and 2,560 feet (350 to 780 meters) and will break into Earth’s orbit at a
Have you ever made a mistake that you wish you could undo? Correcting past mistakes is one of the reasons we find the concept of time travel so fascinating. As often portrayed in science fiction, with a time machine, nothing is permanent anymore – you can always go back and change it. But is time
A new analysis of ancient ceramic pots from 11th–12th century Jerusalem has backed up previous propositions that some of these vessels may have been used as ancient hand grenades during the time of the Crusades. Sphero-conical archaeological artifacts – rounded, with a cone-like base – are found in museums around the world, and have been
Bloodworms are not for the faint-hearted. These fleshy-looking marine tubes might look harmless from a distance, but don’t be deceived. Bloodworms (aka ‘bristle worms’ of the genus Glycera) are carnivores that burrow deep into the mud along the seabed, emerging to grasp prey and competitors in their fearsome jaws that are partially composed of copper
Compared to most places you might wander in the Solar System, Titan – the giant moon of Saturn – is in many ways strangely familiar to Earth. In fact, Titan is the only moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere, providing a number of quasi-Earth-like weather phenomena, such as methane rainfall, which feeds
A restless sunspot threw off a double solar flare Monday (April 25), triggering some radio blackouts over Asia and Australia. The sunspot AR2993 erupted with two M1 flares in quick succession, according to spaceweather.com. Solar flares are eruptions of electromagnetic radiation; M-class flares are moderate-sized flares that can disrupt some radio frequencies and sometimes expose astronauts in
One of the most intriguing features of Mars is the presence of quakes not unlike ones we get on Earth. Since the start of 2019, planetary scientists have been logging these ‘marsquakes’ with a seismometer built into the InSight lander. Now, they’ve detected activity that points to the two largest marsquakes ever put on record. These
Does time exist? The answer to this question may seem obvious: Of course it does! Just look at a calendar or a clock. But developments in physics suggest the non-existence of time is an open possibility, and one that we should take seriously. How can that be, and what would it mean? It’ll take a
Archaeologists in the United Kingdom have uncovered a Roman-era mercenary buried with his sword and a mysterious beheaded skeleton. The Vale of Glamorgan council in Wales hired rubicon Heritage Services to assess a road they wanted to be straightened. It led to the discovery of an extensive trove of archaeological artifacts and hundreds of graves
Attention-grabbing signs that remind drivers of highway mortality can backfire in unexpected ways, according to a new study. When cars in Texas zoom past crash statistics – like ‘1669 deaths this year on Texas roads’ – researchers found drivers are 4.5 percent more likely to get in a crash in the next 10 kilometers (6.21
Many people know modern dogs evolved from the grey wolf. But did you know most of the more than 340 modern dog breeds we have today only emerged within the past 200 years? Dogs were first domesticated during the Neolithic period between 29,000 and 14,000 years ago, and have been closely linked to humans ever
Paleontologists recently announced the discovery of an “exceptionally well preserved” ancient animal near the eastern shore of Lake Simcoe in southern Ontario, Canada, in a stone quarry that is such a hotbed for marine fossils that scientists have dubbed the area “Paleo Pompeii.” Named Tomlinsonus dimitrii, the species represented by the specimen is part of
Tiny crystals of zircon dated to 3.8 billion years ago contain the earliest geochemical evidence yet for plate tectonic activity here on Earth. Isotopes and trace elements preserved in the crystals show evidence that they formed under subduction conditions – when the edge of one tectonic plate slips beneath the edge of the adjacent plate,
In 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the fabled “Ninth Planet” (or “Planet X”) while working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. The existence of this body had been predicted previously based on perturbations in the orbit of Uranus and Neptune. After receiving more than 1,000 suggestions from around the world, and a debate among
Two galaxies locked together in an intricate gravitational dance have created a beautiful illusion in the depths of space. Captured in a new Hubble photo, their interaction has formed a near-symmetrical shape that has given the pair its nickname: the Angel Wing. If you look closely, the object bears an uncanny resemblance to the alarming six-winged
In spite of years of research on various examples of deep-sea crown jelly known as Atolla, the genetic confirmation of a new species is now prompting biologists to redefine at least one of the genus’s key characteristics or, perhaps, create an entirely new genus. Descriptions of the freshly coroneted Atolla reynoldsi have zoologists from the Monterey Bay
The world’s largest particle collider is getting ready to smash atoms harder than ever before. Following a three-year break of scheduled maintenance, upgrades, and pandemic delays, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is preparing to power up for its third, and most powerful yet, experimental period. If all initial tests and checks starting this month go well, scientists
Each year on April 22 Google’s homepage marks the occasion of Earth Day. Most of the time, these interactive logos are a celebration of our planet and its ecosystems, but this year, after a particularly devastating international climate report, the Google Doodle has taken a stark turn. In 2018, the Earth Day doodle featured the
Human explorers on the Moon may be able to send back unprecedented, finely detailed maps of the lunar surface, thanks to a new backpack device developed by NASA and its partners. It’s called the Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK for short), and it’s equipped with a portable LIDAR scanner that constantly scans the ground
We’ve written about some truly stunning deep space pictures here on ScienceAlert, but a new Hubble snap showcasing a special collection of five galaxies has to be one of the best yet – even by our high standards. The group of galaxies is called the Hickson Compact Group 40, and they’re unusually close together at the
It’s official: after some careful data analysis, the Tonga volcano eruption of 2022 has been confirmed as the largest explosive eruption of the 21st century, and on par with the biggest eruptions ever recorded. Having ejected material around 10 cubic kilometers (more than 2 cubic miles) in volume, generating an atmospheric shock wave that circled
A fossilized spider that glows under ultraviolet light has given away the secret of its exceptional 23-million-year-long existence. When researchers placed the fossil and others like it under a fluorescent microscope on a whim, they were surprised to notice the subtle outline of the arachnids suddenly pop against their background. “To our surprise they glowed,
They help us put food on our tables through pollination and nutrient recycling. They break down and dispose of organic waste, and are food for many animals. As renowned ecologist E.O. Wilson put it, “insects are the little things that run the world”. At least 87 of humanity’s major crops depend on them, but it’s
When two bodies in space are close together enough, their gravity acts as a brake, slowing them until one’s rotation ‘locks’ to match its orbit. This tidal locking means that one side of the smaller body is permanently facing the larger – it’s the reason why we only ever see one side of the Moon from
Aphantasia is the strange condition where some people are unable to visualize images in their mind. For a long time, aphantasia could only be identified thanks to people’s self-reported experiences. Now, we may finally have a way to detect it in a different way. In this case, the eyes have it. More specifically, in a new
A newly discovered type of stellar explosion could help us better understand thermonuclear outbursts on dead stars. The new phenomena are called micronovae, and they take place on the surface of white dwarf stars that are actively slurping down material from a close binary companion. The accumulation of material onto the white dwarf results in
The US government’s now-defunct Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) spent millions of taxpayer dollars to research bizarre, experimental technologies such as invisibility cloaks, antigravity devices, traversable wormholes, and a proposal to tunnel through the Moon with nuclear explosives, according to dozens of documents obtained by Vice.com. The documents, which include nearly 1,600 pages of reports, proposals, contracts, and
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next Page »