In the permanent twilight of the mesopelagic, a silent predator hunts. The enigmatic giant squid is rarely observed in its natural habitat. In the first videos of their kind, unveiled in 2021, marine scientists caught its hunting behavior in the wild – revealing for the first time how these monsters of the deep stalk and
Month: July 2022
One of the most extreme stars in the Milky Way just got even more wack. Scientists have measured the mass of a neutron star named PSR J0952-0607, and found that it’s the most massive neutron star discovered yet, clocking in at a whopping 2.35 times the mass of the Sun. If true, this is very
A newly developed, water-activated disposable paper battery promises to make a big impact on single-use electronics – those temporary gadgets used in medical and industrial fields where electronic waste can quickly start piling up. The battery that has been demonstrated by researchers is biodegradable, made from sustainable materials, and cheap to put together. What’s more,
A Polish scientific institute has categorized domestic cats as an “invasive alien species.” The Polish Academy of Sciences has defined the house cat (Felis catus) as “alien” as it was domesticated in the Middle East and has deemed cats as “invasive” due to the “negative influence of domestic cats on native biodiversity,” they explained in a
A climate scientist at Tohoku University in Japan has run the numbers and does not think today’s mass extinction event will equal that of the previous five. At least not for many more centuries to come. On more than one occasion over the past 540 million years, Earth has lost most of its species in
A farm in England was the unlikely source of a Jurassic jackpot: A treasure trove of 183 million-year-old fossils. On the outskirts of Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds, beneath soil that is currently trampled under the hooves of grazing cattle, researchers recently uncovered the fossilized remains of fish, giant marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs, squids, insects, and
Grab any physics textbook and you’ll find formula after formula describing how things wobble, fly, swerve and stop. The formulas describe actions we can observe, but behind each could be sets of factors that aren’t immediately obvious. Now, a new AI program developed by researchers at Columbia University has seemingly discovered its own alternative physics.
Scientists experimenting on mice have found evidence that key parts of the modern human brain take more time to develop than those of our long extinct cousin, the Neanderthal. Like the hare and the tortoise, slow and steady is the winner here. The extra time is caused by protein differences that also appear to reduce
Miners in Angola have uncovered a massive pink diamond that may be the biggest gem of its kind found in the past 300 years. The pink diamond is estimated to weigh 170 carats, making it just a smidge smaller than the 182-carat Daria-i-Noor diamond – the largest pink diamond in the world, which today is part of the Iranian
During a recent expedition to the largely unexplored depths of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, marine researchers stumbled upon something odd: tiny holes excavated in the sediment, all arranged in dozens of relatively straight lines. Holes on the sea floor wouldn’t usually be too perplexing, but these were dotted in an incredibly neat and evenly spaced
The temperature on the Moon can vary from boiling to freezing depending on whether it’s night or day, but scientists think there might well be sheltered pits and caves where the temperature is quite reasonable – no matter what time it is. In such spots, the temperature hovers around 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit),
Peer long enough into the heavens, and the Universe starts to resemble a city at night. Galaxies take on characteristics of streetlamps cluttering up neighborhoods of dark matter, linked by highways of gas that run along the shores of intergalactic nothingness. This map of the Universe was preordained, laid out in the tiniest of shivers
This weekend, a massive, uncontrolled rocket booster is predicted to hurtle back to Earth, with a high chance that at least some of the debris will be large enough to survive the descent and smash into our planet. The booster is 53.6 meters (176 feet) long and weighs around 23 metric tons, and belongs to
In a time when flaunting your best self on social media has become a norm, narcissistic traits seem to be everywhere. In today’s slang, off-putting behaviors like entitlement, superiority, and self-congratulating are known as ‘flexing’. Such traits might be more common these days, but being narcissistic is still seen as a pathological personality trait, akin to
Ever since space probe Juno gave us our first incredible views of the poles of Jupiter, the regions have fascinated and mesmerized us. In one of the latest pictures Juno has sent back of the north pole, you can see why: a medley of storm vortices, connected and interconnected, appearing serene from a distance, but
Two skyscraper-size asteroids are zooming toward Earth this weekend, with one making its closest approach on Friday (29 July) and the second whizzing by on Saturday (30 July). The first asteroid, dubbed 2016 CZ31, will fly by around 7 pm ET (23:00 GMT) on Friday, whizzing at an estimated 34,560 mph (55,618 km/h, according to NASA. Astronomers
Humankind marks a dubious milestone Thursday, the day by which humanity has consumed all Earth can sustainably produce for this year, with NGOs warning the rest of 2022 will be lived in resource deficit. The date – dubbed “Earth Overshoot Day” – marks a tipping point when people have used up “all that ecosystems can
Once upon a time, when our planet Earth was very young and very new, there was not a single scrap of life on it to be found. Then, somewhere, somehow, some quirk of chemistry happened, and the molecular building blocks of our very first single-celled ancestors emerged: the amino acids and nucleic acids that came
Amongst thousands of impressions in a large rock surface, one stood out from the crowd. The imprint of a tough tubular exoskeleton topped with waving tentacles, now frozen in time, looked strikingly familiar, unlike any of its neighbors. It looked just like a relative of corals, anemones, and jellyfish from a sediment layer dated 20
A third set of human remains were found in Nevada’s Lake Mead on 25 July as water levels have receded to historic lows during a drought fueled by climate change. The remains were spotted by a witness at Swim Beach on Lake Mead during the afternoon of 25 July, the National Park Service announced. Investigators retrieved the
The chance of someone being killed by space junk falling from the sky may seem ridiculously tiny. After all, nobody has yet died from such an accident, though there have been instances of injury and damage to property. But given that we are launching an increasing number of satellites, rockets and probes into space, do
The biggest shark in our oceans already has a reputation for being a gentle giant, and it seems there’s more to this than we ever realized. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are filter feeders, thought to carefully comb the waters for tiny animals like krill. Among the litany of tiny swimmers they scoop up are greens
At 5:29 am on the morning of 16 July 1945, in the state of New Mexico, a dreadful slice of history was made. The dawn calm was torn asunder as the United States Army detonated a plutonium implosion device known as the Gadget – the world’s very first test of a nuclear bomb, known as
New footage showing a giant, peculiar-looking tentacled sea creature floating languidly in the depths of the Pacific Ocean has left researchers questioning if what they’re seeing is a new species. A team of scientists spotted the strange animal while on board the E/V Nautilus, a research vessel used by the Ocean Exploration Trust – a
Moscow said Tuesday it was leaving the International Space Station “after 2024” amid tensions with the West, in a move analysts warned could lead to a halt of Russian-crewed flights. The confirmation of the long-mooted move comes as ties unravel between the Kremlin and the West over Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine and several rounds
Researchers have been able to use an analysis of ancient rock crystals – and the magnetism records locked inside them – to trace back the history of Earth’s inner core across hundreds of millions of years. Earth’s core, a dense hot blob of iron and nickel, is actually made up of two layers – the
Pollination is the trademark of flowering plants, with animal pollinators such as bees and birds sustaining the world’s food supplies – not to mention our cravings for coffee, honey, and macadamia nuts. But new research raises the possibility that animal-assisted pollination may have emerged in the sea, long before plants moved ashore. The study, conducted by
In 2016, the Curiosity rover came across something really peculiar in Gale Crater on Mars. On the slope of Mount Sharp, where Curiosity labored, were large quantities of a rare mineral; rare, at least, here on Earth. Tridymite, a form of quartz, only seems to form extremely seldom, and under high temperatures, such as those
When mechanical engineering graduate student Faye Yap saw a dead spider curled up in the hallway, it got her thinking about whether it could be used as a robotics component. Turning dead spiders into mechanical grippers may be some people’s idea of a nightmare scenario, but it could have tangible benefits. Spider legs can grip
Not all stars are happy to just hang around, orbiting the galactic center with all the other stars. Some stars go rogue, punted out across the Milky Way with significant force. These are the runaway stars, and we can trace their trajectories to understand violent events that can take place in the Universe. One such
While studying diamonds inside an ancient meteorite, scientists have found a strange, interwoven microscopic structure that has never been seen before. The structure, an interlocking form of graphite and diamond, has unique properties that could one day be used to develop super-fast charging or new types of electronics, researchers say. The diamond structures were locked
When the history of the rise of the robots is written, perhaps this might feature in the opening chapter: a seven-year-old boy has had his finger broken by a robotic opponent during a chess match in Moscow. There’s some debate about exactly what happened, but it seems that the youngster took a move faster than
Given its similarities to its neighbor, Saturn, it seems natural to ask why Jupiter doesn’t also have a magnificent, extensive system of visible rings. Alas, it’s not the reality. While Jupiter does have rings, they’re thin, tenuous, flimsy things of dust, visible only when back-lit by the Sun. According to new research, these discount rings
Amber Heard has one of the world’s most beautiful faces – that is, according to cosmetic surgeon Julian De Silva. The claim has been recycled for some years now, and recently resurfaced in the wake of Heard’s (widely reported) trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp. But what is this claim based on? Well, according to De
NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts is famous for supporting outlandish ideas in the astronomy and space exploration fields. Since being re-established in 2011, the institute has supported a wide variety of projects as part of its three-phase program. However, so far, only three projects have gone on to receive Phase III funding. And one of
Conspiracy theories are hardly a modern affliction: think of the JFK assassination or the long history of UFO sightings. Yet the internet is often said to have ushered in a ‘post-truth’ era, with social media, in particular, allowing for the spread of viral misinformation. Whether or not that’s actually true is another matter, and it’s
There’s something curious in the blood of black bears that allows them to hibernate for seven months a year while still remaining fit and healthy. Scientists aren’t sure what that something is, but a new study has helped close in on the mystery. If we humans tried to lie dormant for as long as a
Have you heard of LU Camelopardalis, QZ Serpentis, V1007 Herculis, and BK Lyncis? No, they’re not members of a boy band in ancient Rome. They’re Cataclysmic Variables, binary stars that are so close together one star draws material from its sibling. This causes the pair to vary wildly in brightness. Can planets exist in this
The fungus Entomophthora muscae has a survival strategy that’s both fascinating and potentially going to put you off your next meal: it infects and ‘zombifies’ female houseflies before sending out irresistible chemical signals encouraging male houseflies into necrophilia. By luring these male flies into mating with zombified females, the fungus can transfer to the male fly
From sniffing out diabetes, cancers and positive COVID-19 cases to being disgustingly interested in poop, we all know dogs have a mighty powerful sense of smell. Yet researchers were surprised to see the sheer extent of the smell wiring within dog brains. Veterinary neuroimaging researcher Erica Andrews of Cornell University and colleagues have just mapped domestic dogs’
There’s something very odd about this image from the Hubble Space Telescope. If you look closely, you can see two almost-mirror image, orange-colored galaxies, seemingly connected by a long filament. Fascinatingly, that’s not two galaxies at all, but one, named SGAS J143845+145407. It just appears to be two, thanks to the way the gravity of
Plants can go to extraordinary lengths to tempt pollinators to do their bidding. From donning female insect disguises (complete with pheromones!) to lure lustful males, oozing the stench of rotting flesh to temp hungry flies, or, most commonly, offering bribes of sweet rewards for any who visits – no lengths are too gross or pricy
A team of physicists has used a pair of vibrating rods to measure the gravitational constant to incredibly fine precision. While the new technique has relatively high uncertainty, they hope that future improvements will provide a new pathway to nailing down this elusive constant. The gravitational constant, denoted as G, is the fundamental building block
When you’re barely the size of an eyelash and on the hunt for fast-moving prey, having a bear trap strapped to your head might seem like a good idea. Of course, it’s all fun and games until it actually goes off. Even the slightest wobble in that trap’s arc could send your face on a
The biggest known canyon in the Solar System is getting the star treatment in new images from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter. As it whooshed by in Martian orbit, the spacecraft captured a pair of gouges in the planet’s surface that make up part of the Valles Marineris, a system of canyons known
Microbes are the smallest known living organisms on Earth and can be found just about everywhere, even in the cold, Mars-like conditions of lava caves. On the island of Hawai’i, scientists recently found a marvelous assortment of novel microbes thriving in geothermal caves, lava tubes, and volcanic vents. These underground structures were formed 65 and 800
A digital twin is a copy of a person, product, or process that is created using data. This might sound like science fiction, but some have claimed that you will likely have a digital double within the next decade. As a copy of a person, a digital twin would – ideally – make the same
It hasn’t even been a fortnight since the first image release, and the James Webb Space Telescope is just continuously knocking all our socks off. Only a few images have been officially released, but that hasn’t stopped citizen scientists digging through the raw data to see what they can find. One of those is Judy
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