Guessing the color of the coat of a gray wolf seems like a no-brainer. But the canines, whose habitats are spread across North America and Eurasia, aren’t always actually gray. On the North American continent, specifically, the farther south you go, the more wolves there are with dark, black-hued coats. The phenomenon was unexplained for
Month: December 2022
Cloaked by the shadows of enchanting Asian woodlands, strange growths can be seen peeking out from between leaf litter like the ghosts of long-dead flowers. The plant’s foliage lacks green pigment having forsaken photosynthesis in favor of an alternative source of nutrients on the forest floor, one stolen from fungi many other plants consider friends
If you’ve ever caught yourself talking to someone and thought, “Gee, I sound just like them”, it might be a sign that you’re engaged in the conversation or the task at hand. The same goes, as a new study shows, for solving puzzles in an immersive virtual game environment. Over the years, researchers have found
Mummification may never have been intended to preserve the bodies of ancient Egyptians after death, experts say, a sharp contrast to the popular understanding of the practice. An increasing number of archaeologists say that the preservative effects of mummification were likely accidental and blame early modern Egyptologists for propagating a misunderstanding based on little evidence.
A new analysis of dust retrieved from the Moon suggests that water bound up in the lunar surface could originate with the Sun. More specifically, it could be the result of bombardment of hydrogen ions from the solar wind, slamming into the lunar surface, interacting with mineral oxides, and bonding with the dislodged oxygen. The
When you stop and think about bubbles, you realize that they’re everywhere: in the dishwasher, on the top of your beer, on the crests of waves, in the saliva between your teeth, and, of course, in bubble gun toys. That means the physics of bubbles are important in all kinds of scenarios. With that in
Scientists are continuing to analyze samples of rock and dirt brought back by China’s Chang’e 5 lunar rover, and the latest results point to new kinds of geology from regions of the Moon that are yet to be discovered and explored. Seven different types of rock were identified among 1.731 kilograms (3.816 pounds) of 2
Back in March of 2021, a star in a galaxy 250 million light-years away was seen having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day indeed. There it was, minding its own business, when it got sucked into the gravity well of a supermassive black hole, and torn to smithereens. We know this because multiple
Throughout the ages, artists have turned to nature for inspiration. Scientists often use such depictions of plants and animals to gain insights into ecosystems as they were in the past. This is, of course, assuming the artist’s intent is to capture the scenery faithfully. A new analysis of a series of 14th century BCE Egyptian
For humans to ever venture out among the stars, we will have to solve some hefty logistical problems. Not the least of these is the travel time involved. Space is so large, and human technology so limited, that the time it would take to travel to another star presents a significant barrier. The Voyager 1
It was August 13, 1945, and the ‘demon core’ was poised, waiting to be unleashed onto a stunned Japan still reeling in fresh chaos from the deadliest attacks anyone had ever seen. A week earlier, ‘Little Boy’ had detonated over Hiroshima, followed swiftly by ‘Fat Man’ in Nagasaki. These were the first and only nuclear
Ordinarily, to measure an object we must interact with it in some way. Whether it’s by a prod or a poke, an echo of sound waves, or a shower of light, it’s near impossible to look without touching. In the world of quantum physics, there are some exceptions to this rule. Researchers from Aalto University
Catastrophic floods, crop-wilting droughts, and record heatwaves this year have shown that climate change warnings are increasingly becoming reality, and this is “just the beginning”, experts say, as international efforts to cut planet-heating emissions founder. The year did see some important progress, with major new legislation, particularly in the United States and Europe, as well
Since the landmark discovery in 1992 of two planets orbiting a star outside of our Solar System, thousands of new worlds have been added to a rapidly growing list of ‘exoplanets’ in the Milky Way galaxy. We’ve learnt many things from this vast catalogue of alien worlds orbiting alien stars. But one small detail stands
In re-examining artifacts from a significant 4,000-year-old Bronze Age burial site near Stonehenge in the UK, archaeologists discovered a toolkit for working with gold objects and coatings that hadn’t previously been identified. The site of the find, the Upton Lovell G2a ‘Wessex Culture’ burial area, was excavated more than 200 years ago and is crucial
The constant distraction of social media could be preventing our minds from settling into a deeper, more complete feeling of boredom, according to a new study. Which is a shame, given complete boredom can be fertile grounds for innovation. This ‘profound’ level of boredom is different to the initial, superficial level of tedium we experience
Imagine throwing a baseball. Easy, right? Maybe you’ve already done it a few times. Now imagine throwing a baseball on the Moon. Maybe you’ve seen enough videos of astronauts bouncing around up there to have an idea. Here’s a clearer picture, though: On the Moon you could throw that ball clean over the 186-foot-tall Leaning
Not all galaxies are built alike. There are spectacular, sparkling spirals with graceful arms curling elegantly out into space. There are small, indistinct blobs. There are strange rings with hollow centers or diffuse, dim collections of stars that barely look like a galaxy at all. How galaxies get the way they do is something of
Every once in a while, scientists embark on a study to test some weird and wacky hypothesis that makes you wonder why. But let’s indulge them; it can be fun. A new study from a team of paleontologists and aerospace engineers has simulated a dinosaur‘s tail as it lashes about, all to see whether long-necked
From France to Indonesia and Australia, ancient life is painted across the walls of darkened caves, seemingly motionless silhouettes in earthen colors that echo an earlier time. But in recent years, archaeologists have imagined how these simple images may have captured moving scenes in ways we had perhaps overlooked. Animation, it seems, has its roots
The eyes are often said to be the window to someone’s soul, but the nose could be a backdoor to their bedroom. Experiments have found heterosexual women can actually smell which suitors are available and which are taken. In recent years, the science of human scent has been sniffing up a storm in the lab,
Look deep enough into the darkness of space, you’ll find all manner of shapes that stir the imagination. Keep staring, you’ll quickly learn that our Universe can be so much stranger and more wondrous than anything the human mind can dream of. A recent image released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has captured just
Invasive species have a notorious ability to spread rapidly through unprepared ecosystems, wreaking havoc along their way. The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), is no exception, expanding its habitat by more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) a year while preying on honeybees, hoverflies and other insects. Nearly 20 years ago, the beefy little stingers – often
How life emerged on Earth from an assortment of non-living molecules is a stubbornly enduring mystery. Experiments can show us how key steps might have happened, but for every leap forward there are confounding dead ends. Water, for instance, seems like an essential component of life from the very start. Yet the process of growing
Can you tell just from a whine, grunt, bleat, or a moo whether a hoofed animal is happy or in distress? If you can, it might be a sign that you are particularly empathetic – or you spend a lot of time around animals. A study led by ethologist Elodie Briefer from the University of
Holiday favorite mistletoe – the kissing plant – hides a secret behind its romantic persona. It’s actually a hemi-parasite that attacks living trees. Phoradendron, a genus of mistletoe often used to decorate doors, aptly translates to Greek for “thief of the tree”. Descended from sandalwood, mistletoe has diversified into over a thousand global species. While
In August 1955, a group of scientists made a funding request for US$13,500 to host a summer workshop at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. The field they proposed to explore was artificial intelligence (AI). While the funding request was humble, the conjecture of the researchers was not: “Every aspect of learning or any other feature of
There’s not enough fresh water to go around on planet Earth, and it’s a problem that’s expected to only worsen in the coming years. To meet growing demand, recycling and restricting our water will only get us so far. Scientists will need to find new sources of this life-sustaining liquid to meet our needs. One
An ancient and well-preserved skeleton – potentially a remnant of a ritual sacrifice practiced over 5,000 years ago – was discovered by archeologists in Denmark. Researchers at ROMU, an organization representing 10 museums in Denmark, had been excavating on the site of a planned housing development in the Egedal Municipality, near Copenhagen. During their survey,
She’s out there somewhere, lurking in a parallel universe of possibilities. All you have to do to summon her into being is type the right prompt into an AI image generator. Like a digital incantation, the words will reveal the eerie face of a middle-aged woman with dead eyes, a vacant stare, and a disturbing
Scientists have discovered markers of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of three different species of dolphin found deceased, stranded onshore. Evidence of mass cetacean strandings exists from before our own recorded history, yet why dolphins and whales beach themselves in groups is an enduring mystery. While a direct link has been found between naval sonar
Many of us have seen rainbows in the sky once the sun starts shining again after a spell of rain. For us to see a rainbow, the conditions need to be just right. We need some water droplets in the air – like rain or even fog – and we need the Sun to be
It has taken over two decades and one pandemic for paleontologists to unite the fossilized remains of the earliest mammal ancestors and find that their evolution which gave rise to modern humans, may have begun in the Southern Hemisphere – and not in the north as scientists have long thought. The analysis of a small
Tiny, weirdly adorable creatures called tardigrades are one of the toughest organisms on Earth. Tardigrades, which are perhaps better known as water bears because of their plump bodies, belong to an extremely resilient group of microorganisms that can thrive in harsh environments ill-suited for life. In order to survive, they squeeze water from their bodies
The James Webb Space Telescope just gave a spiral galaxy 230 million light-years away a new sparkling glamor shot perfect enough for the Christmas tree. While the galaxy has the rather un-glamorous name of NGC 7469, it’s been a fascinating subject to study. JWST has peered into NGC 7469 as part of a survey to
Researchers have discovered something strange about female southern pied babblers, a small black-and-white bird found in Africa’s dry savannah: the more chicks that they have over the years, the less smart they seem to get. As these birds age, they typically produce more offspring each year. Meanwhile, according to a series of controlled tests conducted
Around 120 million years ago, four-winged dinosaurs roughly the size of crows called Microraptors stalked the ancient woodlands of what is now China. While researchers have studied several Microraptor specimens, there’s still a lot we don’t know about these feathered bird-like creatures – including what and how they ate. Now an incredibly rare fossil has
A close study of 40 years’ worth of data has revealed something a little hinky going on with Jupiter. According to a wealth of information collected by both ground- and space-based telescopes, the temperature in Jupiter’s upper troposphere exhibits regular fluctuations that don’t seem to be tied to any seasonal variations. This surprising and intriguing
We may have parted ways with our primate cousins millions of years ago, but a new study shows just how human beings continue to evolve in ways we never imagined. Researchers from Biomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming” (BSRC Flemming) in Greece and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, have identified 155 genes in our genome that
Russia is examining the flight worthiness of a Soyuz crew capsule docked with the ISS that sprang a leak last week, and might need to send up a rescue vessel for stranded crew, officials said Thursday. The vehicle, known as MS-22, began spraying its coolant into space on December 14, with dramatic NASA TV images
In the not-too-distant future, a planetary scientist will open up a tube of rocks that came from Mars. Thanks to the Perseverance rover, there are at least 17 of these rock and regolith samples, just waiting for analysis on Earth. To get them, the rover has covered about 13 kilometers (8 miles) on its Mars
When you’re just a wee squishy frog trying to make your way in the wild jungles of Central and South America, you need to have some survival tricks up your clammy little sleeve. Some frogs go on the offensive, striking out with powerful toxins. Others rely on quieter tactics – camouflage that helps them stay
NASA said farewell on Wednesday to the InSight lander that spent four years probing the interior of Mars. The US space agency said mission control had been unable to contact the spacecraft on two consecutive attempts, leading to the conclusion that its solar-powered batteries have run out of energy. “InSight may be retiring, but its
Take one look at Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa and a single question springs to mind: just how close is it to toppling right over? For decades going on centuries, engineers, historians, and onlookers have held their collective breath at the fate of the iconic bell tower, which has weathered four earthquakes and swayed back
A smattering of stars scattered throughout the center of the Milky Way is the remnants of the ancient galactic core, when our galaxy was still new. Using measurements from the most accurate three-dimensional map of the galaxy ever compiled, as well as a neural network to probe the chemical compositions of over 2 million stars,
Mineral samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu continue to be a treasure trove of interesting information for scientists, with a new analysis revealing the object’s birth place. It turns out Ryugu originated towards the outer reaches of the Solar System, where comets usually form. A large team of researchers headed by a team from Hokkaido
Scientists have discovered a new way to break apart ‘forever chemicals’, the notoriously stubborn pollutants that contaminate our waterways and threaten public health, contributing to a growing list of potential methods of dealing with the long-lived compounds. News of a simple, low-energy way to degrade some, but not all, forever chemicals came in August from
An expedition to a deep-sea ridge, just north of the Hawaiian Islands, has revealed an ancient dried-out lake bed paved with what looks like a yellow brick road. The eerie scene was chanced upon by the exploration vessel Nautilus earlier this year, while surveying the Liliʻuokalani ridge within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). PMNM is