Great Zimbabwe was the first major city in southern Africa, home to an estimated 18,000 people at its peak. Yet no one really knows why it now lies in ruins. The demise of the once-thriving Medieval metropolis is sometimes boiled down to drought and a drying climate, but archaeologists have now found evidence of careful
admin
The violent fingers of electricity that struck a sand dune in Nebraska have left behind a configuration of crystal rarely found in nature. Inside a piece of fulgurite – or ‘fossilized lightning‘ – created by a powerful bolt of electricity traveling into and fusing sand, scientists have found a quasicrystal, an arrangement of matter once
An urgent search was underway in Western Australia on Saturday after a tiny radioactive capsule was reported to have gone missing while being transported from a mine. The 8 millimeter by 6 millimeter silver capsule, which is used in mining operations, has been unaccounted for since mid-January, emergency services said. It contains the radioactive substance
Scientists have a problem when it comes to modeling space events inside laboratories: Earth’s gravity tends to get in the way, making it difficult to replicate environments away from our planet. A recently proposed solution takes the form of a tiny glass ball a mere 3 centimeters (just over an inch) in diameter. In spite
In most ways, HBO’s new series The Last of Us depicts a classic zombie apocalypse. One morning, everybody is going about their normal life. There’s a mention on the radio of chaos in Jakarta. And by nightfall, twitchy, possessed once-humans are sprinting after the main character. This time, though, it’s a fungus turning people into
In a recent study published in Sciences Advances, an international team of scientists led by the Technical University of Munich examined the Martian meteorite Tissint, which fell near the village of Tissint, Morocco, on 18 July 2011, with pieces of the meteorite found as far as approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the village. What
The genetic make-up of the iconic Australian black swan (Cygnus atratus) leaves it extremely vulnerable to viruses such as avian flu, research from the University of Queensland reports. The threat is thought to be so severe that it could wipe out the species entirely. The discovery comes after the distinctive bird’s genome was sequenced for
Have you ever worried if the play between your cats was getting too rough? A new study published in Scientific Reports has investigated play and fighting in cats. Their aim was to use simple behaviors anyone could observe to work out what was play and what might lead to fights. This is important because the
A bizarre spatula-billed pterosaur with ridiculous amounts of teeth has been discovered in a German quarry. Its unique facial anatomy suggests it shares feeding traits seen in today’s ducks and whales. While Pterodaustro from Argentina may have even more teeth, this newly discovered species’s mouth protrusions are strangely long and thin in comparison. The researchers
A team of archaeologists unearthed what could be the “oldest” and “most complete” mummy ever discovered in Egypt, the leader of the excavation announced on Thursday. Thought to be the remains of a man named Hekashepes, archaeologists found the 4,300-year-old mummy in an ancient tomb near Cairo from the country’s fifth and sixth dynasty –
JWST’s unparalleled ability to peer into the shrouded hearts of distant clouds has revealed the elements of biochemistry in the coldest and darkest place we’ve seen them yet. In a molecular cloud called Chamaeleon I, located over 500 light-years from Earth, data from the telescope has revealed the presence of frozen carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
Scientists have discovered the long-buried secret of a 17th-century French aristocrat 400 years after her death: She was using gold wire to keep her teeth from falling out. The body of Anne d’Alegre, who died in 1619, was discovered during an archaeological excavation at the Chateau de Laval in northwestern France in 1988. Embalmed in
‘Spin’ is a fundamental quality of fundamental particles like the electron, invoking images of a tiny sphere revolving rapidly on its axis like a planet in a shrunken solar system. Only it isn’t. It can’t. For one thing, electrons aren’t spheres of matter but points described by the mathematics of probability. But California Institute of
A galaxy whose light has traveled nearly 13.5 billion years to reach us has just been confirmed as the earliest galaxy found to date. By studying the oxygen content of the galaxy with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have precisely dated it to just 367 million years after the Big Bang, a time
When a new island arose from the South Pacific in 2015, it created an unprecedented opportunity not just for geologists and volcanologists, but for biologists and ecologists, too. The appearance of a new island offers a chance to learn about how ecosystems begin, starting with microbial pioneers that colonize new land like this, before plants
Close to the summit of an underwater mountain west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a jagged landscape of towers rises from the gloom. Their creamy carbonate walls and columns appear ghostly blue in the light of a remotely operated vehicle sent to explore. They range in height from tiny stacks the size of toadstools to a
Egyptian archaeologists said Tuesday they had discovered an 1,800-year-old “complete residential city from the Roman-era” in the heart of the southern city of Luxor. The city, dating to the second and third centuries, is the “oldest and most important city found on the eastern bank of Luxor,” according to Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme
Facial pareidolia is the human tendency or illusion of seeing facial structures in an everyday objects – such as seeing the “man in the Moon,” or the face of Jesus on a piece of toast. But here’s a newly found crater on Mars that might be a case of ‘bear-adoilia.’ There’s no denying, the crater
A truck-sized asteroid will pass near Earth on Thursday in one of the closest approaches to our planet ever recorded, NASA said, emphasizing that it poses no danger. Asteroid 2023 BU, which was recently discovered by an amateur astronomer, will zoom by the southern tip of South America at around 4:27 pm PST on Thursday
The propagation of gravitational waves through matter could reveal the ripples in space-time generated by the Big Bang. Two plasma physicists used the propagation of electromagnetic waves through plasma as an analogue for gravitational waves, devising a set of equations that describe what to look for as gravitational waves travel through stars and gas in
While some dog breeds have unfortunate reputations for being more aggressive than others, veterinarians and other animal experts have long been skeptical about this. A new study of 665 domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in Brazil also points towards factors other than breed having stronger influences over this ‘problematic’ behavior. “The results highlight something we’ve been
Our brains do a fantastic job of acting as master control centers for our sacks of flesh if you stop and think about it – which again will call on your brain. Now researchers have discovered more about how the brain fixes long-term memories in its storage slots. The new study looks at the ‘zone
Today, multiple space agencies are investigating cutting-edge propulsion ideas that will allow for rapid transits to other bodies in the Solar System. These include NASA’s Nuclear-Thermal or Nuclear-Electric Propulsion (NTP/NEP) concepts that could enable transit times to Mars in 100 days (or even 45) and a nuclear-powered Chinese spacecraft that could explore Neptune and its
Even if you think you are good at analyzing faces, research shows many people cannot reliably distinguish between photos of real faces and images that have been computer-generated. This is particularly problematic now that computer systems can create realistic-looking photos of people who don’t exist. Recently, a fake LinkedIn profile with a computer-generated profile picture
Scientists have made a breakthrough in robotics: a shapeshifting robot that can switch between liquid and metal states to navigate tricky environments without compromising on strength. Because they can be both soft and hard, the small, sea cucumber-inspired robots can overcome the limitations of robots that are only one or the other, and thus have
Caecilians aren’t exactly your run-of-the-mill amphibian. Limbless, toothed, and worm-like, they spend their life burrowing through the soil, sensing the world with tentacles that protrude from between their eyes. Little is known about these evasive creatures, or how they evolved. Fossils of only 11 species of ancestral caecilians have ever been found, so our understanding
The slice of ocean squeezed between Florida and the Bahamas is one of the most well-studied marine environments in the world, and yet it’s also the epicenter of a lasting geological mystery. Since at least the 1930s, scientists in the region have noticed strange, billowing white clouds appearing in the turquoise tranquility of the water’s
Some species of carnivorous pitcher plant, Nepenthes, have switched from capturing and digesting insects to absorbing animal poop for their daily dose of nutrients – and it’s a switch that’s proving very beneficial. These botanical poop eaters are managing to take in more nitrogen through their diet adaptation than other Nepenthes that snack on prey,
Over ten years ago, a tsunami triggered a disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Japan’s east coast. After the accident, large amounts of radioactivity contaminated the ocean leading to the imposition of a marine exclusion zone and huge reputational damage to the regional fishing industry. Huge volumes of contaminated water have accumulated
Plastic pollution is out of control. Each year, more than 8 million tonnes of synthetic polymers enter the ocean, and while some sinks to the floor, returns to the shore, or collects in the middle of nowhere, a significant portion isn’t so easily accounted for. All that missing plastic is a mystery, but some researchers
A teen boy whose mummy had been stored in a museum since 1916 was covered in precious amulets, a study published Tuesday found. A team of scientists has digitally unwrapped the 2,300-year-old mummy using a CT scanner to uncover its secrets. The team found that the so-called “golden boy” was lavishly mummified with gold and
In the 1930s, a tarnished bronze sword was pulled from the banks of the Danube River that runs through Budapest. It was styled like a Hungarian weapon from the Bronze Age, and yet at the time, it was assumed to be a replica, possibly made in the Medieval Era or later. For nearly a century,
Our home, the Milky Way, doesn’t seem particularly odd for a galaxy. Moderately-sized, spiral in shape, with a few kinks suggestive of a disruptive past. But astronomers have just identified a quirk never before seen in any galaxy studied to date: the Milky Way is too big for its surroundings. Specifically, it appears to be
A vast amount of rocks and other material are hurtling around our Solar System as asteroids and comets. If one of these came towards us, could we successfully prevent the collision between an asteroid and Earth? Well, maybe. But there appears to be one type of asteroid that might be particularly hard to destroy. Asteroids
A huge iceberg nearly the size of Greater London has broken off the Antarctic ice shelf near a research station, the second such split in two years, researchers announced Monday. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said the formation of the new iceberg – in a natural process called “calving” – was not due to climate
Fiber-optic cables stretch across oceans and wind their way underground to handle our communications systems, and scientists think that this vast network of infrastructure could be put to another use: observing Earth’s surface from below. Specifically, the 1.2 million kilometers (more than 745,000 miles) of existing fiber-optic cable could be combined with satellites and other
Archaeologists have discovered a 7,000-year-old mass grave in Slovakia containing 38 skeletons, with all but one decapitated. The remains were found at the Vráble-Vèlke Lehemby site in Slovakia, one of the largest settlements of the European Neolithic period. Early studies suggest the heads were removed purposefully after death, an author of the study told Insider.
Few of us give much thought to Earth’s swirling, spinning contents until some sudden movement, an earthquake or a volcanic eruption, jolts us to our senses. Geoscientists, though, are a little more clued into the dynamics of Earth’s guts, and have just discovered that Earth’s solid inner iron core – which usually spins within a
Physicists have just set a new record confining a self-focused laser pulse to a cage of air, down the length of a 45 meter-long (148 foot-long) university corridor. With previous results falling well short of a meter, this newest experiment led by physicist Howard Milchberg of the University of Maryland (UMD) breaks new ground for
We live in an era of renewed space exploration, where multiple agencies are planning to send astronauts to the Moon in the coming years. This will be followed in the next decade with crewed missions to Mars by NASA and China, who may be joined by other nations before long. These and other missions that
Many of us are returning to work or school after spending time with relatives over the summer period. Sometimes we can be left wondering how on earth we are related to some of these people with whom we seemingly have nothing in common (especially with a particularly annoying relative). However, in evolutionary terms, we all
A rare green comet is passing Earth, and this could be humanity’s last chance to see it. Stunning photos are already revealing what you might see if you look to the pre-dawn skies and spot the ball of frozen gas and dust shooting past. Formally, the comet is called C/2022 E3 (ZTF), named for the
At 3.63 meters (12 feet) tall and 4.37 meters across, the painting known commonly as The Night Watch is Rembrandt’s largest painting. Centuries after its creation, we’re still uncovering the smallest of details in its pigments, thanks to advances in modern technology. A team of researchers from across Europe have found an unexpected molecule while
A team of astrophysicists has discovered a binary pair of ultra-cool dwarfs so close together that they look like a single star. They’re remarkable because they only take 20.5 hours to orbit each other, meaning their year is less than one Earth day. They’re also much older than similar systems. We can’t see ultra-cool dwarf
If you check in regularly to ScienceAlert, you’ll be familiar with quite a few stunning space images, but a newly published picture has to be one of the best yet: 2 years in the making, 10 terabytes worth of data, 21,400 individual exposures combined, and a final image showing a huge 3.32 billion celestial objects.
Increasingly tempestuous winds have been sweeping dust from Earth’s deserts into our air at an increasing rate since the mid-1800s. New data suggests that this uptick has masked up to 8 percent of current global warming. Using satellite data and ground measurements, researchers detected a steady increase in these microscopic airborne particles since 1850. Soil
Tractor beams make intuitive sense. Matter and energy interact with each other in countless ways throughout the Universe. Magnetism and gravity are both natural forces that can draw objects together, so there’s sort of a precedent. But engineering an actual tractor beam is something different. A tractor beam is a device that can move an
Australian rangers have killed an invasive “monster” cane toad discovered in the wilds of a coastal park – a warty brown specimen as long as a human arm and weighing 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds). The toad was spotted after a snake slithering across a track forced wildlife workers to stop as they were driving in
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 166
- Next Page »