Ten years after it discovered the Higgs boson, the Large Hadron Collider is about to start smashing protons together at unprecedented energy levels in its quest to reveal more secrets about how the universe works. The world’s largest and most powerful particle collider started back up in April after a three-year break for upgrades in
There is no sea creature whose name inspires terror – rightly or wrongly – as much as the great white shark. With its sleek body optimized for hunting, its sharp teeth, and its (somewhat undeserved) reputation for enjoying human flesh, the great white (Carcharodon carcharias) is widely regarded as one of the ocean’s top predators.
Community science – also known as citizen science – has enormous appeal for researchers looking to collect larger datasets and engage the public in their work. But are the data collected in this way any good? Enabled by technology, community science allows researchers to harness the power of public interest, using their voluntary contributions to
A “wet wipe island” the size of two tennis courts has formed in the Thames, causing the river as it flows through London to change course, according to The Times of London. Ministers have asked people to stop using wet wipes, and the government is considering banning those that contain plastic. Fleur Anderson, a Labour MP,
Limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels requires reaching net zero emissions by the middle of this century. This means that, in less than three decades, we need to reverse more than a century of rising emissions and bring annual emissions down to near zero, while balancing out all remaining unavoidable emissions by
Living as a microbe on the Tibetan Plateau isn’t easy. Frigid temperatures, high levels of solar radiation, not a lot to eat, and you’d regularly get frozen and then thawed depending on the time of year. So, it’s a bit of a surprise that in these ‘extreme environmental conditions’ scientists have discovered 968 species featuring
There’s alcohol up in space. No, it’s not bottles of wine discarded by careless astronauts; rather, it’s in microscopic molecular form. Now researchers think they’ve discovered the largest alcohol molecule in space yet, in the form of propanol. Propanol molecules exist in two forms, or isomers, both of which have now been identified in observations:
Over tens of millions of years, the wingless midge Belgica antarctica has perfected the art of freezing itself to push through the darkest and coldest of Antarctica’s winter months, carving out an exclusive niche as the continent’s only native insect. As climate change nudges polar temperatures ever higher, this hard-earned set of survival skills could
Some stars burn bright but brief. These transitory novae pepper the sky, with one flaring into naked eye visibility every few years… but it was a recent brief appearance of just such a ‘new star’ that gave astronomers a chance to probe the secrets of the Universe. Japanese amateur astronomer Seidji Ueda was the first
Black holes. They used to be theoretical, up until the first one was found and confirmed back in the late 20th century. Now, astronomers find them all over the place. We even have direct radio images of two black holes: one in M87 and Sagittarius A* in the center of our galaxy. So, what do we know
Scientists discovered the “fingerprints” of mysterious viruses hidden in an ancient group of microbes that may have helped fuel the rise of all complex life on Earth: from fungi to plants to humans. These microbes – known as Asgard archaea after the abode of the gods in Norse mythology – lurk in the frigid sediments
Holding a conversation with a five-year-old can be an adventure. One second you’re sharing opinions on favorite breakfast cereals, the next they’ve jumped ship to something vague about a cartoon octopus. What seems like a limited vocabulary or difficulty in keeping focused could actually be an inability to reconcile inferences with another person’s perspective. Researchers
Most of our knowledge about what sits at the center of our planet comes from the study of seismic waves rolling out from earthquakes. Careful analysis of these waves can reveal the composition of rocks and metal below Earth’s surface. A new study of seismic waves propagating from two different earthquakes – in similar locations
With researchers warning that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C is fast slipping from our grasp, we know it will take a mammoth effort to reach. But the scale of emissions reductions required is actually something we have already achieved before – quite recently and rather by accident. In 2020, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell
Like snowflakes, no two people are exactly the same. You’re probably used to the idea that people differ substantially in personality and in cognitive abilities – skills like problem-solving or remembering information. In contrast, there’s a widely held intuition that people vary far less in their ability to recognize, match or categorize objects. Many everyday
It’s the climax of the movie. The protagonist’s love interest is mortally wounded, their dog has run off, and for some reason it’s now raining. To drive home the fact it’s a gut-wrenching moment, the music is now playing in a somber minor key. New research suggests there could be some in the audience who
The Permian–Triassic extinction event, which happened roughly 252 million years ago, is colloquially known as the Great Dying because of the way it obliterated life on Earth – almost ending it completely. It’s the most severe extinction event in history. Life did recover however, and new research identifies that deposit feeders like worms and shrimps
The massive eruption from the underwater Tonga volcano in the Pacific earlier this year generated a blast so powerful, it sent massive pressure waves rippling through the atmosphere and around the globe. These waves were the fastest ever observed within our atmosphere, reaching speeds of 720 miles (1,158 kilometers) per hour, a new study finds.
Astronauts lose decades’ worth of bone mass in space that many do not recover even after a year back on Earth, researchers said Thursday, warning that it could be a “big concern” for future missions to Mars. Previous research has shown astronauts lose between 1 to 2 percent of bone density for every month spent
On top of intensifying algal blooms and depleting oxygen, a new study reveals Earth’s bodies of freshwater are also evaporating at a greater rate than we realized. What’s more, “lake evaporation plays a larger role in the hydrological cycle than previously thought,” says ecologist Gang Zhao who was at Texas A&M University during the study.
We often think of plants as sedate, tranquil organisms that can’t help but keep to themselves. But not all plants are harmless wallflowers. Carnivorous plants, as the name suggests, eat prey – mostly bugs, but also small animals, and other nutrient-rich matter. While the whole idea seems vaguely nightmarish at first, these “ecologically unique” plants need our
The beloved pooch snoring on your couch or sticking a snoot under your arm at dinner time came from a much wilder origin. At some point, dogs diverged from gray wolves under the guidance of domestication, to become the diverse fuzzbutts that fill our homes and hearts with such joy today. Exactly when and how
Imagine you have an interview for a new job tomorrow. Some people might think about what kind of questions they will be asked so that they can prepare, or imagine the interview going well. For others, the thought of an interview will cause them to toss and turn all night thinking of every worst case
NASA administrator Bill Nelson said Wednesday the agency will reveal the “deepest image of our Universe that has ever been taken” on July 12, thanks to the newly operational James Webb Space Telescope. “If you think about that, this is farther than humanity has ever looked before,” Nelson said during a press briefing at the
Spotting a wispy sea dragon, floating amongst the seaweed, embellished with leaf-like adornments ruffling in swaying ocean currents, is truly a sight to behold. But there is more to sea dragons than meets the diver’s eye. Bedazzled as they may be, sea dragons are also missing teeth, lacking ribs, and their spines are curved and
NASA blasted a nanosatellite barely bigger than a microwave oven into outer space Tuesday, part of a landmark mission to return humans to the Moon. A rocket carrying the tiny CAPSTONE module successfully launched from New Zealand’s eastern Mahia Peninsula to a deafening blast and a wash of fiery propulsion. “We have liftoff!” NASA said
In 2018, archaeologists made a staggering discovery in Swaga Swaga Game Reserve in central Tanzania: 52 previously undocumented rock shelters, deliberately painted with rock art. Weathering had mostly destroyed all but a handful; but of those that were preserved, one was an absolute enigma. The site, named Amak’hee 4, was elaborately painted with a frieze
If you’ve been laying in bed at night, fretting that the planets of the Solar System are going to go ricocheting off throughout the galaxy, you can set your mind at ease. We have at least 100,000 years before that happens, according to new calculations. In a new study, mathematicians Angel Zhivkov and Ivaylo Tounchev
Long ago, almost up until the end of the last ice age, a peculiar giant kangaroo roamed the mountainous rainforests of New Guinea. Now, research published by myself and colleagues suggests this kangaroo was not closely related to modern Australian kangaroos. Rather, it represents a previously unknown type of primitive kangaroo unique to New Guinea.
NASA has requested the safe return of moondust and cockroach samples that were scheduled to be sold in a private auction that ended June 23. Earlier this month, the space agency contacted RR Auction, a Boston-based auction house, to stop the sale of moondust that was collected by astronauts during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.
Like its movie namesake, the horrific marine heatwave nicknamed the Blob destroyed much in its path during its peak, causing mass deaths of fish, birds, and many other marine animals, threatening fishing industries. Since then, the Blob has at least briefly reared its head twice, hinting at an underlying persistence to its cause. Now, researchers
The search for life on Mars may have just gotten a whole lot more complicated. While rovers such as Curiosity and Perseverance scour the surface looking for traces of ancient life, new evidence reveals we may have to dig much deeper to find them. Any evidence of amino acids left over from a time when
Our blueprint for the habitability of exoplanets is just one world in the entire cosmos: Earth. Our home is the only planet on which we know, for a certainty, life has emerged. But the conditions for life as we know it may not be restricted to Earth-like planets, and now scientists have determined one kind
A US navy destroyer sunk during World War II has been found nearly 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) below sea level off the Philippines, making it the world’s deepest shipwreck ever located, an American exploration team said. The USS Samuel B. Roberts went down during a battle off the central island of Samar on 25 October
Archaeologists have revealed a complex of hidden passageways and galleries deep inside the ancient Chavín de Huántar temple complex in the Peruvian Andes. The researchers think the network of chambers and galleries was used in religious rituals, possibly involving psychedelic drugs. It’s the first time in about 3,000 years that these particular hidden structures have
Scientists have already established that octopuses are smarter than your average invertebrate, but a new discovery suggests one of the reasons why: a specific molecular analogy with the human brain. Both the human genome and the octopus genome contain a high number of ‘jumping genes’ or transposons, which are able to duplicate themselves or move
Multiple ancient hominin remains from caves in South Africa may be much, much older than previous estimates suggested. The Sterkfontein limestone cave system, not far from Johannesburg, has yielded so many ancient bones from the hominin genus Australopithecus over the last century that its location has been dubbed the Cradle of Humankind – deeply important
Three-dimensional models of astronomical objects can be ridiculously complex. They can range from black holes that light doesn’t even escape to the literal size of the Universe and everything in between. But not every object has received the attention needed to develop a complete model of it, but we can officially add another highly complex
For years, computer scientists have warned of the perils artificial intelligence (AI) poses in the future, and not just in the sensational terms of machines overthrowing humanity, but in far more insidious ways too. While this cutting-edge technology is capable of wondrous breakthroughs, researchers have also observed the darker sides of machine learning systems, showing
It often feels like when people die, they leave a void behind. In the case of massive stars, that happens to be physically true. A new analysis of the tenuous gas that drifts between the stars in the Milky Way galaxy has revealed the imprint of bubbles that expand into space when a massive star
A gold miner found a mummified baby woolly mammoth in the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory in Yukon, Canada. According to a press release from the local government, the female baby mammoth has been named Nun cho ga by the First Nation Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in elders, which translates to “big baby animal” in the Hän language. Nun cho ga
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) – NASA’s eye-in-the-sky in orbit around the Moon – has found the crash site of the mystery rocket booster that slammed into the far side of the Moon back on 4 March 2022. The LRO images, taken May 25th, revealed not just a single crater, but a double crater formed
Is there life on Mars? Has there ever been? It’s one of the biggest questions we have about our planetary neighbor; now, research points to one particular part of the red planet that could have been able to harbor life several times across billions of years. Through a thorough study of images captured by the
The oceans are one of our planet’s most important carbon sinks, with currently around 39,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide locked away – that’s around 50 times more than what’s circulating in the atmosphere right now. However, we can’t rely on this carbon capture and storage to solve our climate crisis problem, because we’re producing too much
Neutron stars are dense remnants of large stars. They are the collapsed cores of stars formed during a supernova explosion. While we know generally how they form, we are still learning how they evolve, particularly when they are young. But that’s starting to change thanks to large sky surveys, which have allowed astronomers to observe
Being tiny can certainly have its advantages. You need less food, don’t take up as much space, and are harder for predators to spot. But researchers have just discovered there’s a limit to how small a backboned animal can get, while still retaining the ability to balance. Pumpkin toadlets (Brachycephalus) have miniaturized well beyond this
When it comes to going out with style, nothing comes close to the end of a white dwarf. Their thermonuclear self-destruction ranks among the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, forcing the star to wink out of existence in a blaze of glory. At least, that’s the idea. A discovery confirms some white dwarfs fake
If you look different to your close relatives, you may have felt separate from your family. As a child, during particularly stormy fall outs you might have even hoped it was a sign that you were adopted. As our new research shows, appearances can be deceptive when it comes to family. New DNA technology is
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