Author archives: César Tomé

Dark matter detected as it coasts through galaxy collisions Dark matter appears to drift straight through galactic collisions, barely interacting with anything, including other dark matter, according to scientists who detected the mysterious stuff by the way it bends nearby light paths. Researchers used visible light spied by the Hubble Space Telescope and X-rays by […]

Deep aurora in Mars seen by Maven spacecraft NASA’s Maven spacecraft spotted a strange aurora that lasted for five days and stretched deep into Mars’ northern atmosphere. Auroras on Mars have been observed previously, but scientists were intrigued by the depth of this one. In addition, Maven detected an unexpected high-altitude dust cloud. BBC Young […]

Star ring at edge of Milky Way may actually be part of galaxy A ring of stars surrounding the Milky Way may, in reality, be part of it, increasing the galaxy’s size by 50%. Discovery Ideas about hibernation challenged by warm dormant bats Two species of bats have been found hibernating in caves considered too […]

Multiple views of a supernova seen by astronomers Astronomers have been able to witness the same supernova multiple times at different spots because of the gravitational lense effect of a galaxy cluster. The New York Times Snowflakes aren’t symmetrical, according to cutting-edge camera Snowflakes are even more complex than previously thought, according to high-speed 3D […]

Why racism is not backed by science As we gather more information about the genomes of more people a conclusion seems more and more evident: there is not such thing as race. The Guardian Bright spots seen on Ceres Bright spots seen on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres in photos taken by the approaching […]

Neanderthals interbred with ancient Asians at 2 points in history Neanderthals interbred with the ancestors of Asians twice in ancient history, according to a pair of studies published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The studies approached the same question from different directions, but came to the same conclusion, looking at why Asians have […]

Mesozoic mammals more diverse than previously thought The discovery of two fossils dating back about 160 million years suggests an extensive ecological diversity among early mammals that coexisted with dinosaurs during the Mesozoic era. The two fossils are of a mole-like animal that lived below ground and a creature that lived in the trees, each […]

Sea slug can use photosynthesis for nutrition by taking gene from algae The emerald sea slug steals a gene from the algae it eats, allowing it to get nourishment from photosynthesis. Discovery Chimps adopt new calls when moved to new groups Chimps who move into a new group change their calls to match those of […]

Bubbles of radioactive nickle may have made holes in Cassiopeia A Expanding bubbles of radioactive nickle may be responsible for holes seen in the supernova Cassiopeia A, which exploded 340 years ago 11,000 light-years from Earth. Researchers say their bubble theory could also account for large rings seen in the outer regions of Cassiopeia A […]

Scorpion fly first to feed on human corpses Researchers working with human cadavers were surprised to see scorpion flies arrive first to feed on the remains instead of blowflies, which are commonly thought to be first responders, according to a study. The finding could have an impact on forensic investigations. The Washington Post Surprise!: fish […]