GPS measurements help map Himalayas’ quake risk Scientists who studied measurements from GPS stations say they’ve identified four parts of the Himalayas that could be shaken by major earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 8.5. Researchers examined fault-locking levels in the Himalayan arc by comparing the Indian and Eurasian plates’ convergence rates with their relative velocities […]
Why crocodilians weather climate change well Crocodilians may be uniquely suited to adapt well to climate change because they’ve survived two mass extinction events and have a special kind of reproductive biology, but their diversity has decreased. “[T]he main lesson that crocs can teach us is that extinction really is forever, and really destroys so […]
New dark matter candidate A subatomic particle known as a d-star hexaquark has been identified as a possible dark matter candidate. “The next step to establish this new dark matter candidate will be to obtain a better understanding of how the d-stars interact – when do they attract and when do they repel each other,” […]
Many amphibians have that certain glow Many amphibians, mostly salamanders and frogs, fluoresce under certain light conditions. Researchers tested 32 amphibian species using blue light and found that all glowed green or yellow, but they haven’t yet figured out why this occurs. New Scientist Massive blast ever observed in faraway galaxy observed Astronomers have detected […]
Earth may have formed in just 5M years The Earth formed in only about 5 million years, a much shorter amount of time than previously thought. Researchers developed this new timeline based on a study of iron isotopes collected from meteorites. ScienceAlert These fish can pause cell, organ growth as embryos African turquoise killifish can […]
Faraway object offers clues about planet formation The Kuiper Belt Arrokoth, the farthest object ever visited by a spacecraft, is helping astronomers better understand how planets are formed, according to a trio of papers published in Science. “[W]e believe the result marks a significant advance in understanding overall planetesimal and planet formation,” said Alan Stern […]
Climate change may be speeding up ocean currents Ocean currents around the world, both on the surface and deeper, are faster than they were 20 years ago, likely due to the changing climate. “While we expected some response to the increased winds over the past two decades, that the acceleration was above and beyond that […]
Glass bead chilled to its ground state Researchers have cooled a glass bead to close to absolute zero using a single laser with astonishing results: “Other cold-atom experiments can also create superpositions and quantum states, but what they can never do is create a superposition of all of the atoms in one place and all […]
China shares photos from far side of moon China’s lunar mission has produced a number of photos from the far side of the moon. The images were taken by the Chang’e-4 lander and the Yutu-2 rover over the course of the last year. ScienceAlert New light on Vesuvius victims People who sheltered in boathouses in […]
Meteorite likely chief cause of mass extinction The meteorite that struck Earth about 66 million years ago was likely the driving factor behind the extinction of the dinosaurs rather than extreme volcanic activity. Researchers examined deep sediments in the North Atlantic to create global temperature data and found that temperatures around the world at the […]