ESA’s Gaia mission releases 2nd data set on Milky Way observations Scientists are studying the latest data from the Gaia satellite, launched by the European Space Agency in 2013 to chart the Milky Way’s stars with great accuracy, in search of new discoveries about the galaxy. This is the second set of data received from […]
New species of exploding ant discovered in Borneo A new species of exploding ant has been found in Borneo. Female worker ants in the Colobopsis explodens species sacrifice themselves to protect their colonies from threats by rupturing a part of their abdomens and releasing a toxic substance that covers their adversaries . Live Science New […]
Researchers devise method to join two single, specific atoms into new molecule Chemists used laser tweezers to grab a sodium atom and a cesium atom to create a new molecule in a highly controlled chemical reaction. Science News How cancer might progress by studying cells’ evolution Researchers charting the genetic evolution of seemingly similar cancer […]
Drones and satellites to find ancient geoglyphs in Peru More than 50 new geoglyphs have been found in the Peruvian desert by archaeologists using drones and satellites. Some of the geoglyphs appear to be Nasca lines, while others could have been etched by the Paracas and Topara cultures, which existed earlier, between 500 B.C. and […]
Earth-sized metal-heavy exoplanet found An exoplanet about the size of Earth, but metal-heavy like Mercury has been discovered about 339 light-years away. Scientists think K2-229 b’s similarities to Mercury could help explain why Mercury’s composition is so different from other planets in our solar system. Space.com MRSA in mice destroyed by new class of antibiotics […]
Genome structures in baby mice influenced by maternal attentiveness Maternal behavior may affect the genome structures of baby mice. Researchers found more copies of retrotransposon LINE-1 in the hippocampal neurons of baby mice whose mothers were less attentive to their needs than in those whose mothers gave them more attention. The Scientist Enzymes help bees […]
Unique protein with antibacterial properties found in platypus milk An oddly shaped protein found in platypus milk has antibacterial properties and could one day be used to fight antibiotic resistance. The protein is ringlet-shaped and has a fold never seen before by researchers. LiveScience Humans evolved quickly after environmental change 500,000 years ago Climate and […]
Same colour variations show up in spiders on different Hawaiian islands Hawaiian stick spiders living on a number of different islands quickly evolved the same trio of colour variations several times as they moved into new habitats. “They arrive on an island, and boom, you get independent evolution to the same set of forms,” said […]
Huge family tree gives researchers clues about human movements, relationships An enormous family tree that involves 13 million individuals over the course of 11 generations has been constructed by researchers using public information from genealogy site Geni.com. Researchers are using information gleaned from the tree to learn more about how people moved throughout the world […]
Older fossils raise questions about how dinosaurs are defined New fossil finds are raising questions about long-held beliefs on what attributes constitute a dinosaur. As older remains are found, the number of features that determine whether a creature was a dinosaur has dropped, and only one remains: a hip-socket hole, according to a number of […]