Protein found in bacteria can act like a prion A portion of a protein within the microbe Clostridium botulinum can act like a prion when placed into yeast or Escherichia coli. This is the first time prions, which are usually found in plants and animals, have been observed in bacteria. Nature World’s tightest knot created […]
Huge quantity of black holes seen in X-ray image taken by Chandra A vast number of supermassive black holes can be observed in an image taken by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory spacecraft. “With this one amazing picture, we can explore the earliest days of black holes in the universe and see how they change over […]
Megamaser galaxy seen in Hubble image A galaxy about 370 million light-years away from Earth that researchers think holds a megamaser has been spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope. “A megamaser is a process where some components within a galaxy (like gas clouds) are in the right stimulated physical condition to radiate intense energy,” read […]
Ostrich-like dinosaur species lost teeth by age 3 A species of dinosaur similar to modern ostriches had teeth when it was young but lost them as it grew older, essentially causing it to become an herbivore after starting life as either an omnivore or carnivore. This discovery about Limusaurus inextricabilis, which lived about 160 million […]
Researchers tweak aging process in mice Researchers have reprogrammed adult cells in mice, causing the cells to revert to an embryonic like state, effectively reversing the aging process. By activating four specific genes, scientists expanded the life span of a mouse with a rapid-aging disease and revitalized damaged muscles in a middle-aged mouse. Scientific American […]
Vacuum birefringence may have been observed in neutron star A neutron star seen with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope may have given scientists the first look at a quantum effect predicted back in 1930 but never observed before. “The high linear polarization that we measured with the VLT can’t be easily explained by […]
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Los Angeles quakes in 1920s likely tied to oil drilling The oil industry may have caused earthquakes in the Los Angeles area in the 1920s. US Geological Survey researchers looked at 18 significant quakes that occurred near active oil fields and determined that 13 of them likely were connected with oil drilling. Ars Technica Huge […]
Scientists drill into ancient crater formed by asteroid hit 66M years ago The peak ring of the Chicxulub crater in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is made of granite, pushed up from deep inside the Earth’s crust when a massive asteroid crashed into the planet about 66 million years ago, likely causing the mass dinosaur extinction. Scientists […]
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Many moons may be waiting to be discovered in our solar system There are likely more moons to be found in our galaxy, according to re-evaluation of data from the Voyager space probes and searches by the Hubble Space Telescope and with future searches by the more powerful James Webb Space Telescope set to be […]
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Common swift can fly for 10 months straight The common swift can fly for 10 months without landing. The birds capture food in the air and drink by skimming water, and if they stop at all, it’s only for one or two hours before they resume their long migration between Northern Europe and Central Africa […]