Category archives: Weekly Selection

Synthetic cell with just 473 genes developed A synthetic cell containing just 473 genes, the smallest number of genes in any independent life form that exists in nature, has been developed by a team of scientists led by genomics expert Craig Venter. The functions of 149 of the genes in JCVI-syn3.0 are unknown. Nature Vivid […]

Radar detects objects in hidden rooms within Tutankhamun’s tomb Additional rooms in Tutankhamun’s burial chamber containing objects made of metal and organic materials have been detected through the north and west walls by radar scans. What is in these rooms is a mystery, but some experts say the rooms could be related to Queen Nefertiti […]

Mars’ magnetic field shaken by close comet flyby A comet streaking by Mars in 2014 wreaked havoc on the Red Planet’s fragile magnetic field, according to data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft, according to NASA. Discovery Bacteria found in Japanese recycling center evolves to consume plastic A bacteria that […]

Farthest galaxy ever seen spotted by Hubble The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted the farthest galaxy found so far, 13.4 billion light-years away, according to findings published in the Astrophysical Journal. Astronomers say the galaxy, GN-z11, dates back to just 400 million years after the Big Bang. The Christian Science Monitor Mars’ outer layers shifted […]

Scientists find clues to suggest new type of neutrino Hints of the existence of an elusive sterile neutrino have been detected in the Daya Bay nuclear reactor facility near Hong Kong. This would be the first discovery of a particle which cannot be accommodated in the framework of the so-called standard model. Science News Quantum […]

Disks can store information for billions of years A new five-dimensional data storage method has been developed that researchers say can last up to 13.8 billion years, withstand extreme heat and hold all sorts of information. The data are encoded into minuscule nanostructures in small glass discs. The Verge New carbon structure can hold liquids […]

Gravitational waves predicted by Einstein heard by LIGO Gravitational waves from the collision of two black holes about 1.3 billion years ago have been detected by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, confirming a prediction Albert Einstein made a century ago in his general theory of relativity. The sound came through as a chirp first […]

Unusual nasal dome allowed ancient beast to trumpet like a dinosaur An ancient wildebeest-like creature that lived during the Ice Age had an unusual skull shape that enabled it to bellow like a dinosaur, according to researchers who found the skull fossils on what is now Kenya’s Rusinga Island. Rusingoryx atopocranion, which lived between 75,000 […]

Massive gas cloud boomeranging back to Milky Way A massive gas cloud that was almost ejected from the Milky Way is hurtling back to our galaxy, according to findings gathered from new observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. Dubbed the Smith Cloud, it is expected to smash into the galactic plane in about 30 million […]

Noodle-, hazelnut-shaped plasma lenses may be hiding in Milky Way Scientists are learning more about the shape of mysterious plasma lenses, which seem to invisibly float around the Milky Way, detected through radio waves. Researchers were able to detect a lengthy lensing event that gave them an idea of the shapes of the lenses. Space.com […]