Category archives: Weekly Selection

Ancient Antikythera wreckage holds treasure trove of artifacts Researchers excavating the 2,000-year-old wreckage of the Antikythera in Greece have found a treasure trove ancient goods. “The evidence shows this is the largest ancient shipwreck ever discovered,” said marine archaeologist Brendan Foley. The wreckage was discovered more than a century ago but the current excavation has […]

Giant lava plain on moon likely due to tectonic stretching, not impact The massive plain of solidified lava on the moon, known as Oceanus Procellarum, wasn’t caused by an asteroid impact as previously thought, according to a study published in Nature. Instead, researchers say, the volcanic basalt was formed by tectonic stretching, according to data […]

Amazon warriors’ names found on ancient Greek pottery Strange inscriptions on ancient Greek pottery appear to name Amazon warrior women, according to a study in Hesperia. Linguists deciphered the inscriptions on 12 vases dating from between 550 B.C. to 450 B.C. into phonetic sounds and sent them, without explanation, to McMaster University’s John Colarusso, an […]

Antarctic ice growing at record-setting pace Antarctic sea ice is on track to reach a record high this month while Arctic ice has decreased to its sixth-lowest level, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Antarctic ice usually reaches its maximum level each September, about the same time as the Arctic reaches its […]

Long extinct squirrel-like creatures hold clues to earlier mammal evolution Mammals may have evolved much earlier than previously thought, according to researchers who’ve been studying the fossils of squirrel-like creatures that date back about 160 million years to the Triassic Period. The creatures have mammalian features and are from previously unknown species of haramiyid, which […]

Coffee genome offers insights on why caffeine is produced Scientists have cracked the genome of Coffea canephora, one source of coffee beans, to gain insights into how caffeine evolved and why plants make it. A study published in Science details the complex evolution of caffeine in coffee and the ways in which that differs from […]

Spitzer detects proto-planetary collision near new star Evidence of a proto-planetary collision 1,200 light-years away has been seen near a young sun-like star by NASA’s Spitzer infrared space telescope. Scientists detected a significant change in the infrared radiation emissions from dust around the 35-million-year-old star, known as NGC 2547-ID8, in the constellation Vela. Discovery News […]

Ancient star holds evidence of one of its earliest ancestors Traces of one of the universe’s first stars may have been found in the chemical signature of another ancient star that gobbled up material from the earlier star’s supernova. SDS J0018-0939, a star found in the halo around the Milky Way about 1,000 light-years from […]

A switch for internal, external brain processes Researchers have observed how the brain switches between internal and external information processes in mice. Scientists manipulated thalamic reticular nucleus cells to get the mice to switch information systems. Researchers hope the study could lead to treatments for people with autism or schizophrenia, whose brains have difficulty with […]

Glowing sharks living in dark depths evolve special vision Some species of bioluminescent sharks that live in the darkest depths of the ocean have eyes that have evolved to detect complex patterns of light to communicate with each other, locate prey or hide themselves. Researchers found that the eyes of bioluminescent sharks provide better resolution […]