Moons crashing together may have created Saturn’s rings Saturn’s iconic rings may be the result of a collision between two moons made of ice and rocks. Scientists simulated almost 200 collision scenarios and found that the impact of two moons roughly the size of Saturn’s current moons could disperse into icy rings, consistent with the […]
Human bones in Spanish cave were likely used as tools Ancient humans excavated and modified the skeletons of their buried ancestors to possibly use as tools, according to a study from scientists studying remains at the Cueva de los Marmoles cave in southern Spain. Researchers identified the remains of at least 12 people buried between […]
NASA’s MOXIE experiment generates oxygen on Mars NASA’s first mission to generate oxygen on Mars — the “Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment,” or MOXIE — has successfully concluded, the agency announced. The toaster-sized device on the Perseverance rover has produced 122 grams of oxygen that is at least 98% pure, which could be scaled […]
A new type of bird-like dinosaur Scientists have studied a newly discovered fossil of a bird-like dinosaur likely between 148 to 150 million years old that may be the youngest member of the Jurassic avialans. The creature, called Fujianvenator prodigiosus, was about the size of a pheasant, had long legs that were likely used for […]
Human ancestors nearly went extinct a million years ago Humans almost faced extinction between 813,000 and 930,00 years ago when human ancestors’ population fell to about 1,280. Researchers studied the genomes of over 3,150 present-day people and found that human ancestors experienced a bottleneck for about 117,000 years, which may have driven the evolutionary divergence […]
Reduced cancer risk tied to short bouts of physical activity A study found that a minimum of 3.4 minutes and 3.7 minutes of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity per day were associated with a 17% lower total cancer incidence risk and 28% lower physical activity-related cancer incidence risk, respectively. Full Story: MedPage Today Polyethylene plastic […]
Astronomers discover first evidence of “Trojan planet” Scientists have spotted the first evidence of a “Trojan planet” that shares the same orbit around a star as another planet. Astronomers believe that Trojan planets form when dust clouds are held into stable material from the gravitational pull of a star and other planet and may be […]
Annulated sea snakes do have genes to see colour Annulated sea snakes, a venomous species found in the oceans of Australia and Asia, can see colour, debunking assumptions of colorblindness after surviving the last 110 million years in the ocean. Researchers used genome sequencing to find four intact copies of the opsin gene SWS1 — […]
Earth’s inner core is textured, not smooth The Earth’s solid inner core is textured with ripples in the “fabric” that are more pronounced deeper into the core. Researchers examined seismic data from 2,455 earthquakes and found that the pattern of texture may mean Earth’s core endured a period of rapid growth before slowly hardening. Full […]
Study upends idea that men hunted while women gathered The popular belief that early hunter-gatherer societies were organized around sex roles with men hunting and women gathering is incorrect, according to an analysis of data from academic papers focusing on 63 hunter-gatherer societies from across the world. The new research shows that 79% of communities […]