Astronomers using the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory have found what may be a new dwarf planet in the outer Solar System. The large, icy object carries the provisional name 2026 ED138 (ED138 for short). A mosaic of images captured by the Vera Rubin Observatory of 2026 ED138. Image credit: NSF / DOE / Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / M. Jurić, University of Washington / D. de...

Teghaza 001, a meteorite found in the Sahara Desert in Mali four years ago, is a fragment of Mars’ primordial crust, formed at least 4.1 billion years ago, according to a new paper in the journal Science. The largest fragment of the Martian meteorite Teghaza 001. Image credit: Liu et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adz5646. Teghaza 001 consists of eight fragments with a total mass of 798.5 g, the largest...

Some of the oldest drawings known to humanity, made roughly 37,000 years ago in France’s Chauvet Cave, are covered by a thin, translucent film of calcite that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Scientists from Sorbonne Université and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have now found a way to detect it from a distance, without touching the walls. The Horses panel in Chauvet...

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of megaraptorid dinosaur from an incomplete skeleton unearthed in northern Patagonia, Argentina. Life reconstruction of Rinconraptor pipoae. Image credit: Connor Ashbridge / CC BY 4.0. The newly described species belongs to the Megaraptoridae, a group of medium- to large-sized theropods known for slender hind limbs, strongly curved teeth and...

A new study led by the University of Cambridge challenges the long-standing idea that comets helped kick-start life on our home planet, suggesting that the icy bodies were largely unable to deliver the concentrated chemical ingredients needed for prebiotic chemistry. An artist’s impression of cometary impact. Image credit: Scarlett White. “Historically, scientists thought that comets were important...

Physicists at Northwestern University have held a single positron — the antimatter twin of the electron — in a trap for months and manipulated it one quantum jump at a time. They call their setup a ‘one-positron quantum cyclotron.’ Cloud chamber photograph by the American experimental physicist Carl David Anderson of the first positron ever identified. Antimatter is hard to study...

Humans and chimpanzees share more than 96% of their protein-coding DNA, yet human brains are roughly three times larger and far more complex. New research led by Lund University scientists suggests that part of the explanation may lie in a viral infection that struck chimpanzee ancestors millions of years ago and never reached ours. Gerdes et al. show that LINC00662, a human-specific transcript expressed...

Humans and chimpanzees share more than 96% of their protein-coding DNA, yet human brains are roughly three times larger and far more complex. New research led by Lund University scientists suggests that part of the explanation may lie in a viral infection that struck chimpanzee ancestors millions of years ago and never reached ours. Gerdes et al. show that LINC00662, a human-specific transcript expressed...

Zircon crystals and impact-altered minerals show that a massive asteroid slammed into what is now the Pilbara region of Western Australia about 3 billion years ago. The North Pole Dome crater: (A) simplified map of the East Pilbara Terrane (EPT, Western Australia), showing Paleoarchean granite domes (pink) and greenstone belts (greens and blues); the North Pole Dome (NPD) lies near the terrane center;...

Humans and chimpanzees share more than 96% of their protein-coding DNA, yet human brains are roughly three times larger and far more complex. New research led by Lund University scientists suggests that part of the explanation may lie in a viral infection that struck chimpanzee ancestors millions of years ago and never reached ours. Gerdes et al. show that LINC00662, a human-specific transcript expressed...