News Archive for July 2015

The new study shows that ancestors of Native Americans migrated to the Americas from Siberia and not directly from Europe. Painting by G. Mülzel.

Single Migration from Siberia Peopled the Americas, Scientists Say

Jul 21, 2015 by News Staff

Using ancient and modern genome-wide data, a team of researchers has found that the ancestors of all present-day Native Americans, including Athabascans...

Kallisti Limnes: Opalescent Subsea Pools Discovered near Santorini

Jul 21, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational group of researchers using undersea vehicles in the waters off Greece’s Santorini has discovered an interconnected series of subsea pools...

This image of Pluto (center) was taken on July 14, 2015 from a distance of 2.4 billion miles (3.9 billion km). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Spies Pluto from Saturn Orbit

Jul 21, 2015 by News Staff

As NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sailed past Pluto, collecting invaluable science data, the space agency’s Cassini orbiter turned its gaze in that...

The Attenborough’s flat lizard (Platysaurus attenboroughi), male. Image credit: Martin J. Whiting et al.

Platysaurus attenboroughi: African Lizard Named after Sir David Attenborough

Jul 21, 2015 by Natali Anderson

A team of scientists, led by Dr Martin Whiting of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, has described a new species of the flat lizard genus Platysaurus...

Earth as seen on July 6, 2015 from a distance of one million miles by NASA’s EPIC camera on the DSCOVR satellite. Image credit: NOAA / NASA / U.S. Air Force.

DSCOVR Satellite Captures Its First Photo of Earth

Jul 21, 2015 by News Staff

The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a joint mission between NOAA, NASA, and U.S. Air Force, has captured its first image of Earth. Earth as seen...

One of nine glass bottles observed at the site of a centuries-old shipwreck off the North Carolina coast. Image credit: WHOI.

Scientists Discover American Revolution-Era Shipwreck off North Carolina Coast

Jul 20, 2015 by News Staff

Marine scientists have found the remains of a shipwreck more than a mile deep off the North Carolina coast, dating to the American Revolution. One of nine...

The Southern Ocean’s clouds can cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight that would otherwise be absorbed by the darker ocean below, and phytoplankton help with that. Image credit: NASA.

Phytoplankton Play Significant Role in Generating Brighter Clouds over Southern Ocean

Jul 20, 2015 by News Staff

A study of clouds over the Southern Ocean reveals how tiny natural particles given off by marine phytoplankton nearly double cloud droplet numbers in the...

This image shows the dwarf galaxy NGC 1140. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

NGC 1140: Astronomers Zero in on Dwarf Irregular Starburst Galaxy

Jul 20, 2015 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have captured an incredible image of the dwarf galaxy NGC 1140. This image shows the dwarf galaxy...

Weyl Fermion: Long-Sought Massless Particle Finally Observed

Jul 20, 2015 by News Staff

The Weyl fermion – an elusive massless particle theorized 85 years ago – has been confirmed by direct observations for the first time. A detector...

Pluto nearly fills the frame in this image from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, taken on July 13, 2015, when the spacecraft was 476,000 miles (768,000 km) from the dwarf planet’s surface. This is the last and most detailed image sent to Earth before the spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto on July 14. The color image has been combined with lower-resolution color information from the Ralph instrument that was acquired earlier on July 13. This view is dominated by the large, bright feature informally named the ‘heart,’ which measures around 1,000 miles (1,600 km) across. The heart’s diameter is about the same distance as from Denver to Chicago, in America’s heartland. The heart borders darker equatorial terrains, and the mottled terrain to its east (right) are complex. However, even at this resolution, much of the heart’s interior appears remarkably featureless-possibly a sign of ongoing geologic processes. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA’s New Horizons Uncovers Hidden Secrets of Pluto’s Atmosphere

Jul 20, 2015 by News Staff

The Alice instrument – a lightweight (4.4 kg), low-power (4.4 Watt) imaging spectrograph aboard NASA’s New Horizons – has observed Pluto’s...

This image shows Pluto’s small moon Nix. NASA scientists believe we are looking at one end of moon’s elongated body. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Captures Image of Pluto’s Moon Nix

Jul 18, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured this view of Pluto’s small moon Nix on July 13, 2015, from a distance of about 360,000 miles (590,000 km). This...

This view of a portion of Pluto’s Sputnik Planum shows enigmatic features: the surface appears to be divided into irregularly shaped segments that are ringed by narrow troughs, some of which contain darker materials; features that appear to be groups of mounds and fields of small pits are also visible. This image was acquired on July 14 from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 km). Features as small as a half-mile (1 km) across are visible. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Close-Up of Pluto Reveals Very Young, Craterless Plain

Jul 17, 2015 by News Staff

According to New Horizons planetary scientists, this frozen region is no more than 100 million years old, and is possibly still being shaped by geologic...

Prof Langdon has been breeding new varieties of dulse for several years. Image credit: Stephen Ward.

Biologists Create Dulse Seaweed Strain that Tastes Like Bacon

Jul 17, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists at Oregon State University has developed a new variety of dulse seaweed (Palmaria mollis) that, when fried or smoked, tastes just...

Gaia 14aae: Astronomers Discover Unique Binary Star

Jul 17, 2015 by News Staff

Using ESA’s Gaia satellite, a large multinational group of astronomers has discovered a unique binary star system: the first known such binary where...

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Image credit: Steve Amstrup / USFWS.

Increasing Sea Ice Loss is Dangerous Threat to Polar Bears, Scientists Say

Jul 17, 2015 by News Staff

According to a team of scientists led by Dr John Whiteman from the University of Wyoming, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are unlikely to physiologically...

This image of Pluto’s largest moon Charon was taken on July 13 from a distance of 289,000 miles (466,000 km). The inset is a black-and-white close-up taken on July 14. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA Releases New Close-Up of Pluto’s Moon Charon

Jul 17, 2015 by News Staff

A close-up image of an area on Pluto’s largest moon Charon reveals a depression with a peak in the middle. This new image of an area on Charon has a...

Male and female superb fairy-wrens in Ensay, Victoria, Australia. This is a composite image, the right bird was inserted into the image. Image credit: Benjamin T. / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Train Fairy-Wrens to Understand Foreign ‘Languages’

Jul 16, 2015 by News Staff

A team of ornithologists, led by Prof Robert Magrath of the Australian National University, has succeeded in teaching wild superb fairy-wrens (Malurus...

A 3D structure of hexagonal boron nitride sheets and boron nitride nanotubes could be a tunable material to control heat in gadgets. Image credit: Rouzbeh Shahsavari / Navid Sakhavand / Rice University.

3D Boron Nitride Could Help Keep Gadgets Cool

Jul 16, 2015 by News Staff

A team of researchers at Rice University has completed the first analysis of how 3D boron nitride might be used as a tunable material to control heat flow...

An artist’s impression of Zhenyuanlong suni. Image credit: Chuang Zhao.

Zhenyuanlong suni: New Feather-Winged Dinosaur Species Discovered

Jul 16, 2015 by News Staff

A new species of dinosaur with bird-like wings has come to light in China’s rocks dating to some 125 million years ago. An artist’s impression of Zhenyuanlong...

New Horizons Captures Pluto’s Moons Charon and Hydra

Jul 16, 2015 by News Staff

New details of Pluto’s moons Charon and Hydra are revealed in the latest images from the spacecraft’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, taken on July...

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