News Archive for June 2022

Frog-eating bats were able to remember what they learned for up to four years in the wild. Image credit: Marcos Guerra.

Some Bats Have Remarkable Long-Term Memory, Study Shows

Jun 20, 2022 by News Staff

In new research, a team of scientists from the Ohio State University acquainted 49 frog-eating bats with a series of ringtones that attracted their attention,...

This Hubble image shows the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1351. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / H. Ebeling / L. Shatz.

Hubble Focuses on Lensing Galaxy Cluster Abell 1351

Jun 20, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced this beautiful image of the massive and rich galaxy cluster Abell 1351. This Hubble image shows the massive...

This Hubble image shows a blue stellar system. Image credit: Michael Jones.

New Type of Stellar System Discovered

Jun 17, 2022 by News Staff

Astronomers have spotted five blue stellar systems — which they say appear through a telescope as blue blobs and are about the size of dwarf galaxies...

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from the Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845) illustrated by John Woodhouse Audubon.

Scientists Sequence Genome of 100,000-Year-Old Polar Bear

Jun 17, 2022 by News Staff

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos) are sister species possessing distinct physiological and behavioral adaptations that evolved...

Biswas et al. examined the effects of actual caffeine intake on spending. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Caffeine Consumption Leads to Impulsivity during Shopping, New Study Shows

Jun 17, 2022 by Natali Anderson

New research conducted at multiple retail stores across different countries and in the lab indicates that consuming a caffeinated (vs. non-caffeinated)...

These images of dusty disks around young massive stars were taken with the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) instrument on the Gemini South telescope, the International Gemini Observatory. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / E. Rich, Michigan University.

Gemini Planet Imager Detects Protoplanetary Disks around Young Stars

Jun 17, 2022 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Gemini Planet Imager instrument at the Gemini South telescope in Chile have imaged a sample of 44 bright Herbig Ae/Be and T-Tauri...

An artist’s reconstruction of Gansuyaena megalotis. Image credit: Mick Ellison.

Fossils of Aardwolf-Like Hyena Unearthed in China

Jun 16, 2022 by News Staff

Gansuyaena megalotis, a small-bodied hyaenid that lived in what is now the Chinese province of Gansu between 15 and 12 million years ago (Miocene epoch),...

The village of Tel Tsaf, Israel: an overview of Area C with courtyard buildings, comprising rectangular and rounded rooms and rounded silos. Image credit: Y. Garfinkel.

New Evidence Suggests Olive and Fig Trees Were Cultivated as Early as 7,000 Years Ago

Jun 16, 2022 by News Staff

Archeologists excavating at the Chalcolithic site of Tel Tsaf in the Jordan Valley, Israel, have discovered one of the earliest examples of fruit tree...

This composite image shows the Tarantula Nebula. The background image, taken in the infrared, is itself a composite: it was captured by the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), shows bright stars and light, pinkish clouds of hot gas. The bright red-yellow streaks that have been superimposed on the image come from radio observations taken by the ALMA, revealing regions of cold, dense gas which have the potential to collapse and form stars. The unique web-like structure of the gas clouds led astronomers to the nebula’s spidery nickname. Image credit: ESO / ALMA / NAOJ / NRAO / Wong et al. / M.-R. Cioni / VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey / Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit.

Astronomers Capture Spectacular Image of Tarantula Nebula

Jun 16, 2022 by News Staff

In a new high-resolution image, we see the Tarantula Nebula — a luminous star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of...

Tartarocyon cazanavei. Image credit: Denny Navarra.

Gigantic Bear-Dogs Lived in France 12 Million Years Ago

Jun 16, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new species of large-sized amphicyonid carnivore from a fossilized mandible found in France. Tartarocyon cazanavei. Image...

Top left: a giant blue star, much more massive than our Sun, has consumed, through nuclear fusion at its center, all its hydrogen, helium, and heavier elements up to iron. It now has a small iron core (red dot) at its center. Unlike the earlier stages of fusion, the fusion of iron atoms absorbs, rather than releases, energy. The fusion-released energy that has held up the star against its own weight now is gone, and the star will quickly collapse, triggering a supernova explosion. Top right: the collapse has begun, producing a superdense neutron star with a strong magnetic field at its center (inset). The neutron star, though containing about 1.5 times the mass of the Sun, is only about the size of Manhattan. Bottom left: the supernova explosion has ejected a fast-moving shell of debris outward into interstellar space. At this stage, the debris shell is dense enough to shroud from view any radio waves coming from the region of the neutron star. Bottom right: As the shell of explosion debris expands over a few decades, it becomes less dense and eventually becomes thin enough that radio waves from inside can escape. This allowed observations by the VLA Sky Survey to detect bright radio emission created as the rapidly spinning neutron star’s powerful magnetic field sweeps through the surrounding space, accelerating charged particles. This phenomenon is called a pulsar wind nebula. Image credit: Melissa Weiss, NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Astronomers Spot Pulsar Wind Nebula in Distant Dwarf Galaxy

Jun 15, 2022 by News Staff

A pulsar wind nebula is created when the powerful magnetic field of a rapidly spinning neutron star accelerates surrounding charged particles to nearly...

Kinyang mabokoensis and Kinyang tchernovi (gold) were up to four times the length of their modern relatives, dwarf crocodiles (green). Image credit: Christopher Brochu, University of Iowa.

Two Miocene-Period Crocodile Species Unearthed in Kenya

Jun 15, 2022 by News Staff

Two new species of giant dwarf crocodiles that lived during the Early and Middle Miocene have been identified from the fossilized skulls found in Kenya. Kinyang...

A cat (Felis catus) licks and chews silver vine (Actinidia polygama) leaves. Image credit: Masao Miyazaki & Reiko Uenoyama.

Plant-Damaging Behavior Plays Important Role in Gaining Pest-Repellency in Cats: Study

Jun 15, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research provides evidence that the physical damage of catnip (Nepeta cataria) and silver vine (Actinidia polygama) leaves by feline licking and chewing...

Low levels of vitamin D were associated with lower brain volumes and an increased risk of dementia and stroke. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study Shows Link between Vitamin D Deficiency and Brain Health

Jun 15, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research led by University of South Australia scientists supports a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency on brain health, notably for the risk of...

This image shows part of the scarred and colorful landscape in Aonia Terra, Mars. The image comprises data gathered by Mars Express’ High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on April 25, 2022. It was created using data from the nadir channel, the field of view aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, and the color channels of the HRSC. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

Mars Express Sees ‘Colorful’ Landscape in Aonia Terra

Jun 15, 2022 by News Staff

A new image from ESA’s Mars Express orbiter shows part of Aonia Terra, an upland region in the southern highlands of Mars. This image shows part of the...

This artist’s conception illustrates the previously unknown complexity of the young galaxy A1689-zD1. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / B. Saxton, NRAO, AUI & NSF.

Early Galaxies May Have Been Bigger Than Previously Thought

Jun 14, 2022 by News Staff

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have observed a significant amount of cold, neutral gas in the outer regions...

The interstellar dust map made with Gaia’s data release 3. Image credit: ESA / Gaia / DPAC.

ESA’s Gaia Mission Releases Its Third Full Dataset

Jun 14, 2022 by News Staff

Gaia’s data release 3 (DR3) contains new and improved details for almost 2 billion stars in our Milky Way Galaxy as well as for a subset of solar system...

University of Michigan’s Professor Daniel Fisher and the 13,000-year-old Buesching mastodon. Image credit: Eric Bronson / Michigan Photography.

Research Reveals Annual Migration Patterns of American Mastodon

Jun 14, 2022 by News Staff

Around 13,200 years ago, an 8-ton adult American mastodon (Mammut americanum) — nicknamed the Buesching mastodon — was killed when a rival...

ALMA Images Highly Eccentric Debris Disk around HD 53143

Jun 14, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

HD 53143 is a one-billion-year-old solar-type star located 59.8 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. This composite image shows the HD 53143...

Healthy brain temperature varies by time of day. Image credit: Rzechorzek et al., doi: 10.1093/brain/awab466.

Study: Human Brain Temperature is Higher and Varies More Than Previously Assumed

Jun 14, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists have established a 4D map of human brain temperature and shown how this parameter varies with time of day, brain region, age, and sex in adults....

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