News Archive for October 2023

Rionegrina pozosaladensis. Image credit: Melchor et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-43771-x.

First-Ever Terror Bird Footprints Discovered

Oct 5, 2023 by Natali Anderson

For the first time, footprints made by an extinct terror bird (family Phorusrhacidae) have been identified by paleontologists. Holotype trackway of Rionegrina...

This Hubble image shows NGC 4654, a intermediate spiral galaxy some 55 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Lee, Space Telescope Science Institute / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on Intermediate Spiral Galaxy

Oct 5, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced an outstanding image of the intermediate spiral galaxy NGC 4654. This Hubble image...

Travouillon et al. examined the phenomenon of mammalian fluorescence to determine the extent of apparent fluorescence among mammals and to identify the anatomical regions most likely to fluoresce. The images show mammal taxidermy under UV light: (a) polar bear, (b) southern marsupial mole, (c) greater bilby, (d) mountain zebra, (e) bare-nosed wombat, (f) six-banded armadillo, (g) orange leaf-nosed bat, (h) quenda, (i) leopard, (j) Asian palm civet, (k) red fox, (l) dwarf spinner dolphin. Image credit: Travouillon et al., doi: 10.1098/rsos.230325.

At Least 125 Species of Mammals Glow under Ultraviolet Light, New Study Reveals

Oct 4, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Fluorescence — the absorption of short wavelengths of light and re-emission of longer wavelengths of light — is widely distributed among mammals...

An artist’s illustration of hominins arriving in a multi-biome mosaic landscape. Image credit: Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science.

Homo sapiens Dispersed from Africa into Eurasia via Well-Watered Jordan Rift Valley: Study

Oct 4, 2023 by News Staff

Our species, Homo sapiens, dispersed from Africa into Eurasia multiple times in the Middle and Late Pleistocene. According to new research led by Shantou...

This image from Webb’s NIRCam short-wavelength channel shows the Orion Nebula, its stars, and many other objects in unprecedented high definition in the near infrared. Many of the young stars are surrounded by dense disks of gas and dust which may be forming planets. In other cases, those disks are being destroyed by the intense ultraviolet radiation and strong winds from the most massive stars in the region. Many of these photoevaporating disks are visible if you zoom into the image. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / M. McCaughrean / S. Pearson.

Webb Snaps New Pics of Orion Nebula

Oct 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured stunning new images of the Orion Nebula, a diffuse nebula located approximately...

3D seismic imaging and ocean drilling at the Hikurangi margin reveal a widespread and previously unknown fluid reservoir within the extensively hydrated (up to 47 vol % water) volcanic upper crust of the subducting Hikurangi Plateau large igneous province. Image credit: Gase et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh0150.

Geoscientists Discover Massive Undersea Water Reservoir Off New Zealand’s Coast

Oct 4, 2023 by News Staff

Revealed by 3D seismic imaging, the newly-discovered water reservoir lies 3.2 km (2 miles) under the ocean floor off the coast of New Zealand, where it...

This Hubble image shows NGC 612, a lenticular galaxy some 388 million light-years in the constellation of Sculptor. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Barth, University of California, Irvine / B. Boizelle, Brigham Young University / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Takes Close Look at NGC 612

Oct 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a beautiful photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of the lenticular galaxy NGC 612. This Hubble image shows NGC 612, a lenticular...

New Horizons mosaics of Arrokoth (left) and the same observations overlain with geologic mapping (right). Image credit: Stern et al., doi: 10.3847/PSJ/acf317.

Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth’s Large Mounds Have Common Origin, New Study Suggests

Oct 3, 2023 by News Staff

The 5-km-long mounds that dominate the appearance of the larger lobe of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth are similar enough to suggest a common origin,...

Artistic representation of the opportunistic burrowing behavior of the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes, as predicted from reconstructed high-definition 3D whole-brain models (highlighted middle right) shown in dorsal (top) and lateral (bottom) views. In comparison, the reconstruction of the first natural endocast of a fossil snake (Dinilysia patagonica, top right) displays a divergent morphological configuration of the telencephalon (Tel) and provides no or limited information about the diencephalon (Dien), mesencephalon (Mes), cerebellum (Cb), and medulla oblongata (MO) regions. In contrast, the estimated endocast of Najash rionegrina (bottom right) shows similarities with the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes in several distinguishable telencephalic regions, including cerebral hemisphere (CH), olfactory bulb (OB), and olfactory tract (OT). Reconstructions of the fossil skulls (purple color) are shown around the cranial endocasts. Image credit: Macrì et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6888 / Neptalí Ramírez Marcial.

Researchers Shed New Light on Enigmatic Early Evolution of Snakes

Oct 3, 2023 by News Staff

The ecological origin and early evolution of snakes has long been a focus of multiple research fields and remains one of the most enduring and controversial...

Hubble observed Saturn on June 20, 2019 as the planet made its closest approach to Earth this year, at approximately 808 million miles away. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Simon, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / M.H. Wong, University of California, Berkeley / OPAL Team.

Saturn’s Rings May Have Formed Following Massive Collision between Two Moons, Scientists Say

Oct 3, 2023 by News Staff

Saturn’s rings could have evolved from the debris of two progenitor icy moons that collided and shattered a few hundred million years ago; debris that...

Regular tea consumption, particularly dark tea, is associated with increased urinary glucose excretion, improved insulin resistance, and a reduced risk of dysglycaemia. Image credit: Sci.News.

Regular Tea Consumption, Particularly Dark Tea, May Help Reduce Diabetes Risk

Oct 3, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Tea, a beverage consumed extensively worldwide, has been reported to be associated with substantial health benefits, including a reduced risk of cardiovascular...

This OmegaCAM/VST image shows three nebulae: the red emission nebula IC 1284 and two blue reflection nebulae NGC 6589 and NGC 6590. Image credit: ESO / VPHAS+ Team.

OmegaCAM Sees Three Nebulae in Sagittarius

Oct 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

There are two different types of nebulae in this new image from the OmegaCAM instrument on ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at Paranal Observatory in...

The Asian mysterious pangolin (Manis mysteria) separated from the Philippine pangolin (shown here) and Malayan pangolin over 5 million years ago. Image credit: Gregg Yan / CC BY-SA 4.0.

DNA Study Reveals Cryptic New Species of Pangolin

Oct 2, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The newly-identified species, Manis mysteria, is the ninth known pangolin species or the fifth Asian one. The Asian mysterious pangolin (Manis mysteria)...

Problematic online usage and Internet addiction lack a refined classification. Using 796 questionnaires, Stangl et al. are the first to reveal a continuum ranging from casual users (i.e. older users) to addicts (i.e. digital natives) acknowledging five different severity levels of problematic online usage to Internet addiction. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Scientists Introduce New Internet Addiction Spectrum

Oct 2, 2023 by News Staff

Researchers from the University of Surrey and elsewhere have found that young people (24 years and youger) spend an average of six hours a day online;...

This DEC image shows the onion-like layers of NGC 3923, a shell galaxy some 70 million light-years away in the constellation of Hydra. The image also shows the face-on spiral galaxies LEDA 744285 and ESO 440-11; and near the top of the image is the extremely large gravitational lens around the galaxy cluster PLCK G287.0+32.9. Image credit: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys / LBNL / DOE / KPNO / CTIO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage / NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab / R. Colombari, NSF’s NOIRLab / D. de Martin, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Dark Energy Camera Captures Rare Shell Galaxy

Oct 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the Dark Energy Camera (DEC) on NSF’s Víctor M. Blanco 4-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s...

Bohemolichas incola. Image credit: Jiri Svoboda.

465-Million-Year-Old Trilobite Found with Gut Contents Preserved

Oct 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered fossilized specimen of Bohemolichas incola, a species of trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period, provides by far the most...

This Hubble image shows G35.2-0.7N, a star-forming region some 7,200 light-years away in the constellation of Aquila. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Fedriani / J. Tan.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Massive-Star Forming Region

Oct 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

At least one B-type star — the second most massive type — lurks within a star-forming region called G35.2-0.7N, and a powerful protostellar...

1 2 3 45