Articles by Enrico de Lazaro

The 57,000-year-old Neanderthal engravings discovered in La Roche-Cotard cave, France: the ‘circular panel’ (left) and the ‘wavy panel’ (right). Image credit: Jean-Claude Marquet / CC-BY 4.0.

57,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Engravings Discovered in France

Jun 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Non-figurative markings on the walls of La Roche-Cotard cave in France are the oldest known engravings made by our sister species. The 57,000-year-old...

An artist’s impression of Nihohae matakoi. Image credit: Daniel Verhelst.

Oligocene-Period Dolphin Had Procumbent Tusk-Like Teeth

Jun 19, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Nihohae matakoi’s tusk-like teeth suggest adaptive advantages for horizontally procumbent teeth in ancient dolphins. An artist’s impression of Nihohae...

This Hubble image shows NGC 6544, a globular cluster located more than 8,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / W. Lewin / F.R. Ferraro.

Hubble Zooms in on Globular Cluster NGC 6544

Jun 19, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a very beautiful close-up shot of the star-studded globular cluster NGC 6544. This Hubble image shows NGC 6544, a globular...

Polyacrylamide hydrogel disks. Image credit: Gustav Graeber / Carlos D. Díaz-Marín.

Salty Hygroscopic Hydrogel Could Absorb Water from Desert Air

Jun 15, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Hygroscopic hydrogels are emerging as scalable and low-cost sorbents for atmospheric water harvesting, dehumidification, passive cooling, and thermal energy...

Life reconstruction of Tiliqua frangens. Image credit: Katrina Kenny.

Giant Armored Skinks Once Roamed Australia

Jun 14, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

There are more species of lizards and snakes alive today than any other order of land vertebrates, yet their fossil record has been poorly documented compared...

An eastern snake-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis) peering from its shell on the road to Carnarvon Gorge, Queensland, Australia. Image credit: Damien Naidoo / CC BY-SA 3.0.

First Side-Necked Turtle Ever Discovered in United Kingdom

Jun 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Dortokidae are a group of poorly known ancient pan-pleurodiran turtles, endemic to Europe with a range from the Early Cretaceous to the Paleogene....

An artist’s rendition of a multiplanetary circumbinary system. Image credit: NASA’s Ames Research Center / JPL-Caltech / T. Pyle.

Astronomers Discover New Multiplanetary Circumbinary System

Jun 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Circumbinary planetary systems contain planets that orbit around two stars in the center instead of just one, like in our Solar System. An artist’s rendition...

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (top left) and the IceCube Neutrino Observatory (sensor strings, bottom). Image credit: NASA / Fermi / Aurore Simonnet, Sonoma State University.

Could Quantum Properties of Spacetime Slow Down Neutrinos?

Jun 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, astrophysicists have found preliminary evidence for gamma-ray...

Reconstruction of the small-bodied theropod dinosaur Fukuivenator paradoxus, a sister taxon of Migmanychion laiyang. Image credit: Piotr Menshikov / Sci.News.

New Species of Theropod Dinosaur Identified in China

Jun 12, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of maniraptoran dinosaur has been described from the fossilized skeletal material found in Inner Mongolia, China. Reconstruction...

This Hubble image shows NGC 7292, an irregular galaxy some 44 million light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Two 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 / C. Kilpatrick.

Hubble Space Telescope Inspects NGC 7292

Jun 12, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced this beautiful image of the remarkable low surface brightness galaxy NGC 7292. This Hubble image shows...

The 12,000-year-old sound-making instruments from Eynan-Mallaha, Israel. Image credit: Davin et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35700-9.

12,000-Year-Old Flutes Unearthed in Israel

Jun 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have found seven flutes made of perforated bird bones at the Natufian site of Eynan-Mallaha in northern Israel. These instruments were intentionally...

SN 2023ixf (lower left) exploded in one of the spiral arms of Messier 101. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. Miller, Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Rodriguez, Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / D. de Martin, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Gemini North Telescope Observes Supernova Explosion in Messier 101

Jun 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A supernova dubbed SN 2023ixf was discovered on May 19, 2023 by the Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki. SN 2023ixf (lower left) exploded in one of the...

Life reconstruction of the extinct bear-dog Amphicyon ingens, a very distant relative of Eoarctos vorax. Image credit: Roman Uchytel.

Oligocene-Period Raccoon-Like Mammal Had Mollusk-Based Diet

Jun 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in the United States have identified a new genus and species of early arctoid from an exquisitely preserved skeleton found in North Dakota’s...

Eukaryotic life appears to have flourished surprisingly late in the history of Earth. This view is based on the low diversity of diagnostic eukaryotic fossils in marine sediments of mid-Proterozoic age (around 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago) and an absence of steranes, the molecular fossils of eukaryotic membrane sterols. This scarcity of eukaryotic remains is difficult to reconcile with molecular clocks that suggest that LECA had already emerged between around 1.2 and more than 1.8 billion years ago. LECA, in turn, must have been preceded by stem-group eukaryotic forms by several hundred million years. Brocks et al. report the discovery of abundant protosteroids in sedimentary rocks of mid-Proterozoic age. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Molecular Remains of Ancient Complex Life Found in 1.6-Billion-Year-Old Rocks

Jun 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have detected abundant protosteroids — traces of ancient life forms — in 1.6-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks that had formed...

An adult American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) at La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico. Image credit: Tomás Castelazo.

Facultative Parthenogenesis Recorded in Crocodilians for First Time Ever

Jun 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis, scientists provide the first evidence of facultative parthenogenesis in a crocodilian —...

The only known dinosaur adapted to life in water, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus swam the rivers of North Africa about 95 million years ago. Image credit: © Davide Bonadonna / National Geographic magazine.

Fossil Reveals Hidden Spinosaurid Dinosaur Diversity in Cretaceous Britain

Jun 7, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new analysis of an isolated spinosaur tooth from East Sussex shows that several distinct spinosaur lineages inhabited Britain during the Cretaceous period. Spinosaurus...

In this image of NGC 5068, from Webb’s MIRI instrument, the dusty structure of the spiral galaxy and glowing bubbles of gas containing newly-formed star clusters are particularly prominent. Three asteroid trails intrude into this image, represented as tiny blue-green-red dots. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / J. Lee / PHANGS-JWST Team.

Webb Observes Hidden Depths of NGC 5068

Jun 6, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured stunning images of the face-on barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068. In this image...

In this false-color Webb image, the foreground galaxy is shown in blue, while the SPT0418-47 galaxy is red; the organic molecules are highlighted in orange. Image credit: J. Spilker / S. Doyle / NASA / ESA / CSA.

Webb Finds Complex Organic Molecules in Early Universe

Jun 5, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have detected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in SPT-S J041839-4751.9 (SPT0418-47 for short),...

Life reconstruction of Rhynchotherium gomphotheres. Image credit: Margret Flinsch / Sci.News.

Unique Gomphothere Assemblage Found in Florida

Jun 5, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have unearthed several complete skeletons of gomphotheres — an extinct relative of elephants — at the Montbrook Fossil Dig...

In this Hubble image, the disk of the jellyfish galaxy JO206 is trailed by long tendrils of bright star formation that stretch towards the bottom right of the image, just as jellyfish trail tentacles behind them. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The image is based on data obtained through six filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Gullieuszik / GASP Team.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Jellyfish Galaxy in Aquarius

Jun 5, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble astronomers have released an absolutely beautiful photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the jellyfish galaxy JO206. In this...

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