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10,000 Stellar-Mass Black Holes Exist in Milky Way’s Central Region, Astronomers Say

Apr 5, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered what they believe are 12 stellar-mass black holes gathered around Sagittarius A*,...

Study: Japanese Macaques Bathe in Hot Springs to Reduce Cold-Climate Stress

Apr 4, 2018 by News Staff

Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), also known as snow monkeys, are the world’s most northerly species of non-human primates. They have been enjoying...

Jurassic Dinosaur Footprints Found on Scotland’s Isle of Skye

Apr 4, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists from the University of Edinburgh, Staffin Museum and Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered a new dinosaur...

This Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+223, whose light has taken over 5 billion years to reach us. Highlighted is the position where the Icarus star appeared -- its image magnified by a factor 2,000 by gravitational microlensing. The spiral galaxy in which the star is located can be seen three times on the sky -- multiplied by strong gravitational lensing. Image credit: NASA / ESA / S. Rodney, John Hopkins University / FrontierSN Team / T. Treu, University of California Los Angeles / P. Kelly, University of California Berkeley / GLASS Team / J. Lotz, STScI / Frontier Fields Team / M. Postman, STScI / CLASH Team / Z. Levay, STScI.

Icarus Star: Hubble Spies Most Distant Star Ever Seen

Apr 3, 2018 by News Staff

A blue supergiant star nicknamed Icarus is so far away that its light has taken 9 billion years to reach our planet. It appears to us as it did when the...

Eocene Monitor Lizard Had Four Eyes: Study

Apr 3, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study, Saniwa ensidens — an extinct monitor lizard that lived in what is now Wyoming 51-49 million years ago (Eocene epoch) —...

Venus in real colors, processed from Mariner 10 images. Image credit: Mattias Malmer / NASA.

Venus’ Atmosphere Could Host Acid-Resistant Microorganisms

Apr 2, 2018 by News Staff

In the search for alien life, astrobiologists have turned over all sorts of rocks. For example, Mars has geological features that suggest it once had subsurface...

Greenwood et al discovered that water was present on Earth at an early stage in its evolution and survived the giant impact, which formed the Moon. This is an artist’s depiction of a catastrophic collision between two celestial bodies; such an impact between the proto-Earth and Theia likely formed the Moon. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Earth’s Water was Present before Moon-Forming Impact, Research Shows

Mar 30, 2018 by News Staff

The high-energy impact about 100 million years after our Solar System formed, resulted in the two colliding planetary objects completely merging to create...

Ashwanikumar et al have developed a drug delivery system using cell-penetrating self-assembling peptide nanomaterials (CSPNs); these drilled-shaped nanomaterials traverse cellular membranes to deliver drugs and can be fine-tuned into different shapes to optimize delivery. Image credit: Ashwanikumar et al, doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2018.02.041.

Scientists Develop Drug-Delivering ‘Nanodrills’ that Penetrate Cell Membranes

Mar 30, 2018 by Zvi Cramer

Researchers have created new drill-shaped nanomaterials that infiltrate cellular membrane and deliver drugs inside the cell, providing a versatile means...

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope took this image of NGC 1052-DF2 on November 16, 2017. Image credit: NASA / ESA / P. van Dokkum, Yale University.

Hubble Discovers Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy with Almost No Dark Matter

Mar 29, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a unique galaxy — the first of its kind — that appears to contain virtually...

The interstitium is seen here beneath the top layer of skin, but is also in tissue layers lining the gut, lungs, and urinary systems, as well as those surrounding blood vessels and the fascia between muscles; the organ is a body-wide network of interconnected, fluid-filled compartments supported by a meshwork of strong, flexible proteins. Image credit: Jill Gregory / Mount Sinai Health System.

Interstitium: ‘New’ Organ Found in Human Body

Mar 28, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers from New York University School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research...

Astronomers Find Super-Earth with Mercury-Like Composition: K2-229b

Mar 28, 2018 by Natali Anderson

An international team of astronomers has discovered a planetary system containing at least three massive planets, orbiting the bright late-G/early-K-type...

NA62 experiment in CERN’s North Area. Image credit: NA62 / CERN.

CERN Physicists Observe Hints of Ultra-Rare Kaon Decay

Mar 27, 2018 by News Staff

Physicists from the NA62 Collaboration at CERN reported today that they had observed a candidate event of an extremely rare charged kaon decay (K+ →...

1,900-Year-Old Boxing ‘Gloves’ Unearthed at Vindolanda

Mar 27, 2018 by News Staff

Two very unusual pieces of leather have been uncovered during the excavation of a pre-Hadrianic cavalry barrack (c. 100 CE) at the Vindolanda Roman fort...

A pair of fanfin anglers (Caulophryne jordani). Image credit: Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation.

First-Ever Footage of Mating Anglerfish Stuns Marine Biologists

Mar 26, 2018 by News Staff

A newly-released video, captured in the waters around Portugal’s Azores islands, shows a pair of deep-sea anglerfish called the fanfin angler (Caulophryne...

2-Billion-Year-Old Sea Salt Captures Earth’s ‘Great Oxidation’

Mar 23, 2018 by News Staff

An international research team led by a Princeton University scientist has found that the rise in oxygen that occurred about 2.3 billion years ago (Paleoproterozoic...

This composite image shows the central region of the Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ESA / CXC / STScI.

Hubble Discovers Origin of Mysterious Gas Cloud Heading toward Milky Way

Mar 23, 2018 by News Staff

In a cosmic tug-of-war between Large and Small Magellanic Clouds — two dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way — only the NASA/ESA Hubble Space...

Scholz’s star flew through the Oort Cloud 70,000 years ago. Image credit: José A. Peñas / SINC.

Scholz’s Star Disturbed Oort Cloud Objects 70,000 Years Ago

Mar 21, 2018 by Natali Anderson

About 70,000 years ago, a binary stellar system called ‘Scholz’s star’ passed within only 52,000 astronomical units (AU) of the Sun, i.e., within...

This artist’s impression shows ‘Oumuamua. Image credit: Joy Pollard / Gemini Observatory / AURA / NSF.

Interstellar Asteroid Oumuamua Likely Came from Double Star System

Mar 20, 2018 by News Staff

1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua, the first asteroid of extrasolar origin identified in the Solar System, likely came from a binary star system, according to new...

The Waorani dog-faced bat (Cynomops tonkigui) in Ecuador. Image credit: Diego Tirira.

Two New Dog-Faced Bat Species Discovered

Mar 19, 2018 by News Staff

Two new species of dog-faced bats have been discovered in the tropical forests of Central and South America. Both new species are described in the March...