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Perspective view of Mars’ north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark troughs forming a spiral-like pattern. The view is based on images taken by ESA’s Mars Express and generated using elevation data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / NASA / MGS / MOLA Science Team.

ESA Releases Stunning Mosaic of Mars’ North Pole

Feb 20, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers, using a camera aboard ESA’s Mars Express, have created a stunning mosaic of Mars’ north polar region. Perspective view of Mars’ north...

This enhanced color composite image, made with data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, shows the area around Ernutet crater, which is about 32 miles (52 km) in diameter and is located in the northern hemisphere. The bright red portions appear redder with respect to the rest of Ceres. In the new study, planetary researchers found that these red areas around Ernutet are associated with evidence of organic material. Images taken using blue (440 nm), green (750 nm) and infrared (960 nm) spectral filters were combined to create the view. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Aliphatic Organic Compounds Detected on Ceres

Feb 17, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of planetary researchers has discovered the presence of aliphatic organic compounds — carbon-based building blocks that may...

The study by Martineau et al provides the most robust evidence yet that vitamin D has benefits beyond bone and muscle health, and could have major implications for public health policy.

Vitamin D Protects Against Colds and Flu, New Study Finds

Feb 16, 2017 by News Staff

Vitamin D supplementation can help protect against acute respiratory infections including colds and flu, particularly among very deficient individuals,...

Artist’s reconstruction of Dinocephalosaurus. Image credit: Dinghua Yang.

Triassic Fossil Reveals First Evidence of Live Birth in Archosauromorphs

Feb 15, 2017 by News Staff

The first ever evidence of live birth in a group of animals previously thought only to lay eggs has been discovered by an international team of paleontologists...

Based on various lines of geological and geophysical evidence, particularly those accumulated in the last two decades, Nick Mortimer et al argue that Zealandia is not a collection of partly submerged continental fragments but is a coherent 4.9 million km2 continent. NC - New Caledonia; WTP - West Torres Plateau; CT - Cato Trough; Cf - Chesterfield Islands; L - Lord Howe Island; N - Norfolk Island; K - Kermadec Islands; Ch - Chatham Islands; B - Bounty Islands; An - Antipodes Islands; Au - Auckland Islands; Ca - Campbell Island. Image credit: Nick Mortimer et al, doi: 10.1130/GSATG321A.1.

Meet Zealandia, Earth’s New Continent

Feb 14, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Zealandia — a 4.9 million km2 region of the southwest Pacific Ocean — was once part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana and today it is...

According to Brian Chin et al, married people have lower cortisol levels and steeper slopes than the unmarried ones. Image credit: Olessya.

Study: Married People Have Lower Levels of Stress Hormone Cortisol

Feb 14, 2017 by News Staff

A study led by Carnegie Mellon University researchers provides the first biological evidence to explain how marriage impacts health. According to Brian...

Artist’s concept of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 411b. Image credit: Ricardo Ramirez.

Astronomers Reveal Catalog of Nearby Stars, Detect 114 Potential Exoplanets

Feb 13, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers today released the largest-ever compilation of exoplanet-detecting observations made with a technique called radial velocity. They also demonstrated...

This image shows an ON Delayed retinal ganglion cell. Image credit: Adam Mani & Gregory W. Schwartz, Northwestern University.

Researchers Find Myopia-Causing Cells in Retina

Feb 13, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at Northwestern University has discovered a type of retinal ganglion cell that may cause myopia when it dysfunctions. The study is...

This artist’s impression shows AR Scorpii. In this unique double star a rapidly spinning white dwarf star (right) powers electrons up to almost the speed of light. These high energy particles release blasts of radiation that lash the companion red dwarf star (left) and cause the entire system to pulse dramatically every 1.97 minutes with radiation ranging from the ultraviolet to radio. Image credit: M. Garlick / University of Warwick / ESO.

Astronomers Find First Ever White Dwarf Pulsar

Feb 13, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers have identified AR Scorpii — a binary stellar system in the constellation Scorpius, 380 light-years from Earth — as the first example...

This artist’s rendering illustrates a conceptual design for a potential future mission to land a robotic probe on the surface of Europa. The lander is shown with a sampling arm extended, having previously excavated a small area on the surface. The circular dish on top is a dual-purpose high-gain antenna and camera mast, with stereo imaging cameras mounted on the back of the antenna. Three vertical shapes located around the top center of the lander are attachment points for cables that would lower the rover from a sky crane, which is envisioned as the landing system for this mission concept. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / M. Carroll.

Science Report on NASA’s Europa Lander Concept Released

Feb 10, 2017 by News Staff

In a new report to NASA released this week, a 21-member team of scientists assess the scientific value and engineering design of a future mission to the...

Qumran Cave 12: New Dead Sea Scrolls Cave Discovered

Feb 9, 2017 by News Staff

Archaeologists working near Qumran in Israel have found a cave that previously contained Dead Sea scrolls. They now suggest ‘the cave should be numbered...

This artist’s conception shows an intermediate-mass black hole in the center of the globular star cluster 47 Tucanae. Image credit: B. Kiziltan / T. Karacan.

Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Found at Center of Star Cluster 47 Tucanae

Feb 9, 2017 by News Staff

47 Tucanae — a huge, ancient globular star cluster about 15,300 light-years away from us — harbors a central black hole about 2,200 times more...

This artist’s concept depicts the early Martian environment (right) -- believed to contain liquid water and a thicker atmosphere -- versus the cold, dry environment seen at Mars today (left). Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Did Ancient Martian Volcanism Provide the Sunblock to Get Life Going?

Feb 8, 2017 by James Romero

Intense volcanism early in Mars history could have aided the emergence of life on the red planet through filtering out harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation...

Microphotograph of the diamond anvil cell high-pressure cavity in reflected and transmitted light at 140 GPa after laser heating to > 1,500 degrees Kelvin. The sample, which consists of mixture of tI19 Na and Na2He, is in contact with He medium that is seen as a transparent area near the edge of the gasket. Image credit: Xiao Dong et al, doi: 10.1038/nchem.2716.

Researchers Create Stable Compound of Helium and Sodium

Feb 7, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of researchers has successfully synthesized a thermodynamically stable compound of sodium and the noble gas helium, Na2He, which...

Geckolepis megalepis in life. Image credit: Frank Glaw.

Geckolepis megalepis: New Gecko Species Has Exceptionally Large, Fish-Like Scales

Feb 7, 2017 by News Staff

A bizarre new species of the fish-scale gecko genus Geckolepis has been found living in the ‘tsingy’ karst formations of northern Madagascar. Geckolepis...

The Sheth’s dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus shethi) at Ankarana Special Reserve, Madagascar. Image credit: Richard Randriamampionona.

Cheirogaleus shethi: New Species of Dwarf Lemur Found in Madagascar

Feb 6, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A new dwarf lemur species has been discovered in the dry and transitional forests of northern Madagascar, according to a paper published in the latest...

Ahuna Mons, Ceres’ lonely mountain, is seen in this simulated perspective view. The elevation has been exaggerated by a factor of two. The view was made using enhanced-color images from NASA’s Dawn orbiter. Images taken using blue (440 nm), green (750 nm) and infrared (960 nm) spectral filters were combined to create the view. The spacecraft’s framing camera took the images from Dawn’s low-altitude mapping orbit, from an altitude of 240 miles (385 km) in August 2016. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI.

Ceres May Have Vanishing Cryovolcanoes

Feb 3, 2017 by News Staff

Ahuna Mons, a 2.5-mile- (4 km) tall mountain on Ceres interpreted as a geologically young cryovolcano, may have some hidden older siblings, according to...

A northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) catches a cricket. Image credit: Candler Hobbs.

Unique Reversible Saliva Keeps Frog Tongues Sticky

Feb 2, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, a frog’s saliva is thick and sticky during prey capture, then turns...

In the heart of an active galaxy, matter falling toward a supermassive black hole creates jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. For active galaxies classified as blazars, one of these jets beams almost directly toward Earth. Image credit: NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

NASA’s Fermi Spacecraft Finds Five High Redshift Blazars

Feb 1, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has spotted the five most distant gamma-ray blazars — a type of galaxy whose intense emissions are powered...