Tag: science news

Science This Week | NASA’s OSIRIS-REx to bring back asteroid fragments, no signals from Vikram and Pragyan and more

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Science This Week | NASA’s OSIRIS-REx to bring back asteroid fragments, no signals from Vikram and Pragyan and more

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, U.S. | Photo Credit: Reuters From finding traces of carbon dioxide and methane on an alien planet to discovering tiny jellyfish that can…

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Zambia find shows humans have built with wood for 476,000 years

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Zambia find shows humans have built with wood for 476,000 years

Researchers uncover wooden artefacts on the banks of the Kalambo River in Zambia, near where the oldest-known use of wood in construction was found, in this handout image taken in July 2019. | Photo Credit: Reuters Along the banks of the Kalambo River in Zambia near Africa’s second-highest waterfall, archaeologists have excavated two logs of…

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Rising number of ‘predatory’ academic journals undermines research and public trust in scholarship

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Rising number of ‘predatory’ academic journals undermines research and public trust in scholarship

Taxpayers fund a lot of university research in the U.S., and these findings published in scholarly journals often produce major breakthroughs in medicine, vehicle safety, food safety, criminal justice, human rights and other topics that benefit the public at large. The bar for publishing in a scholarly journal is often high. Independent experts diligently review and comment…

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Most pink diamonds were birthed by a disintegrating supercontinent. Where can we find more?

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Most pink diamonds were birthed by a disintegrating supercontinent. Where can we find more?

There is nothing quite like a diamond. For many they are the ultimate “I love you” gift, and jewellers will tell you the ultra-hard stones have unmatched “fire” and “brilliance”. The sentimental and aesthetic value of the gems is matched by their price, which can run to tens of thousand dollars per carat – and…

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Biologists in slow and steady race to help North America’s largest and rarest tortoise species

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Biologists in slow and steady race to help North America’s largest and rarest tortoise species

Gertie, an endangered Bolson tortoise, is shown to a group of state and federal wildlife officials during a trip to Ted Turner’s Armendaris Ranch in Engle, N.M., on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. The Turner Endangered Species Fund has been working to build a population of the tortoises for more than two decades in hopes of…

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No brain, no problem: Tiny jellyfish can learn from experience

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No brain, no problem: Tiny jellyfish can learn from experience

Caribbean box jellyfish are barely a centimetre long and have no brain.  | Photo Credit: AFP Caribbean box jellyfish are barely a centimetre long and have no brain. But these gelatinous, fingernail-sized creatures are capable of learning from visual cues to avoid swimming into obstacles — a cognitive ability never before seen in animals with…

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Signs of life? Why astronomers are excited about carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere of an alien world

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Signs of life? Why astronomers are excited about carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere of an alien world

Are we alone? This question is nearly as old as humanity itself. Today, this question in astronomy focuses on finding life beyond our planet. Are we, as a species, and as a planet, alone? Or is there life somewhere else? Usually the question inspires visions of weird, green versions of humans. However, life is more…

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In a first, RNA is recovered from extinct Tasmanian tiger

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In a first, RNA is recovered from extinct Tasmanian tiger

Three views of the desiccated remains of an extinct marsupial mammal called the Tasmanian tiger, or the thylacine, from a collection at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm are seen in this undated handout image. Researchers managed to recover genetic material called RNA from the remains, a scientific first for an extinct species….

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Pollen in pee: fossilised urine from a small African mammal helps us understand past environments

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Pollen in pee: fossilised urine from a small African mammal helps us understand past environments

Pollen grains are incredibly durable because they are made of an organic substance (called sporopollenin) that is very resistant to decay. Pollen is released into the air, often in large quantities, and can settle on surfaces like lakes, and become preserved in sediment deposits over thousands, or even millions, of years. | Photo Credit: M….

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