Science

  Science fiction is full of examples of people entering suspended animation or hibernation during a long space journey, but that might not be fiction for much longer. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center are putting people in suspended animation for the first time. There’s no spaceflight involved, …

An international team of scientists from Japan and the United States has found ribose and other bioessential sugars in two primitive meteorites, NWA 801 and Murchison. A model of the molecular structure of ribose and an image of the Murchison meteorite. Image credit: Yoshihiro Furukawa. Sugars are indispensable molecules for …

  All the current launch platforms certified to make supply runs to the International Space Station (ISS) use a parachute to return to Earth after each mission. Although, SpaceX has designs on propulsive landings with its Dragon capsule. Sierra Nevada Corporation has something else in mind with its uncrewed Dream …

  Jupiter’s moon Europa has been the subject of intense study ever since the Voyager probes sent back images of its cracked, icy surface. There’s a strong possibility Europa has a subsurface liquid ocean. Some observations have shown geysers erupting from the moon, but we haven’t been able to verify …

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) trapped on a water surface use their wetted wings as hydrofoils for their water surface propulsion, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A honeybee fallen on a water surface creates a wave and hydrofoils atop it. Image credit: Roh …

A new study led by Professor Akiko Iwasaki of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Professor Vishwa Deep Dixit from Yale School of Medicine shows that the consumption of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet — which for people includes meat, fish, poultry, and non-starchy vegetables — protects mice from influenza …

Using radar and infrared data from NASA’s Cassini orbiter spacecraft, a team of planetary geologists has identified and mapped the major geological units on Titan’s surface. The global geologic map of Titan. The map projections are Mercator (top) and polar stereographic (bottom, for 55° N and °S). Image credit: NASA …

Paleontologists in New Zealand have uncovered a nearly complete skeleton of a giant-sized penguin that swam the oceans about 27 million years ago (Oligocene period). A reconstruction of the Kawhia giant penguin. Image credit: Simone Giovanardi. New Zealand is a key area for understanding the ancient history of penguins. Fossils …

Genetic variants determine whether or not you can tolerate eating certain vegetables, according to new research. TAS2R38 predicted lower consumption of vegetables in people who possessed the PAV haplotype. Image credit: Jerzy Górecki. “Taste matters when it comes to altering your diet. If you aren’t appealing to your tastes when …

A new genus and species of non-ornithothoracine bird has been identified from bones collected in Japan. Life restoration of Fukuipteryx prima, a primitive bird that lived in what is now Japan about 120 million years ago. Image credit: Masanori Yoshida. The ancient bird lived approximately 120 million years ago during …