Science

An international team of scientists has sequenced the nuclear genomes of two Neanderthals who lived in Europe around 120,000 years ago. They found that the individuals were more genetically similar to later Neanderthals from Europe than to a roughly contemporaneous individual from Siberia. The findings reveal a stable, 80,000-year ancestry …

An international team of paleontologists from the United Kingdom and Germany has shown that blue feather melanosomes are highly distinct from melanosomes that are from feathers expressing black, reddish-brown, brown and iridescent. Reconstruction of Eocoracias brachyptera with hypothesized plumage coloration. Image credit: Marta Zaher, University of Bristol. A pigment called …

  NASA’s Curiosity rover has been exploring the red planet for almost seven years, spending most of its time analyzing the geology and taking selfies. However, it also has some instruments that can detect possible signs of life on Mars. The agency reports that Curiosity just detected an unusually high …

Saturn’s small icy moon Enceladus contains a global subsurface ocean. According to new research from the University of Washington, the ice-covered ocean probably has a more Earthlike pH level and higher than previously known concentrations of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, providing more favorable conditions for microbial life in the ocean …

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) tunable laser spectrometer onboard Curiosity last week detected surprisingly high levels of the gas methane at Gale Crater: about 21 parts per billion units by volume (ppbv), the largest amount of methane the rover has ever found. Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of …

According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology, gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) can copy human speech and songs using the same sound production mechanisms as humans. A group of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) on sands at Stiffkey, Norfolk, UK. Image credit: Duncan Harris / CC BY 2.0. …

  Saturn’s moon Titan has a lot in common with Earth, but it’s also extremely alien. It’s one of the only objects in the solar system aside from Earth with a thick atmosphere, a toxic organonitrogen haze. It has permanent bodies of liquid on the surface like Earth, but they’re …

  Scientists have achieved a new first, capturing footage of a giant squid in the waters off the coast of the United States. It’s only the second time a giant squid has been captured swimming alive and on video. Dr. Edie Widder, the founder of the Ocean Research and Conservation …

  NASA’s upcoming Mars rover is coming together piece by piece as engineers put the finishing touches on its cameras and flying scout drone. Mars 2020 is looking much more like a rover today, though. NASA has attached the wheels and suspension to the starboard side of the frame. We’re …

  It has been almost two months since a SpaceX Dragon II capsule exploded during testing, and NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has now confirmed publicly that the “anomaly” has pushed back the launch schedule. Boeing has also encountered issues with its CST-100 Starliner vehicle.  At this rate, crewed launches with …