Science

Astronomers observing the young protostar MM 1a have discovered an unusual method of binary star formation. While binary stars are not uncommon — they may account for half or more of all visible stars — the mechanics at work in the case of MM 1a are quite different than what …

Our simplistic nine-planet view of the solar system was shattered years ago when scientists learned Pluto was not unique in the outer solar system. We have since discovered more “dwarf planets,” and an international team of astronomers has just spotted the most distant such planetoid yet. The object known as …

Pterosaurs lived side by side with dinosaurs, some 230 to 66 million years ago. They were the first vertebrates to achieve true flapping flight, but in the absence of living species, many questions concerning their biology and lifestyle remain unresolved. It has long been known that they had some sort …

A study led by researchers from the Scripps Research Institute, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School shows that rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) can be prompted to produce neutralizing antibodies against one strain of HIV that resembles the resilient viral form that most commonly infects people, called a Tier …

A team of planetary researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom has discovered that Saturn’s rings are younger than previously thought and that they are actually disappearing at a rapid pace through a process called ‘ring rain.’ The findings were published in the journal Icarus. With Saturn hanging …

NASA’s next Mars rover doesn’t have a name yet, but it does have a landing zone. You can take a closer look at the Mars 2020 rover’s home-to-be in a new video assembled from the latest NASA orbital imagery. Get ready to take a trip across Jezero Crater, an ancient …

A new genus and species of herbivorous ceratopsid (horned) dinosaur being named Crittendenceratops krzyzanowskii has been discovered by paleontologists from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science (NMMNHS). Life reconstruction of Crittendenceratops krzyzanowskii. Image credit: Sergey Krasovskiy. Crittendenceratops krzyzanowskii roamed what is now Arizona about 73 million years ago …

A team of scientists led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, J. David Gladstone Institutes, Georgia State University and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has discovered a human protein that could one day lead to an effective therapy against Ebola virus. The discovery is reported in …

A liquid ocean in contact with a silicate interior makes Jupiter’s icy moon Europa a prime location for life. This possibility is compounded if geologic processes within its ice shell allow surface materials to mix with the ocean and recharge chemicals required for life. Unfortunately, this ice shell represents a …

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe set a record when it launched earlier this year as the fastest spacecraft in history with a top speed of around 430,000 miles per hour. It’s not done making history, though. Parker has already completed its first flyby of the sun’s corona, and NASA says the …