Having pretty thoroughly explored the Earth, humanity has since turned its attention to the stars. There are a myriad of missions already in the history books, and many more underway. We’re at a pivotal time in our exploration of space. With a bit of luck and science, we may soon …
Read More »SpaceX posts amazing photos of Falcon 9 landing
SpaceX took its time to get back on the launchpad after last year’s fueling “anomaly” that resulted in the loss of a Falcon 9 rocket and its cargo. The company conducted a months-long investigation and finally returned to space last weekend with a flawless launch and landing of the first …
Read More »Ground-Penetrating Radar Helps Archaeologists Find Viking Age Manor
A large manor has been found at the archaeological site of Korshamn near the Viking Age proto-town of Birka in Sweden. Artist’s impression of the Viking Age manor at Korshamn, Sweden. Image credit: Jacques Vincent. “This kind of Viking period high status manors has previously only been identified at a …
Read More »Cassini Provides New View of Saturn’s Wave-Making Moon Daphnis
A new image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows Saturn’s small moon Daphnis and the waves it raises in the surrounding ring material. This image was obtained in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on January 16, 2017, at a distance of about 17,000 miles (28,000 km) from Daphnis. …
Read More »Thylacine Had Brain Structure Suited to Predatory Life Style
A duo of researchers from the United States and Australia has used an imaging technique to reconstruct the brain architecture and neural networks of the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), the most iconic animal of Tasmania. A pair of thylacines, a male and female, c. 1905. Image credit: Smithsonian Institutional Archives / …
Read More »What is the Fermi Paradox?
Ever since scientists began to grasp the staggering scale of the universe, we’ve wondered if there was other intelligent life out there. It certainly seems like there’s space. No one has come calling from another planet, or even sent a signal we can detect, though. This prompted famed physicist Enrico …
Read More »Curiosity Finds Possible Signs of Ancient Drying on Mars
A grid of small polygons spotted by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover may have originated as cracks in drying mud more than 3 billion years ago, according to the Curiosity science team. This view of a Martian rock slab called ‘Old Soaker,’ which has a network of cracks that may have …
Read More »Neanderthals Capable of Incorporating Symbolic Objects into Their Culture, Discovery Suggests
An unusual limestone rock found at an archaeological site in Croatia indicates that Neanderthals were capable of incorporating symbolic objects into their culture. ‘Clam-shell’ view of Side A (top) and B showing black dendrites against the background of the brown mudstone. The flake, only shown re-attached on Side A, is …
Read More »Recently-Discovered Antiviral Protein Inhibits HIV-1 in Non-Human Primates
A team of scientists led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered that a gene called SLFN11 — which encodes a protein known as Schlafen family member 11, or Schlafen11 — may induce a cellular response against infection by viruses including human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). The research is published …
Read More »Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, has passed away
Out of all the billions of people who have lived on Earth, only 12 of them walked on the moon. Yesterday, on Martin Luther King Day, the last man to set foot on the moon passed away. Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan was 82 at the time of his death, but …
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