Science

  Astronomers have been trying to work out the nature of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) for the last several years, and a series of recent discoveries may have brought us tantalizingly close to unraveling the mystery. Last month, a team announced the discovery of an FRB in our own galaxy, …

Archaeologists digging in the Tzurim Valley National Park in Jerusalem, Israel, have found a small gem seal, dating from the first century CE, with a portrait of the ancient Greek deity Apollo. The 2,000-year-old gem seal found in Jerusalem, Israel. Image credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David. “Although Apollo is …

An international team of researchers has proposed and demonstrated an efficient approach for triggering, trapping and guiding electrical discharges in air. Their technology is based on the use of a low-power laser beam that traps and transports light-absorbing particles in mid-air. Experimental configuration and principles of optical vortex beam for …

Humans, mice, zebrafish, and most likely other animals, share enhancers — DNA regions that help to regulate gene expression and evolve rapidly — with Amphimedon queenslandica, a species of sea sponge from the Great Barrier Reef, according to new research. Amphimedon queenslandica. Image credit: University of Queensland. “Some elements of …

An international team of biologists and taxonomists has discovered a new species in the langur genus Trachypithecus living in the forests of Myanmar. The Popa langur (Trachypithecus popa). Image credit: Thaung Win. Trachypithecus is a genus of non-human primates widely distributed in Asia with about 20 known species. Commonly known …

Scientists from the Bird 10,000 Genomes Project have successfully sequenced and analyzed the genomes of a total of 363 bird species from 92.4% (218 out of 236) of avian families, including 267 bird species that have been sequenced for the first time. Feng et al. report a substantial step towards …

Regular consumption of walnuts in older adults may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing the concentration of certain inflammatory biomarkers, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Walnut consumption may be associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk. Image credit: Nicky …

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is bombarded by a constant and intense blast of radiation from the gas giant. Different salty compounds on the moon’s surface react differently to the radiation and emit their own unique glimmer. To the naked eye, this glow would look sometimes slightly green, sometimes slightly blue …

Water may emerge in connection with the formation of terrestrial planets, according to a new analysis of a Martian meteorite called North West Africa (NWA) 7533. An artist’s impression of the young Mars. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO / N. Risinger, skysurvey.org. “There are two hypotheses about the emergence …

  You could argue that Earth hasn’t been an ideal place to live lately, but it could be worse. Scientists from Canada’s McGill University have released a new analysis of an exoplanet called K2-141b. This world orbits its star so closely that its ecosystem is profoundly hellish. The ground is …