Science

CERN Physicists Discover Four-Charm-Quark Particle   Physicists from CERN’s LHCb Collaboration have discovered a new tetraquark particle, named X(6900), composed of two charm quarks and two charm antiquarks. X(6900), a tetraquark particle composed of two charm quarks and two charm antiquarks. Image credit: CERN. Quarks are point-like elementary particles that …

Lunar Subsurface May Be Richer in Metals than Previously Thought Using data from the Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a team of U.S. researchers has characterized the dust found at the bottom of the Moon’s craters and found evidence that the lunar subsurface might …

Researchers Find Snake-Like Venom Glands in Caecilian Amphibians A team of scientists from Brazil and the United States has found the specialized oral glands in the jaws of the ringed caecilian (Siphonops annulatus), a snake-shaped amphibian related to frogs and salamanders. The ringed caecilian (Siphonops annulatus). Image credit: Carlos Jared. …

Physicists Observe Branched Flow of Light Physicists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Central Florida have experimentally observed optical branched flow in liquid soap films. Branched flow pattern shown on top of the interference color pattern generated by weak white light, making it possible to observe …

Astronomers Find Two Super-Earths Orbiting Nearby Red Dwarf The hard work of astronomers around the world using instruments like the Kepler Space Telescope has shown there’s no shortage of planets in the cosmos. Most of those exoplanets are far away, but a handful are right next door (on an astronomical …

Giant Wombat-Like Marsupials Roamed Australia 25 Million Years Ago Paleontologists have identified a giant wombat-like marsupial that lived 25 million years ago (Oligocene epoch) in what is now Australia. Named Mukupirna nambensis, the prehistoric creature was at least five times larger than living wombats and so different that the researchers …

Sled Dogs Emerged Over 9,500 Years Ago in Siberia: Study An international team of researchers has sequenced the genomes of 10 modern sled dogs, an ancient sled dog and an ancient wolf, both from Siberia, and analyzed their genetic relationships with other modern dogs. They’ve found that sled dogs represent …

Astronomers Give Asteroid Moon a New Name Before NASA Hits It With a Spacecraft We’d be out of luck if a killer asteroid had Earth in its crosshairs today, but NASA and the ESA are preparing for the first test of technology that could one day save the planet. The …

European Medicinal Leech Genome Sequenced Researchers have for the first time mapped the genome of the European medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis), one of the most prominently used medicinal species. The European medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis). Image credit: Sebastian Kvist. Today, two leech species — Hirudo medicinalis and Hirudo verbana — …

Planetary Researchers Explore Habitability of Europa’s Ocean A duo of U.S. planetary scientists has calculated that water in the subsurface ocean of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa could have been formed by breakdown of water-containing minerals due to either tidal forces or radioactive decay. Artist’s concept of ocean on Jupiter’s moon …