Science

Water makes up about 0.25% (almost three times that of the Sun) of the molecules in Jupiter’s atmospheric molecules at the gas giant’s equator, according to a new analysis of data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Thick white clouds are present in this JunoCam image of Jupiter’s equatorial zone. These …

A team of U.S. physicists and materials scientists has observed a new state of matter at the interface between two oxide materials: lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) and strontium titanate (SrTiO3). The discovery shows electrons can bind together in ways similar to how quarks combine to form neutrons and protons. Electrons travel …

  SpaceX has been working toward a crewed NASA launch to the International Space Station (ISS) for years, but that’s not the company’s only plan for human spaceflight. Today, SpaceX and Space Adventures have announced a partnership that will bring Elon Musk’s company fully into the world of space tourism. …

Using a novel technique called clumped isotope paleothermometry, an international team of paleontologists analyzed eggshell fossils representing three major dinosaur groups and found that these creatures were characterized by warm body temperatures. A nesting cassowary-like dinosaur named Beibeilong sinensis in the act of incubating eggs. Image credit: Zhao Chuang. “Dinosaurs …

The combination of decaffeinated green tea extract and voluntary exercise can effectively mitigate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, suggests a new study conducted in mice. Khoo et al investigated the effects of decaffeinated green tea extract, voluntary exercise or the combination on the development of obesity-related nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) …

On January 1, 2019, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past the Kuiper Belt object (KBO) Arrokoth — provisional designation 2014 MU69, previously nicknamed ‘Ultima Thule’ — at a distance of 3,538 km (2,200 miles). In three new studies published in the journal Science, researchers analyzed new data and images from …

A new genus and species of medium-sized abelisaurid dinosaur being named Tralkasaurus cuyi has been discovered by Dr. Mauricio Cerroni from the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences and CONICET and his colleagues. An artist’s impression of Tralkasaurus cuyi. Image credit: Sebastian Rozadilla. Tralkasaurus cuyi lived approximately 90 million years ago …

An international team of paleontologists has unearthed several well-preserved shells and the first known jaw specimen of Stupendemys geographicus, a species of freshwater side-necked turtle that lived 5-10 million years ago (Miocence period) in South America. Together, the fossils shed new light on the biology, past distribution, and phylogenetic position …

Snorkelers in mangrove forest waters inhabited by the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana report discomfort due to a sensation known as ‘stinging water.’ When Tohoku University’s Dr. Cheryl Ames and colleagues looked at toxin-filled mucus the jellyfish release into the water, they were surprised to discover gyrating balls of stinging cells …

On February 14, 1990, cameras of NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft pointed back toward the Sun and snapped a series of pictures of the Sun, Earth and other planets, making the first ever ‘Family Portrait of the Solar System’ as seen from the outside. One of those images, the picture of Earth, …