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Categories: Paleontology: General, Space: General
Published Engineers make tunable, shape-changing metamaterial inspired by vintage toys
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Common push puppet toys in the shapes of animals and popular figures can move or collapse with the push of a button at the bottom of the toys' base. Now, a team of engineers has created a new class of tunable dynamic material that mimics the inner workings of push puppets, with applications for soft robotics, reconfigurable architectures and space engineering.
Published Scientists find oceans of water on Mars: It's just too deep to tap
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Quakes and meteor impacts on Mars generate seismic waves that can help map the interior. A new study analyzed seismic waves detected by the Insight lander and concludes that 11-20 kilometers beneath the surface, a zone of pores and fractures is filled with liquid water -- more than was thought to fill Mars' surface oceans before they disappeared 3 billion years ago. Though too deep to drill, the reservoir is a possible refuge for life.
Published Millions of years for plants to recover from global warming
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Catastrophic volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet millions of years ago shed new light on how plants evolve and regulate climate. Researchers reveal the long-term effects of disturbed natural ecosystems on climate in geological history and its implications for today.
Published Early mammals lived longer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What distinguishes the growth and development patterns of early mammals of the Jurassic period? Paleontologists have been able to gauge the lifespan and growth rates of these ancient animals, and even when they reached maturity, by studying growth rings in fossilized tooth roots.
Published International Space Station crew carries out archeological survey in space
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An archaeological strategy adapted for space used daily photos to reveal how astronauts actually use areas aboard the International Space Station -- and how this differs from intended uses.
Published When mammoths roamed Vancouver Island
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mammoths, the massive pre-historic ice age cousins of the modern-day elephant, have always been understood to have inhabited parts of British Columbia, but the question of when has always been a bit woolly. Now, a new study has given scientists the clearest picture yet when the giant mammals roamed Vancouver Island.
Published Findings from first archaeology project in space
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The first-ever archeological survey in space has provided new insights into how astronauts use and adapt their living space on the International Space Station, which could influence the design of new space stations after the ISS is decommissioned.
Published Scientists lay out revolutionary method to warm Mars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ever since we learned that the surface of planet Mars is cold and dead, people have wondered if there is a way to make it friendlier to life. The newly proposed method is over 5,000 times more efficient than previous schemes to globally warm Mars, representing a significant leap forward in our ability to modify the Martian environment.
Published Smallest arm bone in human fossil record sheds light on the dawn of Homo floresiensis
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone. Dated to about 700,000 years old, the new findings shed light on the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the so-called 'Hobbits' of Flores whose remains were uncovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave in the island's west.
Published Astronomers uncover risks to planets that could host life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A groundbreaking study has revealed that red dwarf stars can produce stellar flares that carry far-ultraviolet (far-UV) radiation levels much higher than previously believed.
Published Greenland fossil discovery reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Seeds, twigs, and insect parts found under two miles of ice confirm Greenland's ice sheet melted in the recent past, the first direct evidence that the center -- not just the edges -- of the two-mile-deep ice melted away in the recent geological past. The new research indicates that the giant ice sheet is more fragile than scientists had realized until the last few years -- and reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe in a warmer future.
Published Scientists pin down the origins of the moon's tenuous atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists say they have identified the main process that formed the moon's atmosphere and continues to sustain it today. The team reports that the lunar atmosphere is primarily a product of 'impact vaporization.'
Published Cold antimatter for quantum state-resolved precision measurements
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Why does the universe contain matter and (virtually) no antimatter? Scientists have achieved an experimental breakthrough in this context. It can contribute to measuring the mass and magnetic moment of antiprotons more precisely than ever before -- and thus identify possible matter-antimatter asymmetries. They have developed a trap, which can cool individual antiprotons much more rapidly than in the past.
Published Fossil shows how penguins' wings evolved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A tiny fossil penguin plays a huge role in the evolutionary history of the bird, an international study shows.
Published Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossil study reveals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Shifts in the Earth's continental plates that drove long-term changes in sea level set the stage for the evolution of the earliest animals on Earth, a study suggests.
Published Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).
Published Key to rapid planet formation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new model to explain the formation of giant planets such as Jupiter, which furnishes deeper insights into the processes of planet formation and could expand our understanding of planetary systems.
Published Scientists devise method to secure Earth's biodiversity on the moon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research led proposes a plan to safeguard Earth's imperiled biodiversity by cryogenically preserving biological material on the moon. The moon's permanently shadowed craters are cold enough for cryogenic preservation without the need for electricity or liquid nitrogen.
Published The rotation of a nearby star stuns astronomers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have found that the rotational profile of a nearby star, V889 Herculis, differs considerably from that of the Sun. The observation provides insights into the fundamental stellar astrophysics and helps us understand the activity of the Sun, its spot structures and eruptions.
Published What no one has seen before -- simulation of gravitational waves from failing warp drive
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists have been exploring the theoretical possibility of spaceships driven by compressing the four-dimensional spacetime for decades. Although this so-called 'warp drive' originates from the realm of science fiction, it is based on concrete descriptions in general relativity. A new study takes things a step further -- simulating the gravitational waves such a drive might emit if it broke down.