Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Neptune-like exoplanets can be cloudy or clear      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have shown new atmospheric detail in a set of 15 exoplanets similar to Neptune. While none could support humanity, a better understanding of their behavior might help us to understand why we don't have a small Neptune, while most solar systems seem to feature a planet of this class.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

Prehistoric mobility among Tibetan farmers, herders shaped highland settlement patterns, cultural interaction, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using advanced geospatial modeling to compare environmental and archaeological evidence, researchers found evidence that connects ancient mobility and subsistence strategies to cultural connections forged among Tibetan farmers and herders in the Bronze and Iron Ages -- adding to understanding of how and why ancient communities built social relationships and cultural identities across the extreme terrain in Tibet.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Bright galaxies put dark matter to the test      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The earliest galaxies are thought to have formed as the gravitational pull of dark matter, which has been impossible to study directly, slowly drew in enough hydrogen and helium to ignite stars. But astrophysicists now show that after the Big Bang, hydrogen and helium gas bounced at supersonic speeds off dense, slowly moving clumps of cold dark matter. When the gas fell back in millennia later, stars formed all at once, creating small, exceptionally bright galaxies. If models of cold dark matter are correct, the James Webb Space Telescope should be able to find patches of bright galaxies in the early universe, potentially offering the first effective test for theories about dark matter. If it doesn't, scientists have to go back to the drawing board with dark matter.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

Neanderthals and humans lived side by side in Northern Europe 45,000 years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Archaeologists have debated whether Neanderthals or modern humans made stone tools that are found at sites across northern Europe and date from about 40,000 years ago. A new excavation at one site in Germany turned up 45,000-year-old bone fragments that, when analyzed for mitochondrial DNA, proved to be from Homo sapiens. This is the earliest evidence that modern humans overlapped with Neanderthals in northwest Europe, thousands of years before Neanderthals went extinct.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Staggering structure in 19 nearby spiral galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The James Webb Space Telescope observed 19 nearby face-on spiral galaxies in near- and mid-infrared light as part of its contributions to the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Researchers spying for signs of life among exoplanet atmospheres      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The next generation of advanced telescopes could sharpen the hunt for potential extraterrestrial life by closely scrutinizing the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets, new research suggests.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

How did humans learn to walk? New evolutionary study offers an earful      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study, which centers on evidence from skulls of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion courtesy of a novel method: analyzing its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning. The inner ear appears to provide a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers spot 18 black holes gobbling up nearby stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have identified 18 new tidal disruption events (TDEs) -- extreme instances when a nearby star is tidally drawn into a black hole and ripped to shreds. The detections more than double the number of known TDEs in the nearby universe.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Astronomers unravel mysteries of planet formation and evolution in distant planetary system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

TOI-1136, a dwarf star located more than 270 light years from Earth, is host to six confirmed exoplanets and a seventh as yet unconfirmed candidate. The system has provided a rich source of information on planet formation and evolution in a young solar system. Researchers used a variety of tools to compile radial velocity and transit timing variation readings to derive highly precise measurements of the exoplants' masses, orbital information and atmospheres.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Stars travel more slowly at Milky Way's edge      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Physicists discovered stars near the edge of the Milky Way travel more slowly than those closer to its center -- a surprise suggesting our galaxy's gravitational core may have less dark matter than previously thought.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

'Old smokers' and 'squalling newborns' among hidden stars spotted for first time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

'Hidden' stars including a new type of elderly giant nicknamed an 'old smoker' have been spotted for the first time by astronomers. The mystery objects exist at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy and can sit quietly for decades -- fading almost to invisibility -- before suddenly puffing out clouds of smoke, according to a new study.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Faint features in galaxy NGC 5728 revealed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study describes the best method to improve images obtained by the James Webb Science Telescope (JWST) using a mathematical approach called deconvolution.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astrophysical jet caught in a 'speed trap'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The microquasar SS 433 stands out as one of the most intriguing objects within our Milky Way. A pair of oppositely directed beams of plasma ('jets') spirals away perpendicularly from the binary systems disk's surface at just over a quarter of the speed of light. The H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia has now succeeded in detecting very high energy gamma rays from the jets of SS 433, and identifying the exact location within the jets of one of the galaxy's most effective particle accelerators.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New research challenges hunter-gatherer narrative      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Analysis of the remains of 24 individuals from the Wilamaya Patjxa and Soro Mik'aya Patjxa burial sites in Peru shows that early human diets in the Andes Mountains were composed of 80 percent plant matter and 20 percent meat.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Complex green organisms emerged a billion years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Of all the organisms that photosynthesize, land plants have the most complex form. How did this morphology emerge? A team of scientists has taken a deep dive into the evolutionary history of morphological complexity in streptophytes, which include land plants and many green algae. Their research allowed them to go back in time to investigate lineages that emerged long before land plants existed.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Paleontology: General
Published

A window into plant evolution: The unusual genetic journey of lycophytes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers has uncovered a remarkable genetic phenomenon in lycophytes, which are similar to ferns and among the oldest land plants. Their study reveals that these plants have maintained a consistent genetic structure for over 350 million years, a significant deviation from the norm in plant genetics.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Lightest black hole or heaviest neutron star? MeerKAT uncovers a mysterious object in Milky Way      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of astronomers have found a new and unknown object in the Milky Way that is heavier than the heaviest neutron stars known and yet simultaneously lighter than the lightest black holes known.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Despite intensive scientific analyses, this centaur head remains a mystery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For almost 200 years, archaeologists have been puzzled by a mysterious brown stain on the ancient Greek Parthenon temple in Greece. Now, researchers have conducted new scientific analyses, and their verdict is clear: The mystery remains.