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

Second-most distant galaxy discovered using James Webb Space Telescope      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The second- and fourth-most distant galaxies ever observed have been discovered in a region of space known as Pandora's Cluster, or Abell 2744, using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

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

Milky Way-like galaxy found in the early universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered the most distant barred spiral galaxy, similar to the Milky Way, that has been observed to date.

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

Extended habitability of exoplanets due to subglacial water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research promises to redefine our comprehension of habitable exoplanets. A recent study introduces the concept of subglacial liquid water as a pivotal element in broadening the boundaries of the conventional Habitable Zone.

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

Scientists find 14 new transient objects in space by peering through the 'Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered 14 new transient objects during their time-lapse study of galaxy cluster MACS0416 -- located about 4.3 billion light years from Earth -- which they've dubbed as the 'Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster.'

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Window to the past: New microfossils suggest earlier rise in complex life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Microfossils may capture a jump in the complexity of life that coincided with the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere and oceans, according to an international team of scientists.

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

Mystery resolved: Black hole feeding and feedback at the center of an active galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center. An international research team has recently observed the Circinus galaxy, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, with high enough resolution to gain further insights into the gas flows to and from the black hole at its galactic nucleus.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils tell tale of last primate to inhabit North America before humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Paleontologists have shed light on the long-standing saga of Ekgmowechashala, based on fossil teeth and jaws found in both Nebraska and China. Ekgmowechashala is the last primate found in the fossil record before humans. 

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Extinction Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Frogs were Florida's first-known vertebrates from the Caribbean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new fossil study shows that frogs from the genus Eleutherodactylus are geologically the oldest Caribbean vertebrates to be found in Florida. They made the journey 20 million years ago, when much of Florida was still underwater.

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

Black holes are messy eaters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New observations down to light-year scale of the gas flows around a supermassive black hole have successfully detected dense gas inflows and shown that only a small portion (about 3 percent) of the gas flowing towards the black hole is eaten by the black hole. The remainder is ejected and recycled back into the host galaxy.

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

Researchers find gravitational lensing has significant effect on cosmic birefringence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Future missions will be able to find signatures of violating the parity-symmetry in the cosmic microwave background polarization more accurately after a pair of researchers has managed to take into account the gravitational lensing effect, reports a new study.

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

Exploding stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When massive stars or other stellar objects explode in the Earth's cosmic neighborhood, ejected debris can also reach our solar system. Traces of such events are found on Earth or the Moon and can be detected using accelerator mass spectrometry, or AMS for short.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

How the fish got its shoulder      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new analysis of the bones and muscles in ancient fish gives new clues about how the shoulder evolved in animals -- including us.

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

Giant planets cast a deadly pall      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Giant gas planets can be agents of chaos, ensuring nothing lives on their Earth-like neighbors around other stars. New studies show, in some planetary systems, the giants tend to kick smaller planets out of orbit and wreak havoc on their climates.

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

The Crab Nebula seen in new light by NASA's Webb      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 CE by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through thorough study of the Crab, a relatively nearby example.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New species of mosasaur named for Norse sea serpent      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, large, carnivorous aquatic lizards that lived during the late Cretaceous. With 'transitional' traits that place it between two well-known mosasaurs, the new species is named after a sea serpent in Norse mythology, Jormungandr, and the small North Dakota city Walhalla near to where the fossil was found.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Genetic methods enable the use of fossil lipids as biomarkers for oxygen-producing primordial bacteria      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cyanobacteria are a key species in Earth's history, as they introduced atmospheric oxygen for the first time. The analysis of their evolution therefore provides important insights into the formation of modern aerobic ecosystems. For a long time, a certain type of fossil lipid, so-called 2-methylhopanes, was considered to be an important biomarker for Cyanobacteria in sediments, some of which are hundreds of millions of years old. However, this came into doubt when it turned out that not only Cyanobacteria but also Alphaproteobacteria are genetically capable of producing these lipids.

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

Uranus aurora discovery offers clues to habitable icy worlds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers confirm the existence of an infrared (IR) aurora on Uranus. This could help astronomers identify exoplanets that might support life, a large number of which are icy worlds.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Venus had Earth-like plate tectonics billions of years ago, study suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Venus, may have once had tectonic plate movements similar to those believed to have occurred on early Earth, a new study found. The finding sets up tantalizing scenarios regarding the possibility of early life on Venus, its evolutionary past and the history of the solar system.

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

Deep learning speeds up galactic calculations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Supernovae, exploding stars, play a critical role in the formation and evolution of galaxies. However, key aspects of them are notoriously difficult to simulate accurately in reasonably short amounts of time. For the first time, a team of researchers apply deep learning to the problem of supernova simulation. Their approach can speed up the simulation of supernovae, and therefore of galaxy formation and evolution as well. These simulations include the evolution of the chemistry which led to life.