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Categories: Offbeat: General, Space: Cosmology
Published Oxidant pollutant ozone removes mating barriers between fly species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers show that ozone levels, such as those found in many places on hot summer days today, destroy the sex pheromones of fruit fly species. As a result, some natural mating boundaries maintained by species-specific pheromones no longer exist. The research team has shown in experiments that flies of different species mate when exposed to ozone and produce hybrid offspring. Since most of these offspring are unable to reproduce, the results could provide another explanation for the global decline of insects.
Published The hidden role of the Milky Way in ancient Egyptian mythology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astrophysicists shed light on the relationship between the Milky Way and the Egyptian sky-goddess Nut. The paper draws on ancient Egyptian texts and simulations to argue that the Milky Way might have shone a spotlight, as it were, on Nut's role as the sky. It proposes that in winter, the Milky Way highlighted Nut's outstretched arms, while in summer, it traced her backbone across the heavens.
Published Revolutionary molecular device unleashes potential for targeted drug delivery and self-healing materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new breakthrough that could revolutionise medical and material engineering, scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind molecular device that controls the release of multiple small molecules using force.
Published 'Teacher Toads' can save native animals from toxic cane toads
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly amphibians.
Published Do some mysterious bones belong to gigantic ichthyosaurs?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Several similar large, fossilized bone fragments have been discovered in various regions across Western and Central Europe since the 19th century. The animal group to which they belonged is still the subject of much debate to this day. A study could now settle this dispute once and for all: The microstructure of the fossils indicates that they come from the lower jaw of a gigantic ichthyosaur. These animals could reach 25 to 30 meters in length, a similar size to the modern blue whale.
Published Engineers design soft and flexible 'skeletons' for muscle-powered robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers designed modular, spring-like devices to maximize the work of live muscle fibers so they can be harnessed to power biohybrid robots.
Published Inexplicable flying fox found in Hydra galaxy cluster
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source High sensitivity radio observations have discovered a cloud of magnetized plasma in the Hydra galaxy cluster. The odd location and shape of this plasma defy all conventional explanations. Dubbed the Flying Fox based on its silhouette, this plasma will remain a mystery until additional observations can provide more insight.
Published Toothed whale echolocation organs evolved from jaw muscles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the jaw.
Published How the moon turned itself inside out
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Linking analyses of the moon's gravity field with models of its earliest evolution, scientists tell a story of the moon turning itself inside out after it solidified from a primordial magma ocean. The process left behind a vestige of dense, titanium-rich material beneath its Earth-facing side that makes its presence known by gravity anomalies.
Published Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Antarctica harbors a large concentration of meteorites imbuing the icy continent with an unparalleled wealth of information on our solar system. However, these precious meteorites are rapidly disappearing from the ice sheet surface due to global warming, according to a new study.
Published Mediterranean marine worm has developed enormous eyes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are amazed at the discovery of a bristle worm with such sharp-seeing eyes that they can measure up to those of mammals and octopuses. The researchers suspect that these marine worms may have a secretive language, which uses UV light only seen by their own species. The advanced vision of such a primitive creature helps to finally settle an epic debate about the evolution of eyes.
Published Telescope detects unprecedented behavior from nearby magnetar
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Captured by cutting-edge radio telescope technology, a chance reactivation of a magnetar -- the Universe's most powerful magnets -- has revealed an unexpectedly complex environment.
Published Neutron stars are key to understanding elusive dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists may be one step closer to unlocking one of the great mysteries of the universe after calculating that neutron stars might hold a key to helping us understand elusive dark matter.
Published Astronomy: How do brown dwarfs form?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New observations provide insights into whether the birth of the giant planets takes a similar course to that of stars.
Published CHEOPS detects a 'rainbow' on an exoplanet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The CHEOPS space telescope is providing new information on the mysterious exoplanet WASP-76b. This ultra-hot giant is characterized by an asymmetry between the amount of light observed on its eastern terminator -- the fictitious line that separates its night side from its day side -- and that observed on its western terminator. This peculiarity is thought to be due to a 'glory', a luminous phenomenon similar to a rainbow, which occurs if the light from the star -- the 'sun' around which the exoplanet orbits -- is reflected by clouds made up of a perfectly uniform substance. If this hypothesis is confirmed, this would be the first detection of this phenomenon outside our solar system.
Published Stellar collisions produce strange, zombie-like survivors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Densely packed, fast-moving stars at the Milky Way's center can collide with each other. New research uses simulations to explore the outcomes of these collisions. Some collisions are more like 'violent high fives' while others are full-on mergers.
Published Finds at Schöningen show wood was crucial raw material 300,000 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source During archaeological excavations in the Schoningen open-cast coal mine in 1994, the discovery of the oldest, remarkably well-preserved hunting weapons known to humanity caused an international sensation. Spears and a double-pointed throwing stick were found lying between animal bones about ten meters below the surface in deposits at a former lakeshore. In the years that followed, extensive excavations have gradually yielded numerous wooden objects from a layer dating from the end of a warm interglacial period 300,000 years ago. The findings suggested a hunting ground on the lakeshore.
Published Researchers envision sci-fi worlds involving changes to atmospheric water cycle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Human activity is changing the way water flows between the Earth and atmosphere in complex ways and with likely long-lasting consequences that are hard to picture. Researchers enlisted water scientists from around the globe to write story-based scenarios about the possible futures humanity is facing but perhaps can't quite comprehend yet. The results are part of a creative pathway to understand atmospheric water research with an eye towards the potential economic and policy issues that may be just beyond the horizon.
Published First results from DESI make the most precise measurement of our expanding universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to make the largest 3D map of our universe and world-leading measurements of dark energy, the mysterious cause of its accelerating expansion.
Published NASA's Webb probes an extreme starburst galaxy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of astronomers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to survey the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82). Located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this galaxy is relatively compact in size but hosts a frenzy of star formation activity. For comparison, M82 is sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy.