Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

A stormy, active sun may have kickstarted life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The first building blocks of life on Earth may have formed thanks to eruptions from our Sun, a new study finds. A series of chemical experiments show how solar particles, colliding with gases in Earth's early atmosphere, can form amino acids and carboxylic acids, the basic building blocks of proteins and organic life.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Molecular
Published

Do people and monkeys see colors the same way?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New findings in color vision research imply that humans can perceive a greater range of blue tones than monkeys do. Distinct connections found in the human retina may indicate recent evolutionary adaptations for sending enhanced color vision signals from the eye to the brain.

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Published

Webb finds water vapor, but from a rocky planet or its star?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study a rocky exoplanet known as GJ 486 b. It is too close to its star to be within the habitable zone, with a surface temperature of about 800 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius). And yet, their observations show hints of water vapor.

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Published

Astronomers detect 'nearby' black hole devouring a star      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered a new 'tidal disruption event,' in which the center of a galaxy lights up as its supermassive black hole rips apart a passing star. The outburst is the closest tidal disruption event observed to date, and one of the first to be identified at infrared wavelengths.

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

Superflare with massive, high-velocity prominence eruption      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of Japanese astronomers used simultaneous ground-based and space-based observations to capture a more complete picture of a superflare on a star. The observed flare started with a very massive, high-velocity prominence eruption. These results give us a better idea of how superflares and stellar prominence eruptions occur.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Scientists slow aging by engineering longevity in cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a biosynthetic 'clock' that keeps cells from reaching normal levels of deterioration related to aging. They engineered a gene oscillator that switches between the two normal paths of aging, slowing cell degeneration and setting a record for life extension.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Information 'deleted' from the human genome may be what made us human      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What the human genome is lacking compared with the genomes of other primates might have been as crucial to the development of humankind as what has been added during our evolutionary history, according to a new study led by researchers at Yale and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The new findings, published April 28 in the journal Science, fill an important gap in what is known about historical changes to the human genome.

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Published

Most massive touching stars ever found will eventually collide as black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study looked at a known binary star (two stars orbiting around a mutual center of gravity), analyzing starlight obtained from a range of ground- and space-based telescopes. The researchers found that the stars, located in a neighboring dwarf galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud, are in partial contact and swapping material with each other, with one star currently 'feeding' off the other. They orbit each other every three days and are the most massive touching stars (known as contact binaries) yet observed.

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Published

Direct image of a black hole expelling a powerful jet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have observed, in one image, the shadow of the black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) and the powerful jet expelled from it. Thanks to this new image, astronomers can better understand how black holes can launch such energetic jets.

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

Astronomers solve the 60-year mystery of quasars -- the most powerful objects in the Universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of quasars -- the brightest, most powerful objects in the Universe -- by discovering that they are ignited by galaxies colliding.

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

Medium-sized black holes eat stars like messy toddlers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In new 3D computer simulations, astrophysicists modeled black holes of varying masses and then hurled stars (about the size of our sun) past them to see what might happen. If they exist, intermediate-mass black holes likely devour wayward stars like a messy toddler -- taking a few bites and then flinging the remains across the galaxy.

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

Astrophysicists reveal the nature of dark matter through the study of crinkles in spacetime      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astrophysicists have provided the most direct evidence yet that Dark Matter does not constitute ultramassive particles as is commonly thought but instead comprises particles so light that they travel through space like waves. Their work resolves an outstanding problem in astrophysics first raised two decades ago: why do models that adopt ultramassive Dark Matter particles fail to correctly predict the observed positions and the brightness of multiple images of the same galaxy created by gravitational lensing?

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Researchers reveal an ancient mechanism for wound repair      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study is the first to identify a damage response pathway that is distinct from but parallel to the classical pathway triggered by pathogens.

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

Webb reveals early-universe prequel to huge galaxy cluster      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Every giant was once a baby, though you may never have seen them at that stage of their development. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has begun to shed light on formative years in the history of the universe that have thus far been beyond reach: the formation and assembly of galaxies. For the first time, a protocluster of seven galaxies has been confirmed at a distance that astronomers refer to as redshift 7.9, or a mere 650 million years after the big bang. Based on the data collected, astronomers calculated the nascent cluster's future development, finding that it will likely grow in size and mass to resemble the Coma Cluster, a monster of the modern universe.

Mathematics: Modeling Space: Astronomy Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Researchers use AI to discover new planet outside solar system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has confirmed evidence of a previously unknown planet outside of our solar system, and they used machine learning tools to detect it. A recent study by the team showed that machine learning can correctly determine if an exoplanet is present by looking in protoplanetary disks, the gas around newly formed stars. The newly published findings represent a first step toward using machine learning to identify previously overlooked exoplanets.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Algae in Swedish lakes provide insights to how complex life on Earth developed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By studying green algae in Swedish lakes, a research team has succeeded in identifying which environmental conditions promote multicellularity. The results give us new clues to the amazing paths of evolution.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Fungal genetics could help develop novel biotechnologies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An essential pillar of Earth's ecological system, fungi have long been used to better the lives of humans. While these organisms are still vastly understudied, a new review paper suggests that their unique genomes could be used to make progress in the biotech industry.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Engineering the next generation of cell and gene therapies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Investigators are developing a novel way to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and retinitis pigmentosa using engineered stem cells that may eventually lead to personalized treatments.