Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Better tools needed to determine ancient life on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Current state-of-the-art instrumentation being sent to Mars to collect and analyze evidence of life might not be sensitive enough to make accurate assessments, according to new research.

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

Researchers discover mysterious source of 'heartbeat-like' radio bursts in a solar fare      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A solar radio burst with a signal pattern, akin to that of a heartbeat, has been pinpointed in the Sun's atmosphere, according to a new study. An international team of researchers has reported uncovering the source location of a radio signal coming from within a C-class solar flare more than 5,000 kilometers above the Sun's surface.

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

Improving the performance of satellites in low Earth orbit      (via sciencedaily.com) 

On-chip distributed radiation sensors and current-sharing techniques can be used to reduce the impact of radiation on the radio and power consumption of small satellites, respectively. New findings can be used to make small satellites more robust, which can increase the connectivity of networks across the globe.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Gene variations for immune and metabolic conditions have persisted in humans for more than 700,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study explores 'balancing selection' by analyzing thousands of modern human genomes alongside ancient hominin groups, such as Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes. The research has 'implications for understanding human diversity, the origin of diseases, and biological trade-offs that may have shaped our evolution,' says evolutionary biologists.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Newly discovered form of salty ice could exist on surface of extraterrestrial moons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team has found two new crystal structures for salty ice, or solid hydrate made from water and sodium chloride. The newly discovered material's properties match those of the substance seen on the surface of icy moons, like Europa and Ganymede, and may offer clues to their icy oceans.

Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Space travel influences the way the brain works      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found how the human brain changes and adapts to weightlessness, after being in space for 6 months. Some of the changes turned out to be lasting -- even after 8 months back on Earth.

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

Tadpole playing around black hole      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A peculiar cloud of gas, nicknamed the Tadpole due to its shape, appears to be revolving around a space devoid of any bright objects. This suggests that the Tadpole is orbiting a dark object, most likely a black hole 100,000 times more massive than the Sun. Future observations will help determine what is responsible for the shape and motion of the Tadpole.

Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Study quantifies global impact of electricity in dust storms on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Mars is infamous for its intense dust storms, some of which kick up enough dust to be seen by telescopes on Earth. When dust particles rub against each other, as they do in Martian dust storms, they can become electrified. New research shows that one particularly efficient way to move chlorine from the ground to the air on Mars is by way of reactions set off by electrical discharge generated in dust activities.

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

Four classes of planetary systems      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have long been aware that planetary systems are not necessarily structured like our solar system. Researchers have now shown that there are in fact four types of planetary systems.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Upsurge in rocket launches could impact the ozone layer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have summarized the threats that future rocket launches would pose to Earth's protective ozone layer.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Scientists find world's oldest European hedgehog      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The world's oldest scientifically-confirmed European hedgehog has been found in Denmark by a citizen science project involving hundreds of volunteers. The hedgehog lived for 16 years, 7 years longer than the previous record holder.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Oldest spinosaur brains revealed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have reconstructed the brains and inner ears of two British spinosaurs, helping uncover how these large predatory dinosaurs interacted with their environment.

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

Hubble captures the start of a new spoke season at Saturn      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Since their discovery by NASA's Voyager mission in the 1980s, temporary 'spoke' features across Saturn's rings have fascinated scientists, yet eluded explanation. They have been observed in the years preceding and following the planet's equinox, becoming more prominent as the date approaches. Saturn's upcoming autumnal equinox of the northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, means that spoke season has come again. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will be on the job studying the spokes, thanks to time dedicated to Saturn in the mission's ongoing Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program. Are the smudgy features related to Saturn's magnetic field and its interaction with the solar wind, as prevailing theory suggests? Confirmation could come in this spoke season, as scientists combine archival data from NASA's Cassini mission with new Hubble observations.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Space dust as Earth's sun shield      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Dust launched from the moon's surface or from a space station positioned between Earth and the sun could reduce enough solar radiation to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Scientists develop new index based on functional morphology to understand how ancestors of modern birds used their wings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have compared the relationship among the strength of flight bones, body mass, and the way modern birds fly to better understand the evolution of flight in birds and extinct animals, such as the Pteranodon.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Spanish lagoon used to better understand wet-to-dry transition of Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the ongoing search for signs of life on Mars, a new study proposes focusing on 'time-resolved analogs' -- dynamic and similar Earth environments where changes can be analyzed over many years.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

A new ring system discovered in our Solar System      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have discovered a new ring system around a dwarf planet on the edge of the Solar System. The ring system orbits much further out than is typical for other ring systems, calling into question current theories of how ring systems are formed.

Archaeology: General Biology: Marine Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Caribou have been using same Arctic calving grounds for 3,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Caribou have been using the same Arctic calving grounds for more than 3,000 years. Female caribou shed their antlers within days of giving birth, leaving behind a record of their annual travels across Alaska and Canada's Yukon that persists on the cold tundra for hundreds or even thousands of years. Researchers recovered antlers that have sat undisturbed on the arctic tundra since the Bronze Age.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Codebreakers crack secrets of Mary Queen of Scots' lost letters      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Secret, coded letters penned by Mary Queen of Scots while she was imprisoned in England by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I have been uncovered by a multidisciplinary team of international codebreakers. Launched on the anniversary of Mary's execution, study reveals 50 new letters in cipher -- with some still believed missing -- shedding new light on her captivity.

Space: The Solar System
Published

New models explain canyons on Pluto moon      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In 2015, when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft encountered the Pluto-Charon system, scientists discovered interesting, geologically active objects instead of the inert icy orbs previously envisioned. Scientists have revisited the data to explore the source of cryovolcanic flows and an obvious belt of fractures on Pluto's large moon Charon. These new models suggest that when the moon's internal ocean froze, it may have formed the deep, elongated depressions along its girth but was less likely to lead to cryovolcanoes erupting with ice, water and other materials in its northern hemisphere.