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Categories: Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds, Space: Exploration
Published Physicists confirm effective wave growth theory in space


Physicists have used spacecraft data to confirm an important theory of plasma physics that improves our understanding of space weather.
Published Here today, gone tomorrow: How humans lost their body hair


Orangutans, mice, and horses are covered with it, but humans aren't. Why we have significantly less body hair than most other mammals has long remained a mystery. But a first-of-its-kind comparison of genetic codes from 62 animals is beginning to tell the story of how people -- and other mammals -- lost their locks.
Published Space solar power technology demo launched into orbit


The launch represents the first in-situ test of the technology to harvest solar energy in space and transmit it to Earth.
Published Experimentalists: Sorry, no oxygen required to make these minerals on Mars


When NASA's Mars rovers found manganese oxides in rocks in the Gale and Endeavor craters on Mars in 2014, the discovery sparked some scientists to suggest that the red planet might have once had more oxygen in its atmosphere billions of years ago. But a new experimental study upends this view. Scientists discovered that under Mars-like conditions, manganese oxides can be readily formed without atmospheric oxygen.
Published The other paleo diet: Rare discovery of dinosaur remains preserved with its last meal


Microraptor was an opportunistic predator, feeding on fish, birds, lizards -- and now small mammals. The discovery of a rare fossil reveals the creature was a generalist carnivore in the ancient ecosystem of dinosaurs.
Published Loon stratospheric balloons confirm wind data from Aeolus


ESA's novel Aeolus satellite reliably measures wind speed also in higher air layers and thus in a region of the atmosphere where other direct global wind measurements are relatively sparse. This is the result of a study for which data from the satellite were compared with wind observations from stratospheric balloons. Stratospheric balloons would provide highly accurate data on the horizontal wind speed and are therefore also suitable for the validation of future satellite missions.
Published Ancient asteroid grains provide insight into the evolution of our solar system


The UK's national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, was used by a large, international collaboration to study grains collected from a near-Earth asteroid to further our understanding of the evolution of our solar system. Researchers brought a fragment of the Ryugu asteroid to Diamond's Nanoprobe beamline I14 where a special technique called X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) was used to map out the chemical states of the elements within the asteroid material, to examine its composition in fine detail.
Published Webb Space Telescope reveals previously shrouded newborn stars


Astronomers took a 'deep dive' into one of the first images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and were rewarded with a surprising discovery: telltale signs of two dozen previously unseen young stars about 7,500 light years from Earth.
Published Marsquake!


The quake lasted four hours and identified layering in the crust that could indicate a meteoroid impact. The 4.7 magnitude temblor happened in May 2022 and released five times more energy than any previously recorded quake on Mars. Mapping the seismic activity on Mars will help inform scientists where and how to build structures to ensure the safety of future human explorers.
Published Increasing forest cover in the Eifel region 11,000 years ago resulted in the local loss of megafauna


Sediment cores obtained from Eifel maar sites provide insight into the presence of large Ice Age mammals in Central Europe over the past 60,000 years: Overkill hypothesis not confirmed. Herds of megafauna, such as mammoth and bison, have roamed the prehistoric plains in what is today's Central Europe for several tens of thousands of years. As woodland expanded at the end of the last Ice Age, the numbers of these animals declined and by roughly 11,000 years ago, they had completely vanished from this region. Thus, the growth of forests was the main factor that determined the extinction of such megafauna in Central Europe.
Published Watching water droplets merge on the International Space Station


Researchers design and analyze droplet experiments that were done on the International Space Station. The researchers sent four different surfaces with various roughness properties to the station, where they were mounted to a lab table. Cameras recorded the droplets as they spread and merged. The experimental results confirmed and expanded the parameter space of the Davis-Hocking model, a simple way to simulate droplets.
Published Sound recording made of dust devils (tiny tornadoes of dust, grit) on Mars


When the rover Perseverance landed on Mars, it was equipped with the first working microphone on the planet's surface. Scientists have used it to make the first-ever audio recording of an extraterrestrial whirlwind.
Published True giant wombat gives Diprotodon podium a wobble


While the Diprotodon -- the extinct megafauna species that is distantly related to wombats but was the size of a small car -- is commonly (but incorrectly) thought of as Australia's 'giant wombat', researchers have shed light on a large species that does belong in the modern-day wombat family. The complete skull of this true fossil giant wombat, found in a Rockhampton cave in Queensland, Australia and estimated to be around 80,000 years old, has been described for the first time.
Published First ultraviolet imaging of Sun's middle corona


Researchers have discovered web-like plasma structures in the Sun's middle corona. The researchers describe their innovative new observation method, imaging the middled corona in ultraviolet (UV) wavelength. The findings could lead to a better understanding of the solar wind's origins and its interactions with the rest of the solar system.
Published Antihelium nuclei as messengers from the depths of the galaxy


How are galaxies born, and what holds them together? Astronomers assume that dark matter plays an essential role. However, as yet it has not been possible to prove directly that dark matter exists. A research team has now measured the survival rate of antihelium nuclei from the depths of the galaxy -- a necessary prerequisite for the indirect search for Dark Matter.
Published Deep-space optical communication demonstration project forges ahead


Scientists have demonstrated new laser systems for deep-space optical communication.
Published Smilodon's sabre teeth



Researchers have tested the biting efficiency of Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore close to the extant felines. Using high-precision 3D scans and simulation methods, the team has just revealed how these animals managed to bite despite the impressive length of their teeth.
Published NASA missions probe game-changing cosmic explosion


On Dec. 11, 2021, astronomers detected a blast of high-energy light from the outskirts of a galaxy around 1 billion light-years away. The event has rattled scientists' understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most powerful events in the universe.
Published Dinosaurs were on the up before asteroid downfall


Dinosaurs dominated the world right up until a deadly asteroid hit the earth, leading to their mass extinction, some 66 million years ago, a landmark study reveals. Fresh insights into dinosaurs' ecosystems -- the habitats and food types that supported their lives -- suggests that their environments were robust and thriving, right up until that fateful day, at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Published Peekaboo! Tiny, hidden galaxy provides a peek into the past


Peeking out from behind the glare of a bright foreground star, astronomers have uncovered the most extraordinary example yet of a nearby galaxy with characteristics that are more like galaxies in the distant, early universe. Only 1,200 light-years across, the tiny galaxy HIPASS J1131-31 has been nicknamed "Peekaboo" because of its emergence in the past 50-100 years from behind the fast-moving star that was obscuring astronomers' ability to detect it.