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Categories: Offbeat: Plants and Animals, Space: Exploration
Published Stench of a gas giant? Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs, and that's a good thing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An exoplanet infamous for its deadly weather has been hiding another bizarre feature -- it reeks of rotten eggs, according to a new study of data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Published Fresh wind blows from historical supernova
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A mysterious remnant from a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained for the first time. Two white dwarf stars collided, creating a temporary 'guest star,' now labeled supernova (SN) 1181, which was recorded in historical documents in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. However, after the star dimmed, its location and structure remained a mystery until a team pinpointed its location in 2021. Now, through computer modeling and observational analysis, researchers have recreated the structure of the remnant white dwarf, a rare occurrence, explaining its double shock formation. They also discovered that high-speed stellar winds may have started blowing from its surface within just the past 20-30 years. This finding improves our understanding of the diversity of supernova explosions, and highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary research, combining history with modern astronomy to enable new discoveries about our galaxy.
Published Moon 'swirls' could be magnetized by unseen magmas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mysterious, light-colored swirls on Moon's surface could be rocks magnetized by magma activity underground, laboratory experiments confirm.
Published Machine learning could aid efforts to answer long-standing astrophysical questions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists have developed a computer program incorporating machine learning that could help identify blobs of plasma in outer space known as plasmoids. In a novel twist, the program has been trained using simulated data.
Published Blue and great tits deploy surprisingly powerful memories to find food
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Blue and great tits recall what they have eaten in the past, where they found the food and when they found it, a new study shows. In the first experiment of its kind to involve wild animals, blue and great tits demonstrated 'episodic-like' memory to cope with changes in food availability when foraging. The same study may suggest that humans leaving out seeds and nuts for garden birds could be contributing to the evolution of these memory traits.
Published Giant salamander-like creature was a top predator in the ice age before the dinosaurs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Meet Gaiasia jennyae, the swamp creature with a toilet seat-shaped head. It lived 40 million years before the first dinosaurs, and it was the top predator in its ecosystem.
Published Two new species of Psilocybe mushrooms discovered in southern Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new paper, researchers and citizen mycologists describe the two new species as Psilocybe ingeli and Psilocybe maluti. The paper also contains information on the traditional use of P. maluti by Basotho traditional healers from the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. According to the researchers, this appears to be the only recorded first-hand report of hallucinogenic mushrooms being used traditionally in Africa.
Published A new breakthrough in understanding regeneration in a marine worm
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The sea worm Platynereis dumerilii is only a few centimeters long but has a remarkable ability: in just a few days, it can regenerate entire parts of its body after an injury or amputation. By focusing more specifically on the mechanisms at play in the regeneration of this worm's tail, a research team has observed that gut cells play a role in the regeneration of the intestine as well as other tissues such as muscle and epidermis.
Published Research shows how RNA 'junk' controls our genes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have made a significant advance in understanding how genes are controlled in living organisms. The new study focuses on critical snippets of RNA in the tiny, transparent roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). The study provides a detailed map of the 3'UTR regions of RNA in C. elegans. 3'UTRs (untranslated regions) are segments of RNA involved in gene regulation.
Published An ant that selectively amputates the infected limbs of wounded sisters
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Saving lives through surgery is no longer exclusive to humans. Scientists now detail how Florida carpenter ants, a common, brown species native to its namesake, selectively treat the wounded limbs of fellow nestmates -- either by wound cleaning or amputation. When experimentally testing the effectiveness of these 'treatments,' not only did they aid in recovery, but the research team found the ants' choice of care catered to the type of injury presented to them.
Published Organic material from Mars reveals the likely origin of life's building blocks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Two samples from Mars together deliver clear evidence of the origin of Martian organic material. The study presents solid evidence for a prediction made over a decade ago that could be key to understanding how organic molecules, the foundation of life, were first formed here on Earth.
Published A new pulsar buried in a mountain of data
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have discovered the first millisecond pulsar in the stellar cluster Glimpse-CO1.
Published Everybody needs good neighbors: Resident quolls help newcomers settle in at Mulligans Flat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source GPS tracking collars have revealed how newly reintroduced eastern quolls are settling in at Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary in Canberra, with quolls who were born at the sanctuary accepting their new neighbors with open paws.
Published Sixty-million-year-old grape seeds reveal how the death of the dinosaurs may have paved the way for grapes to spread
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists discovered the oldest fossil grapes in the Western Hemisphere, which help show how after the death of the dinosaurs, grapes spread across the world.
Published This desert moss has the potential to grow on Mars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The desert moss Syntrichia caninervis is a promising candidate for Mars colonization thanks to its extreme ability to tolerate harsh conditions lethal to most life forms. The moss is well known for its ability to tolerate drought conditions, but researchers now report that it can also survive freezing temperatures as low as 196 C, high levels of gamma radiation, and simulated Martian conditions involving these three stressors combined. In all cases, prior dehydration seemed to help the plants cope.
Published Tiny bright objects discovered at dawn of universe baffle scientists
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A recent discovery by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) confirmed that luminous, very red objects previously detected in the early universe upend conventional thinking about the origins and evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes.
Published Creating supranormal hearing in mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has produced supranormal hearing in mice, while also supporting a hypothesis on the cause of hidden hearing loss in people.
Published Too many missing satellite galaxies found
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bringing us one step closer to solving the 'missing satellites problem,' researchers have discovered two new satellite galaxies.
Published New class of Mars quakes reveals daily meteorite strikes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of researchers combine orbital imagery with seismological data from NASA's Mars InSight lander to derive a new impact rate for meteorite strikes on Mars. Seismology also offers a new tool for determining the density of Mars' craters and the age of different regions of a planet.
Published Last surviving woolly mammoths were inbred but not doomed to extinction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The last population of woolly mammoths was isolated on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia 10,000 years ago, when sea levels rose and cut the mountainous island off from the mainland. A new genomic analysis reveals that the isolated mammoths, who lived on the island for the subsequent 6,000 years, originated from at most 8 individuals but grew to 200--300 individuals within 20 generations. The researchers report that the Wrangel Island mammoths' genomes showed signs of inbreeding and low genetic diversity but not to the extent that it can explain their ultimate (and mysterious) extinction.