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Martian Rocks May Contain Numerous Types of False Biosignatures, Astrobiologists Say

Organic and inorganic biomorphs (small abiotic structures that bear a morphological resemblance to living or fossil microbes): (a) asteroidal trichites radiating from central magnetite grains in a natural volcanic glass; (b) organic microspheres obtained from RNA and quartz mixtures under diagenetic conditions; (c) amphiphilic spherical and tube-like vesicles formed by mixed fatty acids and 1-alkanols (C10-C15) in 10 mM CaCl2; (d) coacervate microdroplets prepared in water by mixing PDDA with ATP; (e, f ) chain-forming and twinning proteinoid microspheres obtained by heating mixtures of amino acids; (g, h) apatite particles formed by double diffusion in gelatin mimicking dividing cells and raised polygonal features in embryos; (i) rod-shaped silica particles formed on the walls of basalt fractures injected with supercritical CO2; (j) cryogenic opal filaments and sheets formed in rapidly freezing silica-rich fluids; (k) cryogenic carbonate segmented filaments obtained by freezing of silica-rich alkaline brines; (l) rod-shaped apatite particles forming within organic films in sediments; (m) fluoroapatite particle precipitated in the presence of citrate, mimicking dividing coccoid cells. Image credit: McMahon & Cosmidis, doi: 10.1144/jgs2021-050.
Nov 22, 2021 by News Staff

In a new paper published in the Journal of the Geological Society, University of Edinburgh’s Dr. Sean McMahon and University of Oxford’s Dr. Julie Cosmidis attempt to summarize the physicochemical processes so far known to generate life-like morphologies, minerals, molecules and other phenomena, and consider how and where they may have taken place on early Mars, with a particular focus on the materials that NASA’s Perseverance rover and ESA’s...

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The 2,100-year-old Hellenistic fortress in Israel. Image credit: Emil Aljem, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Israeli Archaeologists Unearth 2,100-Year-Old Fortress

Nov 22, 2021 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a Hellenistic fortified structure as well as weapons, burnt wooden beams and...

This Hubble image shows a massive galaxy cluster (bottom left corner) and three images of the gravitationally lensed galaxy SGAS 0033+02. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Five filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / E. Wuyts.

Hubble Spots Gravitationally Lensed Galaxy in Pisces

Nov 22, 2021 by News Staff

What makes SGAS 0033+02, an extremely distant galaxy in the constellation of Pisces, interesting is a little unusual — it appears not just once in...

Scanning electron micrograph of an HIV-infected H9 T cell. Image credit: NIAID.

Second HIV Patient Naturally Achieved ‘Sterilizing Cure of Infection,’ Researchers Say

Nov 19, 2021 by News Staff

A 30-year-old woman from the city of Esperanza, Argentina — the so-called Esperanza Patient — appears to be the second person whose immune...

Hubble’s photo of Jupiter displays the ever-changing landscape of its turbulent atmosphere. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Amy Simon, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Michael H. Wong, University of California, Berkeley / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

Hubble Observes Solar System’s Giant Planets

Nov 19, 2021 by News Staff

Hubble’s snapshots of the outer Solar System’s planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — reveal both extreme and subtle changes...

Life reconstruction of Berthasaura leopoldinae. Image credit: de Souza et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-01312-4.

New Ceratosaur Species Unearthed in Brazil

Nov 19, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of toothless noasaurid ceratosaur has been identified from an exceptionally complete skeleton found in southern Brazil. Life reconstruction...

This Hubble image shows a protostar called J1672835.29-763111.64. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / T. Megeath, University of Toledo / K. Stapelfeldt, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Gladys Kober, NASA / Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Infant Star in IC 2631

Nov 19, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a striking infrared image of a protostar called J1672835.29-763111.64 (J1672 for short). This...

This image shows Pisces VI/Tri III, a dwarf galaxy located 3.2 million light-years away in the constellation of Pisces. Image credit: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys.

Amateur Astronomer Discovers New Dwarf Galaxy

Nov 18, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Named Pisces VII/Triangulum (Tri) III, the newly-discovered galaxy is an ultra-faint dwarf satellite candidate of the Triangulum galaxy (also known as...

The star octopus (Octopus djinda). Image credit: Mark Norman / Amor & Hart, doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5061.1.7.

Marine Biologists Discover New Species of Octopus

Nov 18, 2021 by Natali Anderson

The newly-discovered octopus species inhabits the shallow waters off southwest Australia and belongs to the Octopus vulgaris group, according to a new...

This Hubble image shows G035.20-0.74, a star-forming nebula located 7,143 light-years away in the constellation of Aquila. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Tan, Chalmers University of Technology / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Spots Colorful Star-Forming Nebula

Nov 18, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provides a detailed look at the massive star-forming nebula G035.20-0.74. This Hubble image...

Marcus et al. found that coffee consumption increases ventricular ectopy, increase physical activity, and reduces sleep duration. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Coffee Consumption Has Both Beneficial and Harmful Short-Term Health Effects, Says New Study

Nov 18, 2021 by News Staff

In a new randomized trial, participants who drunk caffeinated coffee for two weeks were more physically active, yet they also had an increased number of...

Cretaceous ‘Four-Limbed Snake’ Turns Out To Be Long-Bodied Lizard

Nov 18, 2021 by News Staff

The origin of snakes remains one of the most contentious evolutionary transitions in vertebrate evolution. The discovery of snake fossils with well-formed...

This image shows the closest stellar system to the Sun, the bright double star Alpha Centauri AB and its distant and faint companion Proxima Centauri. Image credit: ESO / B. Tafreshi, twanight.org / Digitized Sky Survey 2 / Davide De Martin / Mahdi Zamani.

TOLIMAN Space Telescope Will Look for Potentially Habitable Exoplanets in Alpha Centauri System

Nov 17, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers from the University of Sydney, the Breakthrough Initiative, Saber Aeronautics and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced this week the...

A 40-million-year-old cone of Pinus cembrifolia in a piece of Eocene Baltic amber. Image credit: George Poinar Jr., Oregon State University.

Germinating Pine Cone Found Encased in Baltic Amber

Nov 17, 2021 by News Staff

Seed germination — a crucial stage in the development of all plants — normally occurs in the soil after the seed has fallen from the mother...

Regional map showing extent of LiDAR survey and location of Classic period Maya capitals. Image credit: Golden et al., doi: 10.3390/rs13204109.

Some Ancient Maya Kingdoms Had Sustainable Agricultural Practices, High Food Yields

Nov 17, 2021 by News Staff

Using the high-resolution airborne LiDAR data, archaeologists have found extensive systems of sophisticated irrigation and terracing in and outside the...

This Hubble images shows the dark nebula LDN 1165. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / T. Megeath, University of Toledo / K. Stapelfeldt, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Looks at Absorption Nebula LDN 1165

Nov 17, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of LDN 1165, a sinuous, inky-black nebula located in the constellation...

This diamond from Botswana contains tiny inclusions of davemaoite. Image credit: Aaron Celestian, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

New Mineral Found inside Deep-Mantle Diamond: Davemaoite

Nov 17, 2021 by News Staff

Calcium silicate perovskite (CaSiO3) is arguably the most geochemically important phase in the Earth’s lower mantle, because it concentrates elements...

Reconstruction of Mawsonia sp. roaming in the brackish or fresh water costal environment of Texas during the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous epoch. Image credit: Zubin Erik Dutta.

Fossils of Cretaceous-Period Coelacanth Discovered in Texas

Nov 16, 2021 by Sergio Prostak

The fossils are estimated to be around 96 million years old and belong to the first Cretaceous mawsoniid coelacanth from North America. Reconstruction...

Zhang et al. found that drinking coffee and tea separately or in combination were associated with lower risk of stroke and dementia; intake of coffee alone or in combination with tea was associated with lower risk of poststroke dementia. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study: Coffee and Tea Consumption Lowers Stroke and Dementia Risk

Nov 16, 2021 by News Staff

In a large prospective cohort study published today in the journal PLoS Medicine, a team of researchers from Tianjin Medical University and Yale University...

This Hubble image shows part of IC 2631, a reflection nebula some 500 light-years away in the constellation of Chamaeleon. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / K. Stapelfeldt, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Zooms in on Reflection Nebula IC 2631

Nov 16, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a beautiful image snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the reflection nebula IC 2631. This Hubble image shows part of IC...

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