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Interstellar Comet Oumuamua is Smaller than Previously Thought, Has Highly Reflective Surface

An artist’s impression of ‘Oumuamua. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.
Nov 16, 2018 by News Staff

In October 2017, a fast moving comet of extrasolar origin, 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua), was discovered close to the Earth with a ground-based telescope in Hawai’i. In November 2017, NASA astronomers pointed the agency’s Spitzer Space Telescope toward the interstellar object. ‘Oumuamua was too faint for Spitzer to detect when it looked more than two months after the comet’s closest approach to Earth. However, the ‘non-detection’ puts a new...

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An artist’s impression of a binary stellar system. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

Did Ancient Egyptian Scribes Discover Algol’s Variability 3,000 Years before European Astronomers?

Nov 16, 2018 by News Staff

An ancient Egyptian Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky Days assigns luck with the period of 2.85 days. Previous astronomical, astrophysical and statistical...

A graphical rendition of a diving sperm whale using its echolocation. Image credit: Chris Johnson.

Study: Toothed Whales Use Sonic Equivalent of Flashlight to Echolocate Prey

Nov 16, 2018 by News Staff

Toothed whales — apex predators varying in size from 40-kg porpoises to 50-ton sperm whales — use narrow beams of high intensity sound to echolocate...

Ong et al investigated the causal relationship between bitter taste perception and the consumption of coffee, tea and alcohol. Image credit: Tabble.

People with Higher Sensitivity to Bitter Caffeine Taste Drink More Coffee, Study Says

Nov 16, 2018 by News Staff

A new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, has found that the more sensitive people are to the bitter taste of caffeine, the more coffee...

An artist’s concept of a blue supergiant star that once existed inside a cluster of young stars in the spiral galaxy NGC 3938. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Olmsted, STScI.

Astronomers Find Type Ic Supernova’s Progenitor Star

Nov 15, 2018 by News Staff

Two teams of astronomers have finally found the long-sought progenitor star to a Type Ic supernova by sifting through Hubble archival data. An artist’s...

Neanderthals are commonly thought to have relied on dangerous close range hunting techniques, using non-projectile weapons like the thrusting spears depicted here; this hunting approach is thought to have brought them into violent contact with large mammals, resulting in high levels of injury especially to the head and neck when compared to modern humans; Beier et al found similar head injury levels in both Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic humans, casting doubt on this hypothesis. Image credit: Gleiver Prieto.

Neanderthals, Upper Paleolithic Humans Had Similarly Harsh Lives: Study

Nov 15, 2018 by News Staff

Neanderthals had just as many head trauma injuries as Upper Paleolithic humans, according to new research from the University of Tübingen, Germany. Neanderthals...

An aerial view of the archaeological excavation site near Chiliomodi, Greece. Image credit: Greek Culture Ministry.

Archaeologists Uncover Remnants of Ancient City of Tenea

Nov 15, 2018 by News Staff

Archaeologists in Greece have unearthed what they believe are the remnants of the long-lost ancient city of Tenea. An aerial view of the archaeological...

This is a photo illustration of the airplane during the survey, radar waves and the actual radar image. Image credit: NASA.

Geoscientists Find Large Impact Crater in Greenland

Nov 15, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of geoscientists from the United States, Canada and Europe has discovered a large impact crater beneath the Hiawatha Glacier in remote...

An artist’s impression of Barnard’s star b. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Frozen Super-Earth Found Orbiting Barnard’s Star

Nov 14, 2018 by News Staff

A potentially rocky super-Earth orbits one of our closest stellar neighbors, Barnard’s star, only 6 light-years away. An artist’s impression of Barnard’s...

Short sleep duration was associated with higher odds of inadequate hydration. Image credit: Photo-Shot.

Sleeping Less Than Eight Hours Increases Risk of Inadequate Hydration in Adults

Nov 14, 2018 by News Staff

A study led by Pennsylvania State University’s Dr. Asher Rosinger suggests that those who don’t feel well after a night of poor sleep may want to consider...

Using electron tomography, Pellenq et al probed a sample of kerogen to determine its internal structure. At left, the sample as seen from the outside, and at right, the detailed 3D image of its internal pore structure. Image credit: Pellenq et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1808402115.

Researchers Finally Decode Internal Structure of Kerogen

Nov 14, 2018 by News Staff

Kerogen is a waxy, insoluble organic substance dispersed in sedimentary rocks and is the precursor of oil and gas. In a new study, published in the Proceedings...

Antlia 2: Enormous Dwarf Galaxy Discovered in Orbit around Milky Way

Nov 14, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from ESA’s Gaia satellite have discovered a new dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The dwarf galaxy, named Antlia 2, is...

Raphia zamiana: a habitat along the road, with team member Dr. Raoul Niangadouma for scale, in Oyem, Gabon. Image credit: Thomas L.P. Couvreur.

Two New Palm Species Discovered in Africa

Nov 14, 2018 by Natali Anderson

An international team of botanists has discovered and described two new species of the African palm genus Raphia from Cameroon and Gabon. Raphia zamiana:...

Beta Pictoris b. Image credit: ESO / Anne-Marie Lagrange / SPHERE Consortium.

SPHERE Captures Young Exoplanet Beta Pictoris b Orbiting around Its Star

Nov 13, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have captured a series...

A reconstruction of Mirarce eatoni perched on the horns of the ceratopsian dinosaur Utahceratops gettyi. Image credit: Brian Engh, dontmesswithdinosaurs.com.

Mirarce eatoni: Newly-Discovered Cretaceous Bird Lived Among Dinosaurs, Was Strong Flier

Nov 13, 2018 by News Staff

Paleontologists have unearthed the partial skeleton of an enantiornithine (opposite bird) that lived in what is now Utah approximately 75 million years...

This image captured by NASA’s Juno orbiter shows a multitude of magnificent, swirling clouds in Jupiter’s North North Temperate Belt. The image was taken at 4:58 p.m. EDT on October 29, 2018 (1:58 p.m. PDT) as the spacecraft performed its 16th close flyby of Jupiter. At the time, Juno was about 4,400 miles (7,000 km) from the planet’s cloud tops, at a latitude of approximately 40 degrees north. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstaedt / Sean Doran.

Juno Takes Closer Look at Jupiter’s Magnificent, Swirling Clouds

Nov 13, 2018 by News Staff

NASA’s Juno spacecraft made its 16th close science flyby of Jupiter on October 29, 2018 and captured stunning images of the gas giant. This image captured...

Turnbull et al synthesized a single crystal of ι–N2 in a diamond anvil cell from ε–N2 at 65 GPa and 477 degrees Celsius. Image credit: Turnbull et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07074-4.

Physicists Solve Structure of Unusually Complex Form of Nitrogen

Nov 13, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of experimental physicists has for the first time determined the structure of ι-N2, a crystallized version of nitrogen. Turnbull...

Trimethylamine N-oxide is found at high concentrations in the tissues of some fish and shellfish.

Natural Compound Protects Hypertensive Rats against Heart Disease

Nov 13, 2018 by News Staff

Low-dose treatment with trimethylamine N-oxide — a compound linked with the consumption of fish, seafood and a primarily vegetarian diet —...

Laumer et al show that orangutans can spontaneously innovate a hook tool out of a straight piece of wire to solve a novel problem. Image credit: Laumer et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-34607-0.

Inventive Orangutans Make Hook Tools to Retrieve Food

Nov 12, 2018 by News Staff

Orangutans spontaneously make hook tools out of a straight piece of wire, using them to ‘fish’ for food. Laumer et al show that orangutans can spontaneously...

A rock painting of a wild bovid from Borneo. Image credit: Pindi Setiawan.

Researchers Find 40,000-Year-Old Figurative Paintings in Bornean Cave

Nov 12, 2018 by News Staff

Cave paintings in Lubang Jeriji Saléh, a limestone cave in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, have been dated to at least 40,000 years ago. A rock painting...

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