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Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. Image credit: Masato Hattori.

New Ostrich-Like Dinosaur Discovered in Mongolia: Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis

Sep 4, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Paleontologists have found fossil fragments from a new species of ornithomimosaur (ostrich-mimic dinosaur) that walked the Earth between 84 and 72 million...

An illustration of JAXA’s Akatsuki orbiter successfully tracking lower-altitude clouds during the night with its near-infrared camera IR2. Image credit: PLANET-C Project Team.

JAXA’s Akatsuki Orbiter Spots Equatorial Jet in Venus’ Atmosphere

Sep 1, 2017 by News Staff

New observations from Akatsuki, a robotic spacecraft launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2010 to orbit Venus, have revealed an...

According to Rowley IV et al, cocoa compounds have beneficial effects on beta-cell function. Image credit: Pernilla Klockars.

Study: Cocoa Compounds Help Cells Release More Insulin

Sep 1, 2017 by News Staff

When a person has diabetes, their body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t process blood sugar properly; at the root of that is the failure...

The Trachilos footprints were discovered by Dr. Gerard Gierlinski, a paleontologist at the Polish Geological Institute, by chance when he was on holiday on Crete in 2002. Dr. Gierlinski identified the footprints as those of a mammal. In 2010, he returned to the site together with Dr. Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, a Polish paleontologist at Uppsala University, to study the footprints in detail. Together they came to the conclusion that the footprints were made by hominins. Image credit: Andrzej Boczarowski.

5.6-Million-Year-Old Hominin-Like Footprints in Crete Challenge Theories of Human Evolution

Sep 1, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers have found late Miocene footprints — which show hominin-like characteristics — near the village of Trachilos, west of Kissamos,...

This artist’s concept allows us to imagine what it would be like to stand on the surface of TRAPPIST-1f. Because this planet is thought to be tidally locked to its star, meaning the same face of the planet is always pointed at the star, there would be a region called the terminator that perpetually divides day and night. If the night side is icy, the day side might give way to liquid water in the area where sufficient starlight hits the surface. One of the unusual features of TRAPPIST-1 planets is how close they are to each other -- so close that other planets could be visible in the sky from the surface of each one. In this view, the planets in the sky correspond to TRAPPIST1e (top left crescent), d (middle crescent) and c (bright dot to the lower right of the crescents). TRAPPIST-1e would appear about the same size as the Moon and TRAPPIST1-c is on the far side of the star. The star itself, an ultra-cool dwarf, would appear about three times larger than our own Sun does in Earth’s skies. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Catlech.

TRAPPIST-1’s Outer Planets May Harbor Water, New Study Finds

Sep 1, 2017 by News Staff

In a research paper to appear in the Astronomical Journal (arXiv.org preprint), astronomers from MIT, the Geneva Observatory and elsewhere report that...

Sa and Seu Chiquinho sites featuring circular, square, and U-shaped earthworks. Image credit: Sanna Saunaluoma.

Researchers Uncover Purpose of Mysterious Amazonian Geoglyphs

Aug 31, 2017 by News Staff

Geometrical earthworks found in the Amazon rainforest — dubbed the Geoglyphs of Acre — were once important ritual communication spaces, says...

Reconstruction of the ancient toothed whale Janjucetus. Image credit: Carl Buell.

Archaic Whales were Ferocious Predators, New Research Shows

Aug 31, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

The teeth of archaic whales were as sharp as those of terrestrial predators, and thus were capable of capturing and processing prey, according to new research...

Astronomers Detect Methylidynium in Distant Star-Forming Galaxies

Aug 31, 2017 by News Staff

For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of CH+ — an ion of the CH molecule known as methylidynium to chemists — in distant...

The recovered nova of 1437 and its ejected shell (false color). The now-quiescent star that produced the nova shell is indicated with greenish-blue tick marks; it is far from the shell’s center today. However, its measured motion across the sky places it at the greenish-blue plus sign in 1437. The position of the center of the shell in 2016 and its deduced position in 1437 are indicated with yellow and magenta plus signs, respectively. Image credit: K. Ilkiewicz & J. Mikolajewska.

Astronomers Pinpoint Location of Nova First Spotted by Koreans 580 Years Ago

Aug 31, 2017 by News Staff

On March 11, 1437, Korean royal astronomers spotted a bright new star in the constellation Scorpius. From the ancient records, modern astronomers determined...

The French Frigates from Voyage de La Pérouse, by Louis Antoine Milet-Mureau. Image credit: State Library of New South Wales.

Australian Anthropologist Finds Clue to Fate of Famous French Explorer Jean Francois La Perouse

Aug 30, 2017 by News Staff

Australian National University anthropologist Garrick Hitchcock has stumbled across a clue to resolving one of the most enduring mysteries of Pacific history...

Astronomers Measure Magnetic Field of Far-Off Galaxy

Aug 30, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has measured the magnetic field of a star-forming galaxy nearly 4.6 billion light-years away. An image obtained using...

Professor Adamson and co-authors demonstrated the use of an interfacial trapping technique to assemble laterally macroscopic films of pristine graphene that are up to 95% transparent. Image credit: Woltornist et al, doi: 10.1021/nn402371c.

U.S. Chemists Develop, Patent New Process for Synthesis of Pristine Graphene

Aug 30, 2017 by News Staff

A research team at the University of Connecticut, led by Professor Douglas Adamson, has developed and patented a one-of-a-kind process for exfoliating...

Smooth-Coated Otters Can Learn How to Solve Puzzles by Copying Each Other, Research Shows

Aug 30, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers in the UK created a series of puzzles baited with food, and found smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) watched and copied...

Among patients with stable atherosclerotic vascular disease, those assigned to rivaroxaban (2.5 mg twice daily) plus aspirin had better cardiovascular outcomes and more major bleeding events than those assigned to aspirin alone. Image credit: Val-gb.

COMPASS Study: Combination of Rivaroxaban and Aspirin Works Best for Heart Diseases

Aug 29, 2017 by News Staff

A major new study has found that the combination of two drugs — rivaroxaban and aspirin — is superior to aspirin alone in preventing further...

Saturn’s north polar region is pictured in great detail in this Cassini image (false color) obtained on April 26, 2017, from a range of 166,000 miles (267,000 km). This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 44 degrees above the ring plane. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Saturn’s North Polar Vortex Stuns in New Cassini Photo

Aug 29, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini robotic orbiter captured this view of Saturn’s north polar vortex on April 26, 2017, the day it began its Grand Finale, a daring series...

Life reconstruction of Lagenanectes richterae. Image credit: Frederik Spindler.

Meet Lagenanectes richterae, One of Oldest Known Elasmosaurs

Aug 29, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

In a study published Friday in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, paleontologists report the discovery of a partially-preserved skeleton of one of...

Eating both bland (left panel) and delicious (right panel) meals triggered significant opioid release in the brain. Image credit: University of Turku.

Eating Triggers Release of Endogenous Opioids in Human Brain, Study Reveals

Aug 29, 2017 by News Staff

A recent study conducted at the University of Turku, Finland, has revealed that eating leads to the widespread opioid release in the human brain, likely...

Chesapeake Bay near the Rappahannock River Mouth, VA. Image credit: University of Delaware.

Researchers Find ‘Acid Zone’ in Chesapeake Bay

Aug 28, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by University of Delaware Professor Wei-Jun Cai has discovered a ‘pH minimum zone’ that occurs at a depth of 30-50 feet (10-15...

Kowarsky et al discovered that the human body contains a vast and unexpected diversity of microbes, many of which have highly divergent relationships to the known tree of life. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Over 50% of Bacteria and Viruses inside Human Body are Unknown to Science

Aug 28, 2017 by News Staff

A new survey of DNA fragments circulating in human blood suggests the bacteria and viruses living within us are vastly more diverse than previously known....