Page 560 | Sci.News: Breaking Science News

Artist’s restoration of Dinilysia patagonica. Image credit: Nobu Tamura, spinops.blogspot.com / CC BY-SA 3.0.

90-Million-Year-Old Fossil Provides Clues about How Snakes Evolved

Nov 27, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new analysis of the Cretaceous fossil Dinilysia patagonica is helping paleontologists solve an old scientific puzzle – how ancient snakes lost...

Dimetrodon borealis is shown with an overlay of the ‘Bathygnathus’ fossil from Prince Edward Island, with a Walchia tree in the background - a common fossil found on the island. Dimetrodon borealis lived about 285 million years ago during the Artinskian stage of Permian. Image credit: Danielle Dufault.

Dimetrodon borealis: First Canadian Dino Actually Mammal-Like Reptile

Nov 27, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

A ‘dinosaur’ fossil known as Bathygnathus borealis has been shown to have steak knife-like teeth, and a team of Canadian paleontologists has changed...

Dione in front of Saturn’s rings. This view, acquired by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during a close flyby of the icy moon on August 17, is centered on terrain at 7 degrees south latitude, 122 degrees west longitude. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA Reveals New Close-Up Image of Dione

Nov 27, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

This close-up view of Dione was taken by NASA’s Cassini robotic probe during its flyby of this icy moon of Saturn on August 17, 2015. Dione in front...

IAA archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of the Hellenistic period fortress of Acra, solving one of Jerusalem’s greatest archaeological mysteries. Image credit: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority.

Israeli Archaeologists Unearth Hellenistic Period Fortress of Acra

Nov 27, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed what they believe are the ruins of Acra – often called the Seleucid Acra...

This artist’s impression shows a supermassive black hole consuming a star that has been torn apart by the black hole’s gravity; as a result of this ‘meal’ the black hole begins to launch a powerful jet that astronomers can detect with radio telescopes. Image credit: NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center / Swift.

Astronomers Spot Unusual Jet from Supermassive Black Hole in PGC 43234

Nov 26, 2015 by Natali Anderson

A group of scientists, led by Dr Sjoert van Velzen of Johns Hopkins University, has observed a new way for plasma to escape the gravitational pull of a...

Still from the Baltoro glacier animation. Image credit: Frank Paul / Cryosphere / USGS / NASA / CC-BY 3.0.

Animated Satellite Images Reveal Glaciers in Motion

Nov 26, 2015 by News Staff

Animations that compress more than two decades of satellite images into one second reveal the complex behavior and flow of glaciers in the Karakoram mountain...

This mosaic from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft showcases Ceres’ north pole. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

NASA Releases Detailed Maps of Ceres’ Polar Regions

Nov 26, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

NASA scientists, using cameras aboard the agency’s Dawn spacecraft, have created the first detailed mosaics of Ceres’ north and south polar regions. This...

Southern black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) with its prey house cricket (Acheta domesticus) trapped in spider web. Image credit: Scott Camazine, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142503.g001.

Genetic Researchers Extract, Sequence DNA from Spider Webs

Nov 26, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using black widow spiders, a team of scientists has successfully extracted, amplified, and sequenced mitochondrial DNA from spider webs that identified...

This illustration shows KIC 8462852 behind a shattered comet. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Unusual Star KIC 8462852 Likely Swarmed by Exocomets, Astronomers Say

Nov 25, 2015 by Natali Anderson

New observations of an unusual star called KIC 8462852 by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that its strange light signals are likely from extrasolar...

Scientists induced Girardia dorotocephala planarian to grow heads and brains characteristic of Schmidtea mediterranea, Dugesia japonica, and Polycelis feline without altering genomic sequence. Examples of the outcomes can be seen in the right row of the image. Image credit: Tufts University.

Researchers Induce Planarian Flatworms to Grow Heads, Brains of Other Flatworm Species

Nov 25, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational team of scientists led by Tufts University biologists has succeeded in inducing a species of planarian, Girardia dorotocephala, to grow...

Panoramic view of the elephant bones; the plaster-jacket in the background covers the skull of the straight-tusked elephant (Elephas antiquus). Scale – 50 cm. Image credit: Eleni Panagopoulou et al.

Marathousa 1: Archaeologists Find Paleolithic Elephant Butchering Site in Greece

Nov 25, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

A group of Greek and German archaeologists has discovered a 300,000 to 600,000 year old elephant butchering site near the modern-day city of Megalopolis,...

In this image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) the red hypergiant star VY Canis Majoris is hidden behind an obscuring disc; the crosses are artifacts due to features in VLT’s SPHERE instrument. Image credit: ESO.

Hypergiant Star Caught in Act of Slimming Down

Nov 25, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

New observations from the Very Large Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile show how enormous size of dust particles surrounding the hypergiant...

Army ants form collective assemblages out of their bodies to perform a variety of functions that benefit the entire colony. Image credit: Chris R. Reid.

Army Ants Build Moving Bridges, Entomologists Say

Nov 24, 2015 by News Staff

A group of entomologists led by Dr Christopher Reid of the University of Sydney has discovered complex bridges constructed by Eciton army ants with their...

Ypresiosirex orthosemos, photographs and drawing; abbreviations: cr - cornus, an – anus. Scale bar - 1 cm. Image credit: S. Bruce Archibald / Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn.

Giant Horntail Wood-Wasps Lived 53 Million Years Ago: Paleontologists

Nov 24, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Three inch (7 cm) long herbivorous wasps flew through the landscapes of what is now British Columbia some 53 million years ago, according to Dr Alexandr...

This illustration shows Earth surrounded by dark matter hairs. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Earth Might Be Surrounded by Dark Matter ‘Hairs’

Nov 24, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Our planet, Jupiter and other compact bodies are surrounded by ultra-dense filaments of dark matter called ‘hairs,’ suggests Dr Gary Prézeau of NASA’s...

Mars May Get Ring System in 20 – 40 Million Years

Nov 24, 2015 by Natali Anderson

In 20 to 40 million years, Phobos – the larger of the two Martian moons – will break apart and form a ring system around Mars, according to...

This wine press was found at the site, near Netivot. Image credit: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority.

1,500-Year-Old Settlement Unearthed in Southern Israel

Nov 23, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) at a site near the town of Netivot, southern Israel have revealed a Byzantine-era settlement dating...

A day on the dwarf planet Pluto. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Images Show Full Day on Pluto, Charon

Nov 23, 2015 by News Staff

On approach to the Pluto system in July 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured images of the dwarf planet and its biggest moon, Charon, rotating...

Close-up image of the shell of the West Indian fuzzy chiton (Acanthopleura granulata) shows the two kinds of sensory organs that cover the shell surface: the eyes are the dark bumps with shiny centers; the exact function of other sensory organs called aesthetes - small bumps with black centers - is not yet known. Image credit: Ling Li et al.

Chitons See with Ceramic Eyes, New Research Shows

Nov 23, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Marine biologists have long known that armored mollusks called chitons have hundreds of small eyes dotting the surface of their hard turtlelike shells....