Science

Strip life down to its simplest components, you’re left with fragments of genes and proteins that rely on the cellular machinery of host organisms to reproduce – elements we call viruses. As if to prove there is no honor among even the smallest of thieves, some virus-like entities known as mobile genetic elements (MGEs) can

A super-small, highly precise, ultra-cold physics experiment has revealed a brand new quantum state, called the spinaron. It occurs under extremely cold conditions when a cobalt atom on a copper surface is subjected to a strong magnetic field, causing its direction of spin to flip back and forth. The discovery could trigger a major rethink

New research on the mysterious remains of mummified baboons, found far from their natural habitat over a hundred years ago in Egypt, has shed light on the sacred significance of the primates in the ancient Arabian Peninsula. In studying the curious creatures, researchers on the project also believe they have revealed new evidence that Punt

NASA asteroid probe Lucy found a huge surprise when it completed the first of its flybys of its asteroid targets. Asteroid Dinkinesh, hanging around in the main belt that orbits between Mars and Jupiter, is not alone. The chunk of gray space rock has its own tiny little asteroid moon, wrapped in a close orbit

Earth’s boreal forests circle our planet’s far northern reaches, just south of the Arctic’s treeless tundra. If the planet wears an Arctic ice cap, then the boreal forests are a loose-knit headband wrapped around its ears, covering large portions of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia. The boreal region’s soils have long buffered the planet against

WASHINGTON — NASA has delayed the award of contracts to develop a lunar rover for future Artemis missions by four months, raising concerns in industry about the future of the program. NASA had intended to make an award for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) services contract in November. In a final request for proposals issued

In Paris in the 1930s, letters and small parcels could be delivered via an elaborate network of underground pneumatic tubes that interlaced the city. Cells inside living fish embryos have been spotted doing a similar thing on a micro-scale. In a study made available on the pre- peer review archive bioRxiv, researchers in France witnessed

An experiment has finally revealed how it might feel to touch a quantum superfluid. Physicists dunked a special, finger-sized probe into an isotope of helium cooled to just a smidge over absolute zero, and recorded the physical properties therein. It is, they say, the first time we have gleaned an inkling of what the quantum

Declassified satellite images from an old CIA spy program in the Cold War have been used to discover 396 undocumented Roman forts and fort-like buildings in Eastern Europe. The snapshots of land were taken in what is now Syria and Iraq in the 1960s and 1970s and were declassified in the 1990s, and, more recently

Dark matter is a powerful cosmological model, but it isn’t without its problems. In addition to our inability to detect dark matter particles, one issue deals with the number of dwarf galaxies surrounding the Milky Way. According to the most popular models of dark matter, galaxies should be surrounded by clumps of dark matter within

The space industry has seen an unprecedented surge in startups recent years, each with their own vision for the future of space exploration and commercialization. As we approach the end of 2023, SpaceNews has been faced with the daunting task of selecting one startup to stand out as the Startup of the Year. This is

It’s difficult to miss or mistake the distinctive smell of cannabis. Now scientists have discovered more about where the aroma comes from – and it’s not, as had been thought, all down to the naturally occurring chemical compounds known as terpenes in the plant. Two research groups had previously identified volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), also

The evaporation of liquid water into steam or mist is one of the most well-studied physical processes on Earth. In an unexpected twist, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) think they have discovered a whole new source of evaporation, and its transformative effect on liquid water could eclipse even that of heat. Light

Time is one of those things that most of us take for granted. We spend our lives portioning it into work-time, family-time and me-time. Rarely do we sit and think about how and why we choreograph our lives through this strange medium. A lot of people only appreciate time when they have an experience that

Astronomers have found plenty of white dwarf stars surrounded by debris disks. Those disks are the remains of planets destroyed by the star as it evolved. But they’ve found one intact Jupiter-mass planet orbiting a white dwarf. Are there more white dwarf planets? Can terrestrial, Earth-like planets exist around white dwarfs? A white dwarf (WD)

In the wake of the destructive Hurricane Otis, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in the history of weather forecasting. The hurricane roared ashore with 165mph winds and torrential rainfall, slamming into the coastal city of Acapulco, Mexico and claiming the lives of at least 48 people. The speed at which Otis intensified was

On Monday US President Joe Biden released a wide ranging and ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) – catapulting the US to the front of conversations about regulating AI. In doing so, the US is leap frogging over other states in the race to rule over AI. Europe previously led the way with its

TAMPA, Fla. — International regulators have given Ovzon another six months to provide services from its debut satellite following a series of manufacturing and launch delays for the project, the Swedish satcoms provider announced Oct. 31. The company risked losing priority spectrum rights for Ovzon 3 after a change in launch providers from Arianespace to

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossils of two 160 million-year-old lamprey species, discovering the once small fish had already evolved into monster chompers – growing more than ten times longer than the earliest lampreys. The earliest fossil evidence of lampreys dates back 360 million years, earning them the nickname ‘living fossils’ due to their long history

After a journey of seven years and nearly 4 billion miles, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft landed gently in the Utah desert on the morning of Sept. 24, 2023, with a precious payload. The spacecraft brought back a sample from the asteroid Bennu. Roughly half a pound of material collected from the 85 million-ton asteroid (77.6 billion

Most of us are very much devoted to our pets, but a new study shows a discrepancy between dog owners and cat owners in terms of the care and attention they give to their animal companions. The international team of researchers behind the study compiled the survey results of 2,117 people across the UK, Denmark,

In July of this year, an asteroid roughly 30 to 60 meters across passed Earth to within one-quarter of the distance to the Moon. It posed no threat to our world, but if it had struck Earth it would have created a blast three times greater than the 2013 Chelyabinsk impact. And we only noticed

In the two years between June 2014 and May 2016, world leaders came together and adopted the landmark Paris Agreement, and the global average sea level rose by a staggering 15 millimeters or 0.6 inches. Although that rise isn’t much more than the length of a fingernail, it was actually a frightening leap on long-term

WASHINGTON — Blue Origin has unveiled a full-sized mockup of an uncrewed version of its Blue Moon lunar lander that will test technologies intended for a crewed version it is developing for NASA’s Artemis effort. In social media posts Oct. 27, the company showed images of the Blue Moon Mark 1 mockup, located at an

A new study from researchers at the California Institute of Technology (CIT) suggests the Long Valley Caldera in eastern California is restlessly tossing and turning as its deep magma chamber cools down for a big, long sleep. The last time the volcano blew was roughly 100,000 years ago. Long before that, it spewed up enough

Dutch-born Christiaan Huygens is probably one of the most famous physicists you’ve never heard of. His work in the late 17th century straddled both the intangible and tangible realms of our Universe: the nature of light, and the mechanics of moving objects. Among his many contributions, Huygens proposed a wave theory of light that would

Certainly, lots of people believe in ghosts – a spirit left behind after someone who was alive has died. In a 2021 poll of 1,000 American adults, 41% said they believe in ghosts, and 20% said they had personally experienced them. If they’re right, that’s more than 50 million spirit encounters in the U.S. alone.

Our Sun is a steady and everlasting companion. Reliable like a clock, its apparent passage across the sky allows us to measure time. The Sun and its path is also the source of Earth’s seasons. But in many respects, our Sun is far from calm and unchanging. Close up, the Sun shows extensive variation and

Diaper waste is a real problem, with an estimated 300,000 of them disposed of every single minute worldwide. Now, scientists may have come up with a solution: a process of turning a key part of these diapers into recyclable liquid in just five minutes. The team behind the innovation, from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

‘Painting’ with fluorescent markers has long been a handy way to detect unique double-stranded structures in DNA. Once limited to a palette of just 256 colors, scientists can now create stunning works of laboratory art with incredible 16 million shades and hues. The new technique accurately recreates digital images with 24-bit color depth, and the