Ancient stars could make elements with atomic masses greater than 260
The first stars of the universe were monstrous beasts. Comprised only of hydrogen and helium, they could be 300 times more massive than the sun. Within them, the first of the heavier elements were formed, then cast off into the cosmos at the end of t.....»»
Astronomers detect ancient lonely quasars with murky origins
A quasar is the extremely bright core of a galaxy that hosts an active supermassive black hole at its center. As the black hole draws in surrounding gas and dust, it blasts out an enormous amount of energy, making quasars some of the brightest object.....»»
New technique enhances precision in measuring short-lived atomic nuclei
Researchers at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL-CSR) have introduced a technique, Tune-IMS, designed to improve the precision of isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) in measuring short-lived atomic nuclei. The development offers refin.....»»
Ancient ‘Age of Dinosaurs’ Seafloor Found beneath Pacific Ocean
A vast, ancient slab of seafloor plunged beneath the Pacific Ocean and has hovered in Earth’s mantle for more than 120 million years, a new study suggests.....»»
Volunteering to help strangers seen as greater contribution than caring for friends and family
Americans believe volunteering to help strangers contributes more to society than providing care for family or friends, even though they contribute billions of dollars' worth of labor in unpaid caregiving every year, according to research published i.....»»
"Old" star could provide new insights into star evolution
A newly discovered star could challenge some models of how stars evolve and the way they produce elements as they age......»»
These "failed stars" orbit so closely it took 29 years to tell they were a pair
These "failed stars" orbit so closely it took 29 years to tell they were a pair.....»»
Hubble captures intricacies of R Aquarii, a symbiotic binary star roughly 700 light-years from Earth
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided a dramatic and colorful close-up look at one of the most rambunctious stars in our galaxy, weaving a huge spiral pattern among the stars. Hubble's images capture its details and its evolution is featur.....»»
Leap Seconds May Be Abandoned by the World’s Timekeepers
We have been adding “leap seconds” to time kept by our atomic clocks, but soon we may have to subtract one. Are the tiny adjustments worth the bother?.....»»
F&I data: Fed LIFE Survey finds consumers more challenged by bills
Americans this summer were having a harder time paying bills and feeling greater concern about making ends meet compared with a year earlier, according to the July 2024 edition of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Labor, Income, Finances, an.....»»
The neutron lifetime problem—and its possible solution
Neutrons are among the basic building blocks of matter. As long as they are part of a stable atomic nucleus, they can stay there for arbitrary periods of time. However, the situation is different for free neutrons: They decay—after about 15 minutes.....»»
Zoom into the first page of ESA Euclid"s great cosmic atlas
On 15 October 2024, ESA's Euclid space mission revealed the first piece of its great map of the universe, showing millions of stars and galaxies......»»
Dutch students warn space mission of noisy white dwarfs
The background noise of gravitational waves from orbiting white dwarf stars will be stronger than the noise from binary black holes. This is what two Dutch master's students and their supervisor predict in two papers in anticipation of the LISA space.....»»
Report: The number of people with disabilities is growing, and they are voting in greater numbers
People with disabilities could play an enormous role in deciding the outcome of the presidential election and the balance of power in Congress......»»
Revealing the hidden universe with full-shell X-ray optics
The study of X-ray emission from astronomical objects reveals secrets about the universe at the largest and smallest spatial scales. Celestial X-rays are produced by black holes consuming nearby stars, emitted by the million-degree gas that traces th.....»»
How profits from big pharma"s use of genetic information could revolutionize nature conservation
The blue blood of threatened horseshoe crabs contains a chemical essential for testing the safety of vaccines. So these ancient creatures are highly sought after by pharmaceutical companies worldwide, contributing to declines in their populations......»»
Scientists discover "selfish DNA" crucial for early human development
A critical transition in early human development is regulated not by our own genes, but by DNA elements called transposons that can move around the genome, Sinai Health researchers have found......»»
First coherent picture of an atomic nucleus made of quarks and gluons
The atomic nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons, particles that exist through the interaction of quarks bonded by gluons. It would seem, therefore, that it should not be difficult to reproduce all the properties of atomic nuclei hitherto observ.....»»
Scientists apply ancient construction methods to help fabricate modern microparticles
Inspired by the ancient East Asian method of constructing wooden structures using a "tongue and groove" technique, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have developed a new approach to fabricating advanced ceramic mi.....»»
Did child labor fuel the ancient pottery industry?
Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University and the National Museum in Copenhagen have analyzed 450 pottery vessels made in Tel Hama, a town at the edge of the Ebla Kingdom, one of the most important Syrian kingdoms in the Early Bronze Age (about 4,500 y.....»»
Ancient hominins had humanlike hands, indicating earlier tool use, study reveals
An analysis by Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany, on the manual capabilities of early hominins reveals that some Australopithecus species exhibited hand use similar to modern humans......»»