Could comets have delivered the building blocks of life to ocean worlds like Europa, Enceladus and Titan?
Throughout Earth's history, the planet's surface has been regularly impacted by comets, meteors, and the occasional large asteroid. While these events were often destructive, sometimes to the point of triggering a mass extinction, they may have also.....»»
Black Friday shoppers targeted with thousands of fraudulent online stores
Building fake, fraudulent online stores has never been easier: fraudsters are registering domain names for a pittance, using the SHOPYY e-commerce platform to build the websites, and leveraging large language models (LLMs) to rewrite existing product.....»»
SpaceX to launch NASA’s Dragonfly drone mission to Titan
In 2028, a NASA mission called Dragonfly will launch using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy on a trip to Saturn's moon Titan......»»
New model can predict marine heat waves, extreme ocean acidity months in advance
In the 21st century, the Earth's oceans are growing warmer and more acidic. This change is happening slowly over the long-term, but it can also cause short-term, local spikes......»»
Europa Clipper: Millions of miles down, instruments deploying
NASA's Europa Clipper, which launched Oct. 14 on a journey to Jupiter's moon Europa, is already 13 million miles (20 million kilometers) from Earth. Two science instruments have deployed hardware that will remain at attention, extending out from the.....»»
Brighter and more efficient LEDs with low polarization resist "efficiency droop"
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are everywhere in modern life, from smartphones to home lighting. But today's LEDs have a major limitation: when you try to make them brighter by increasing their power, they become less efficient......»»
Why Monday is the most dangerous day on a building site
Australia's construction industry employs more than 1.3 million workers. That's about 9% of the workforce......»»
Exploring life at its simplest: Scientists create a "minimal cell membrane" with just two lipids
Lipids, or fats, are essential to life. They form the membranes around cells, protecting them from the outside. In nature, there is an enormous diversity of lipids, with each organism having its own unique combination. But what are the minimum lipid.....»»
New Zealanders save more than 30 stranded whales by lifting them on sheets
More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. Four of the pilot whales died, New Zealand's con.....»»
The Chesapeake Bay"s "dead zone" stays at long-term average: It"s a "good sign"
The dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay, where there's low oxygen for underwater life, was near its average size in 2024, according to new data from the Chesapeake Bay Program......»»
New maps show high-risk zones for whale-ship collisions—vessel speed limits and rerouting can reduce the toll
Imagine you are a blue whale swimming up the California coast, as you do every spring. You are searching for krill in the Santa Barbara Channel, a zone that teems with fish, kelp forests, seagrass beds and other undersea life, but also vibrates with.....»»
Saturday Citations: Sweaty, remarkable humans; ocean level rise projections; closeup of a star in another galaxy
Since we last spoke, researchers at the University of Birmingham have defined the precise shape of a single photon (spoiler: roundish). Economists worry that Trump's grandiose deportation plans could lead to a recession. And astronomers report that t.....»»
Accessing the lesser known nucleon: New neutron measurement can help physicists learn about nucleon structure and spin
Protons and neutrons–known collectively as nucleons–are both the building blocks of matter, but one of these particles has received a bit more attention in certain types of nuclear physics experiments......»»
Building climate resilient cocoa farming in West Africa
Agroforestry systems, which integrate trees and shrubs into farming, are vital to achieving sustainable cocoa production in West Africa where 70% of the world cocoa is produced. Climate change induced drought means that it is ever more critical to ad.....»»
Our Universe is not fine-tuned for life, but it’s still kind of OK
Inspired by the Drake equation, researchers optimize a model universe for life. Physicists including Robert H. Dickle and Fred Hoyle have argued that we are living in a universe t.....»»
Ryugu asteroid sample rapidly colonized by terrestrial life despite strict contamination control
Panspermia is the hypothesis that life can survive the transfer between planetary bodies as a secondary path for life to get started on planets throughout a solar system. The discovery of extraterrestrial life on asteroids or within meteorites would.....»»
More than 40% of coral species face extinction, according to new research
Following a global assessment, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has revealed that 44% of reef-building coral species globally are at risk of extinction. The announcement was made at the ongoing COP29 UN climate conference......»»
Scientists develop novel high-fidelity quantum computing gate
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Toshiba have succeeded in building a quantum computer gate based on a double-transmon coupler (DTC), which had been proposed theoretically as a device that could significantly enhance the fi.....»»
Pakistan blocks Bluesky amid popularity surge
Bluesky is the latest social media platform that cannot be used in Pakistan without a VPN. Yet, VPN usage is also a target......»»
An ad giant wants to run your next TV’s operating system
Sonos is rumored to be building a streaming box running The Trade Desk's OS. An ad company’s foray into TV operating systems (OSes) illustrates a significant shift for TV hardwa.....»»
Study: Yes, tapping on frescoes can reveal defects
Acousticians put a traditional "knock" test for delaminated areas to the test. The US Capitol building in Washington, DC, is adorned with multiple lavish murals created in the 19t.....»»