How a giant prehistoric elephant skull helped untangle an evolutionary mystery
About 400,000 years ago, early humans in Europe, Asia and Africa lived alongside giant straight-tusked elephants, far bigger than their modern-day cousins. Their evolution has long been a mystery to paleontologists, but an extraordinary, enormous and.....»»
Interview: How these developers created 2024’s most celebrated apps
Apple today announced the winners of the 2024 App Store Awards, recognizing apps and games that “helped users ignite their creativity, achieve new milestones, and cherish everyday moments with family and friends.” I had the chance to spend tim.....»»
Stone Age insights: Life, death and fire in ancient Ukraine
A research group led by Johannes Müller at the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, at Kiel University, Germany, have shed light on the lives of people who lived over 5,600 years ago near Kosenivka, Ukraine......»»
2024’s most underrated game turned me into a cheater
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is the hardest game of 2024, surpassing even Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC......»»
An interstellar visitor helped shape the orbits of the planets
The orbits of the planets around the sun have been the source for many a scientific debate. Their current orbital properties are well understood but the planetary orbits have evolved and changed since the formation of the solar system......»»
Chandra sees black hole jet stumble into something in the dark
Even matter ejected by black holes can run into objects in the dark. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have found an unusual mark from a giant black hole's powerful jet striking an unidentified object in its path......»»
Centromeres could be "hotspots" for evolutionary innovation
New research reveals that centromeres, which are responsible for proper cell division, can rapidly reorganize over short time scales. Biologists at the University of Rochester are calling a discovery they made in a mysterious region of the chromosome.....»»
Amazon starts selling Hyundai cars, more brands next year
Amazon Autos has gone live in 48 US cities. Amazon started selling new cars today. The online retailer and Internet giant has had its sights on shifting metal for some time now,.....»»
Teaser reveals Reacher season 3 release date, previews return of Alan Ritchson
Alan Ritchson returns as Jack Reacher for a new mystery in Reacher season 3. See when the new season premieres on Prime Video......»»
Geneticists have finally solved the mystery of Garfield"s orange coat
Garfield, star of the eponymous comic strip created by Jim Davis in 1978, is, like many of the cats that roam our homes, orange. He is orange in the same way that some people are redheaded, some horses are brown, or some dogs are Irish setters, but t.....»»
A microRNA solves an evolutionary mystery of butterfly and moth wing coloration
Lepidopterans (butterflies and moths) exhibit a splendid diversity of wing color patterns, and many species display black and white, or dark and bright, wing color pattern variants associated with the presence and absence of melanin. Many of these wi.....»»
3D scans of giant hailstones reveal surprising discoveries that could help predict future storms
Hailstones are formed during thunderstorms, when raindrops are propelled into very cold parts of a cloud, where they freeze. Once the particles are heavy enough, gravity pulls them back towards Earth. As they plummet, they grow into hailstones, which.....»»
Google’s December 2024 Pixel Drop just arrived with a boatload of new features
Google's Pixel Drop for December 2024 is here, and it's a giant update. Here's a rundown of all the new features......»»
OpenAI teases 12 days of mystery product launches starting tomorrow
OpenAI's "12 days of shipmas" will reveal new AI releases and demos for two weeks. On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a "12 days of OpenAI" period starting December 5,.....»»
The dual role of insects in parasitic plant reproduction solves a long-standing botanical mystery
In the dark and moist understories of the subtropical forests of Shimoshima Island in Japan grow parasitic plants that feed on the roots of other plants. They are called Balanophora, and for over a century, the mechanism of their seed dispersal has r.....»»
Astronomers close to solving mystery of how universe"s giant galaxies formed
Astronomers say they are close to solving an intergalactic mystery about the creation of the universe's biggest galaxies which has puzzled experts for decades......»»
Starspot activity of the red giant XX Trianguli indicates non-periodic, chaotic dynamo
In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the Leibniz-Institut for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and the HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (HUN-REN CSFK) have reconstructed the temporal changes in the distrib.....»»
X-ray vision: Seeing through the mystery of an X-ray emissions mechanism
Since the 1960s, scientists who study X-rays, lightning and similar phenomena have observed something curious: In lab experiments replicating these occurrences, electrons accelerated between two electrodes can be of a higher energy than the voltage a.....»»
Simulated outbreaks demonstrate how evolutionary approaches can estimate the speed of viral spread
Evaluating the speed at which viruses spread and transmit across host populations is critical to mitigating disease outbreaks. A study published December 3 in PLOS Biology by Simon Dellicour at the University of Brussels (ULB), Belgium, and colleague.....»»
Boomeranging: Why some adults stay closely tied to their parents" home, and how to keep the peace
Picture this: a man in his 40s unpacks his holiday suitcase, only to find an entire rack of lamb and a giant cheese pie carefully tucked in by his mother......»»
Mid-Pleistocene climate change may have shaped hominin development and dispersal
A multi-institutional team of evolutionary specialists, climatologists and sociologists has found evidence that climate change during and after the Mid-Pleistocene likely shaped hominin development in parts of what is now Asia......»»