There’s a weird asteroid shaped like a bone whipping around our sun
Astronomers have got their closest look yet at an unusually shaped asteroid orbiting the sun in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars......»»
Discovery of tiny bone sheds light on mysterious "hobbit" humans
The discovery of a tiny arm bone suggests that an ancient human dubbed "hobbits" only shrank down to their diminutive size after they arrived on an Indonesian island a million years ago, scientists said on Tuesday......»»
NASA says goodbye to our planetary protector, the asteroid-spotting NEOWISE mission
Fifteen years after a launch that was intended to begin just a seven month mission, NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft has finally shut down......»»
Gaia spots possible moons around hundreds of asteroids
ESA's star-surveying Gaia mission has again proven to be a formidable asteroid explorer, spotting potential moons around more than 350 asteroids not known to have a companion......»»
South Africa"s controversial lion farming industry is fueling the illegal international trade in big cat bones
A paper, "Under the lion's paw: lion farming in South Africa and the illegal international bone trade," published in Nature Conservation has uncovered concerning activities within South Africa's captive lion industry, shedding light on the urgent nee.....»»
NASA Retires Asteroid-Hunting Telescope
NASA’s NEOWISE telescope has searched for asteroids, brown dwarfs and luminous galaxies. The spacecraft will soon burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.....»»
Ancient viral elements in RNA kickstart bone repair
Around half of the human genome is composed of DNA fragments originating from ancient viruses. These "transposable elements" (TEs) are now known to play various roles in modulating gene expression and disease development. Now, an international team l.....»»
Planning for climate resilience in California"s freshwater ecosystems
California's unique geomorphology and Mediterranean-type climate have largely shaped the state's freshwater lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands. Now, however, freshwater ecosystems are stressed by water diversion, land use changes, non-native specie.....»»
Indonesia’s tiny hobbits descended from even smaller ancestors
A 700,000-year-old humerus suggests small hominins have a long history on Flores. Enlarge / Half of the upper arm bone of this species can fit comfortably in the palm of a modern human hand. (credit: Yousuke Kaifu) The d.....»»
Advanced chelators offer efficient and eco-friendly rare earth element recovery
The world is going to need a lot of weird metals in the coming years, according to chemistry professor Justin Wilson at UC Santa Barbara. But he isn't talking about lithium, cobalt or even beryllium. Wilson's interested in dysprosium, which is so hid.....»»
Smallest arm bone in the human fossil record sheds light on the dawn of Homo floresiensis
A paper appearing today in Nature Communications reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone......»»
New insights into one of Europe"s oldest dinosaurs
A comprehensive new description of Plateosaurus trossingensis provides valuable information on the evolution, lifestyle and family tree of early dinosaurs. During this analysis, bone injuries were discovered, which paleontologists investigated in mor.....»»
Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossils show
A newly developed timeline of early animal fossils reveals a link between sea levels, changes in marine oxygen, and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of present-day animals......»»
Mass extinction 66 million years ago triggered rapid evolution of bird genomes, study finds
Shortly after an asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, life for non-avian dinosaurs ended, but the evolutionary story for the early ancestors of birds began......»»
NASA smacked a spacecraft into an asteroid—and learned details about its 12-million-year history
NASA's DART mission—Double Asteroid Redirection Test—was humanity's first real-world planetary defense mission......»»
DART mission sheds new light on target binary asteroid system
In studying data collected from NASA's DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, which in 2022 sent a spacecraft to intentionally collide with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, the mission's science team has discovered new information on the ori.....»»
The sun"s corona is weirdly hot, and Parker Solar Probe rules out one explanation
By diving into the sun's corona, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has ruled out S-shaped bends in the sun's magnetic field as a cause of the corona's searing temperatures, according to University of Michigan research published in The Astrophysical Journal L.....»»
MagSafe Monday: AnkerWork S600 is one of the best MagSafe products on the market
If you’d asked me what I thought about a product that included a speaker, microphone, and MagSafe charger, I’d have thought it was a weird combination. But that is just what the is, and it’s turned out to be a really useful product on my desk......»»
Paris 2024: How the Olympics shape—and are shaped by—geopolitics
When French historian and educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympics in 1894, he did so with a vision of promoting peace through sport. In reality, the Olympics have often reflected the geopolitics of the period......»»
Perseverance rover discovers rock with potential signs of ancient life
A vein-filled rock is catching the eye of the science team of NASA's Perseverance rover. Nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" by the team, the arrowhead-shaped rock contains fascinating traits that may bear on the question of whether Mars was home to microscopi.....»»
Silkworms and shrimp may help regenerate damaged skin and bone
Researchers are exploring new nature-based solutions to stimulate skin and bone repair......»»