With Psyche, a journey to an ancient asteroid is set to begin
If all goes well, on Thursday morning a NASA mission with extensive connections to MIT will be headed to a metal world......»»
How to build and preserve a vinyl record collection
Your father-in-law was right: Vinyl records sound amazing and super cool. If you're just starting your collection journey, here's everything you need to know......»»
An asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, not a comet, new study finds
Analysis of ruthenium isotopes showed the impactor was a carbonaceous-type asteroid. Enlarge / Artist impression of a large asteroid impacting on Earth, such as the Chicxulub event that caused the end-Cretaceous mass extinction 6.....»»
Cactus dreams: Revealing the secrets of mescaline making
Mescaline, a natural hallucinogen known since ancient times, was not only a favorite of artists and bohemians but also a mainstay of brain research throughout the first half of the 20th century, until it was eclipsed in the 1950s by the much more pot.....»»
NASA shuts down asteroid-hunting telescope, but a better one is on the way
The NEOWISE spacecraft is on a course to fall out of orbit in the next few months. Enlarge / Artist's illustration of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft. (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Last week, NASA deco.....»»
Scientists spot girls-only shark slumber party in Bass Strait"s Beagle Marine Park
Scientists on a return journey to Beagle Marine Park in central Bass Strait have spotted thousands of sleepy Port Jackson sharks blanketing the seafloor......»»
Studying the journey, not the destination, provides new insight into songbird migrations
Migration is an adaptive phenomenon, typically triggered by a change of season, that is vital to ecosystem health. Animals may journey thousands of miles, in some cases, in search of food, better living conditions, or to find a mate. Conversely, huma.....»»
Stonehenge"s Altar Stone origins reveal advanced ancient Britain
New research led by Curtin University has revealed Stonehenge's monumental six-ton Altar Stone, long believed to originate from Wales, actually hails from Scotland. The study titled "A Scottish Provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge" was publis.....»»
Research team finds evidence of hydration on the asteroid Psyche
Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a Southwest Research Institute-led team has confirmed hydroxyl molecules on the surface of the metallic asteroid Psyche. The presence of hydrated minerals suggests a complex history for Psyche, impor.....»»
House call: A new study rethinks early Christian landmark
Since its discovery by modern researchers a century ago, an ancient structure known as the "Christian building" has become widely considered the cornerstone of early Christian architecture. Constructed around 232 C.E. in the ancient city of Dura-Euro.....»»
Classic PC game emulation is back on the iPhone with iDOS 3 release
Apple amended its App Store rules to allow PC emulators, not just console ones. Enlarge / The start of any journey in MS-DOS. (credit: Samuel Axon) After a 14-year journey of various states of availability and usefulness.....»»
Findings reveal eurypterids evolved giant size independently at least nine times
Sea scorpions, ancient predators that patrolled Earth's marine and freshwater habitats hundreds of millions of years ago, are the focus of a sizable scientific mystery......»»
Jamestown DNA helps solve a 400-year-old mystery and unexpectedly reveals a family secret
An ancient DNA (aDNA) study at the 17th-century English colony of Jamestown, Virginia, has identified two of the town's earliest settlers, and revealed an unexpected family secret......»»
New study unveils 16,000 years of climate history in the tropical Andes
A new study that explores ancient temperatures and rainfall patterns in the tropical Andes of South America has revealed how 16,000 years of climate history in this part of the world was driven by carbon dioxide levels and ocean currents from global.....»»
Unveiling the ancient Maya"s relationship to animals and nature
As the scorching May sun of Central Belize blazes down on us, temperatures soar to a staggering 106°F. Local farmers anxiously await the onset of the rainy season to sow their crops, but the much-needed first rain remains elusive. This property is o.....»»
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......»»
135-million-year-old marine crocodile sheds light on Cretaceous life
An international team of scientists, including researchers from Germany and the UK, have described a new species of ancient marine crocodile, Enalioetes schroederi. Enalioetes lived in the shallow seas that covered much of Germany during the Cretaceo.....»»
Research shows that glossy black-cockatoos prefer to feed from trees growing in acidic soils
Glossy black-cockatoos are seed-eating birds that feed almost exclusively on the cones of drooping sheoak trees. However, counter-intuitively, they select trees that grow on the poorest soils found on ancient sedimentary rocks......»»
Ancient grains of dust from space can be found on Earth—and provide clues about the life cycle of stars
In space, there are clouds that contain gas and dust ejected from stars. Our solar system was formed 4.6 billion years ago from such a molecular cloud. Most of these dust grains were destroyed during solar system formation. However, a very small amou.....»»
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......»»