Astronomers used gravitational lensing and supercomputers to identify the colossal black hole, which is among the largest ever found. Astronomers have discovered one of the largest black holes ever found — an ultramassive monster roughly 30 billion times the mass of the sun — using a space-time trick predicted byContinue Reading
There are big, open scientific questions about levels of exposure and toxicity Tiny particles of plastic have been found everywhere — from the deepest place on the planet, the Mariana Trench, to the top of Mount Everest. And now more and more studies are finding that microplastics, defined as plasticContinue Reading
Exposure to sulfur-rich, volcanic soil appears to encourage the production of reddish pigments Life on a volcanic isle appears to give barn owls a blush of red-brown plumage. The high-sulfur environment on such islands influences the birds’ coloration, researchers report March 13 in the Journal of Biogeography. Darker feathers mightContinue Reading
Watch live online as the dwarf planet Ceres swoops in front of the ‘grand design’ spiral galaxy Messier 100 this weekend. This weekend, you can watch live as the first asteroid ever discovered passes across one of the night sky’s most beautiful spiral galaxies. The Rome-based Virtual Telescope Project(opens inContinue Reading
The finding hints at a possible treatment for alcohol poisoning The only cure to being drunk is to wait it out. But that might not always be the case: Injecting drunk mice with a naturally occurring hormone helped them sober up more quickly than they otherwise would have, a newContinue Reading
A small number of Candida auris infections are also resistant to antifungal drugs A fungus that recently evolved to infect humans is spreading rapidly in health care facilities in the United States and becoming harder to treat, a study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds. CandidaContinue Reading
Seismic waves suggest that the planet has a hidden heart Earth’s heart may have a secret chamber. The planet’s inner core isn’t just a solid ball of nickel and iron, researchers say, but contains two layers of its own: a distinct central region nestled within an outer shell. Scientists sayContinue Reading
The electric charge generated by a flying insect is strong enough to pull in a leaping nematode LAS VEGAS: Some species of parasitic roundworms can catapult themselves high into the air to latch onto fruit flies and other insects. Experiments now reveal that leaping Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes take advantage ofContinue Reading
JWST’s sharp infrared eyes reveal stunning new details invisible to previous observatories A gaggle of galaxies crackle with intricate detail in new images from the James Webb Space Telescope. JWST’s sharp infrared eyes are revealing how newborn stars shape their surroundings, giving hints to how stars and galaxies grow upContinue Reading
Nanoparticles in the juice slowed the formation of the stones in rats A surprise ingredient may explain how lemon juice puts the squeeze on kidney stones. Lemons contain nanoparticles that, when fed to rats, block stone formation, scientists report in the Feb. 22 Nano Letters. If the tiny sacs doContinue Reading