Remains recovered from a cave in the Chinese province of Yunnan more than 10 years ago have finally given up their secrets, with a DNA analysis revealing not just who left them, but ultimately where their ancestors would go. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences evaluated nuclear and mitochondrial sequences extracted from a 14,000-year-old … Read more
Seventy-five years after strychnine’s structure was first characterized, researchers have discovered the complete biochemical pathway that enables nature to produce this highly poisonous and complex molecule. The work could help scientists bioengineer potent drug candidates, as well as better understand how plants make other complex chemicals. Strychnine, an alkaloid found in the seeds of the … Read more
In the fairy-tale landscape of the Isle of Skye off the north-west coast of Scotland, the skull of one of the most ancient salamanders ever discovered to date was excavated from Jurassic limestones. But it would be decades until scientists had the technology and the funding to piece the salamander together. Part of the skeleton … Read more
Born in the cradle of deep space, blasting across the universe at nearly the speed of light and harnessing energy up to a million times greater than anything achieved by the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, cosmic rays are atom fragments that relentlessly rain down on Earth. They get caught in our atmosphere and mess … Read more
Groundwater that was recently discovered deep underground in a mine in South Africa is estimated to be 1.2 billion years old. Researchers suspect that the groundwater is some of the oldest on the planet, and its chemical interactions with the surrounding rock could offer new insights about energy production and storage in the Earth’s crust. … Read more
Artist’s view of Swarm, ESA’s first Earth observation constellation of satellites. Credit: ESA–P. Carril, 2013 The pressure is rising at ESA’s mission control. A European Space Agency (ESA) satellite dodges out of the way of a mystery piece of space junk that was spotted just hours before a potential collision. This means a vital step … Read more
It is currently impossible for human life to survive on Mars without technology Making Mars habitable would require creating a livable atmosphere Humans would need to induce a global magnetic field to maintain an atmosphere Jump To How To Terraform Mars Maintaining An Atmosphere Terraforming is the process by which the environment of a planet … Read more
The next planetary destination for humans to travel to is often considered to be Mars. Mars is perhaps the most Earth-like world in our solar system, and NASA is currently developing the technology required to get humans to Mars. However, should Mars be our primary goal? Is there perhaps another world in our solar system … Read more
Alarming stories from Antarctica are now more frequent than ever; the ice surface is melting, floating ice shelves are collapsing and glaciers are flowing faster into the ocean. Antarctica will be the largest source of future sea-level rise. Yet scientists don’t know exactly how this melting will unfold as the climate warms. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING … Read more
Far out in the Milky Way, roughly 22,000 light years from Earth, a star unlike any other roars with a magnetic force that beats anything physicists have ever seen. At a whopping 1.6 billion Tesla, a pulsar called Swift J0243.6+6124 smashes the previous records of around 1 billion Tesla, discovered surrounding the pulsars GRO J1008-57 … Read more
