Science News from WN Network

Oldest Known Human Viruses Discovered In 50,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Bones 2024-05-14
IFL Science

Did viruses play a role in the extinction of Neanderthals? That’s what researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo have been trying to figure out, and in doing so, ended up uncovering the oldest known human viruses in a set of Neanderthal bones from over 50,000 years ago. Advertisement To...

photo: Creative Commons / Tim Evanson

Perseverance Wraps Up Over 1,000 Days on Mars. Still Going Strong 2024-05-14
Universe Today

I can remember when Perseverance was launched, travelled out into the Solar System and landed on Mars in February 2021. In all the time since it arrived, having clocked up 1000 days of exploration, it has collected 23 samples from different geological areas within the Jezero Crater. The area was...

photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Scientists say they’ve discovered a ‘phonetic alphabet’ in whale calls 2024-05-14
CNN

Scientists have accomplished a whale of a feat. They’ve identified previously unknown complexity in whale communication by analyzing thousands of recorded sequences of sperm whale clicks with artificial intelligence. Variations in tempo, rhythm and length of the whales’ click sequences, called...

photo: Creative Commons / Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith

A new generation of batteries may bolster the EU’s green ambitions 2024-05-13
CyprusMail

By Anthony King A green industrial future for Europe may depend on an element that is part of a household staple: table salt. Dr John Abou-Rjeily, a researcher at Tiamat Energy in France, is using sodium to develop rechargeable batteries. Sodium is a part of sodium chloride, an ionic compound that...

photo: Creative Commons / Arria Belli

All you need to know about ‘Mother of Dark Matter’ 2024-05-13
Live Mint

Vera Rubin, affectionately known as the “Mother of Dark Matter,” earned her moniker through groundbreaking research on the elusive substance that makes up a significant portion of the universe.According to a post by Hubble, a galaxy in particular became synonymous with Rubin's pioneering work,...

photo: Public Domain

First 'severe geomagnetic storm watch' issued in almost 20 years 2024-05-10
RTE

US authorities have issued the first Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch alert in almost 20 years as a powerful solar storm will hit the Earth today, with the possibility of the Northern Lights being visible from Ireland. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued...

photo: AP / NASA

From toxic fungus to soy sauce superstar 2024-05-09
Popular Science

The mold Aspergillus oryzae helps to make several fermented foods, including sake, soy sauce, and miso. Knowable Magazine This article was originally featured on Knowable Magazine. Nearly 9,000 years ago, around the time that humans were first domesticating corn and pigs, some people in China were...

photo: Creative Commons / Forrest O. https://flickr.com/people/37996589754@N01

Can we grow plants on Moon? NASA's Artemis III mission plans to study possibilities; all you need to know 2024-05-09
Live Mint

NASA's Artemis III is set to be a mission in 2026 that will carry a unique payload designed to explore the feasibility of growing plants in the lunar environment.NASA has selected the first scientific instruments for astronauts to deploy on...

photo: NASA

James Webb telescope peers at the atmosphere of a rocky hell world 2024-05-09
Digital Trends

This artist’s concept shows what the exoplanet 55 Cancri e could look like. Also called Janssen, 55 Cancri e is a so-called super-Earth, a rocky planet significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, which orbits its star at a distance of only 2.25 million kilometers (0.015...

photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

PHOTO OF THE DAY: NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Captures Jupiter’s Great Red Spot 2024-05-08
Space Coast Daily

swirling oval of clouds is twice as wide as Earth This April 1, 2018, enhanced-color image of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The image is a combination of three separate images...

photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran