Science

Streams of stars orbiting the Milky Way shed light on galaxy’s dark matter

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Stellar groupings orbiting in the outskirts of the Milky Way shed new light on the evolution of our galaxy as well as the elusive dark matter that surrounds it. Scientists from the Carnegie Institution for Science mapped a dozen associations of stars that orbit within the gaseous halo that envelopes our galaxy, the Milky Way. … Read more

New Bait Uses Mosquitoes’ Love of Malaria Parasite to Bite Them Back

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Plant-based meat alternatives are making the rounds from food blogs to five-star restaurants—and soon they may appear on menus for some decidedly different diners. A new study published in Communications Biology shows how to trick mosquitoes into eating beet juice “blood” laced with poison. Mosquito-borne diseases kill more than 700,000 people every year, with malaria … Read more

Meet Relativity Space: the little 3D printing rocket company that could

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One fast-growing rocket start-up is 3D printing its way to space. The space industry is in the middle of a historic boom. As industry giants take their first leaps and crewed voyages to outer space, new, smaller rocket companies continue to crop up, adding to the brewing frenzy to get to space faster, cheaper and … Read more

‘Cow’ supernova is brightest ever seen in X-ray observations

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Astronomers have spotted the brightest “Cow” supernova ever seen in X-rays, providing shining new evidence that the recently discovered phenomenon might be driven by an emerging black hole or a neutron star.  Cow supernovae are a newly-labeled subclass of the explosive events, which occur when giant stars reach the end of their lives; they run … Read more

Powerful superflares discovered erupting from superdense stellar corpse

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A visualization of a superflare on the recurrent nova v2487 Oph. (Image credit: LSU Prof. Robert Hynes, with his BinSim program) A rare type of white dwarf star has been erupting in the most extreme superflares of its kind ever seen, researchers find in a new study. The star in question, known as V2487 Oph, … Read more

New Evidence Challenges The Idea That Mutations Are Entirely Random

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It’s a common misconception that evolution has a sense of direction – a notion that biology nerds around the world are constantly trying to correct. But new research reveals there may be a semblance of truth to this misconception, at least more than we ever realized.   While it’s not as straightforward as mutation with … Read more

Scientists Have Detected a Faint Hint of The Background Hum of The Universe

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Ever since scientists made the first detection of gravitational waves from a pair of colliding black holes in 2015, evidence has been growing that the Universe ought to be full of them.   Every massive event – every black hole or neutron star merger, every supernova – should have sent gravitational waves ringing out across … Read more