Science

There’s a Hidden Mathematical ‘Law’ in The Sand Megaripples Found All Over Earth

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Wherever there is sand and an atmosphere, prevailing winds may whip the grains into undulating shapes, pleasing to the eye with their calming repetition. Certain sand waves, with wavelengths between 30 centimeters (almost 12 inches) and several meters (around 30 feet), are known as megaripples: they’re between ordinary beach ripples and full dunes in size, … Read more

New Breakthrough Lets Scientists Track Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts in Real-Time

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Located in the Okanagan Valley outside of Penticton, British Columbia, there is a massive radio observatory dedicated to observing cosmic radio phenomena. It’s called the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), a cylindrical parabolic radio telescope that looks like what snowboarders would call a “half-pipe”. This array is part of the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory … Read more

The Earliest Unequivocal Evidence of Our Species May Be Even Older Than We Realized

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The course of human evolution never did run smooth. The emergence of hominins on the continent of Africa is full of twists, turns, gaps, and dead ends, which makes it all the more difficult to retrace the rise of our own species.   Today, we still don’t really know when or where the first Homo … Read more

Scientists Taught a Goldfish How to Drive Its Tank Around, And It’s Adorable

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Goldfish may have short memories but, according to an Israeli university study, they might be able to drive. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev found that a goldfish’s innate navigational abilities allowed it to steer a robotic vehicle towards a terrestrial target if given a food reward.   To conduct their unusual experiment, the … Read more

Thawing Permafrost Is Poised to Unleash Havoc in The Arctic, Scientists Warn

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Thawing Arctic permafrost laden with billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases not only threatens the region’s critical infrastructure but life across the planet, according to a comprehensive scientific review.   Nearly 70 percent of the roads, pipelines, cities, and industry – mostly in Russia – built on the region’s softening ground are highly vulnerable to … Read more

NASA getting SLS megarockets ready for crewed moon missions

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The giant rockets that will carry NASA astronauts to the moon a few years from now are really starting to come together.  In a brief status update posted on Tuesday (Jan. 11), NASA officials wrote that the agency and its manufacturing partners have made “great progress” on putting together the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket … Read more

James Webb Space Telescope begins lining up its golden mirrors

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Just weeks after the excitement of launch, the James Webb Space Telescope is already seeking focus in space. Engineers are beginning alignment procedures for the recently unfolded 18-segment massive golden mirror. The work will eventually get these individual reflectors working as a single focusing device, NASA officials wrote in a blog update posted on Wednesday … Read more

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Chokes on Mars Pebbles While Collecting a Rock Sample

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NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has some rocks stuck in its throat. Perseverance drilled and collected its sixth Red Planet rock sample late last month, but the car-sized rover hasn’t been able to seal up the titanium tube containing the material yet. “I recently captured my sixth rock core and have encountered a new challenge. Seems some … Read more