Impossible

Hubble telescope was at the perfect angle to capture this nearly impossible shot of two ‘dancing galaxies’

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Deep within the Andromeda constellation, some 320 million light-years away, two galaxies are consumed by a gravitationally bound dance, and the Hubble Space Telescope has just photographed the action in extraordinary three-dimensional detail. The two dancers are the smaller polar-ring galaxy IC 1559 (top) and the larger spiral galaxy NGC 169 (bottom). Collectively, they are … Read more

De-extinction: Resurrecting extinct species from their DNA is essentially impossible

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A study of the extinct Christmas Island rat suggests we cannot bring back the woolly mammoth and other lost species without important differences Life 9 March 2022 By Michael Le Page An illustration of the Christmas Island rat Joseph Smit/Public Domain It is impossible to bring extinct animals back to life exactly as they were, … Read more

Bringing back the woolly mammoth and other extinct creatures may be impossible | Science

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An extinct rat that once lived on an island in the Indian Ocean may have put the kibosh on scientists’ dreams of resurrecting more famous extinct animals like the woolly mammoth. The Christmas Island rat disappeared just over 100 years ago, but researchers now say even its detailed genome isn’t complete enough to bring it … Read more

Saturn: Planet’s moon Mimas may be hiding an impossible ocean

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Mimas doesn’t show any hints of liquid water, and it seems impossible that it could have an ocean under its surface, but that’s exactly what a new set of simulations suggest Space 11 January 2022 By Leah Crane Mimas, a moon of Saturn, imaged by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Saturn’s moon Mimas may … Read more

Plant science: ‘Near impossible’ grafting technique could revolutionise agriculture

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For the first time, grafting has been made to work in monocots, a type of plant including oats, wheats and bananas – and it might improve disease tolerance among these important crops Environment 22 December 2021 By Alex Wilkins A date palm two-and-a-half years after grafting. Inset shows a region at the base of the … Read more

Impossible Foods in talks with UK farmers to swap livestock for trees

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Exclusive: CEO of plant-based “meat” firm plans to show economic and climate change benefits of planting trees on land used for cattle and sheep production Environment 2 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan Pat Brown with Impossible Foods’ plant-based burger ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images The chief executive of Impossible Foods is in talks with UK … Read more