Rare

How rare are shooting stars?

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An old superstition suggests that if you wish upon a shooting star, your wish will be granted. The implication is that shooting stars are so rare, and your sighting so fortuitous, that you’ve been specially selected for a dose of good luck.  But are shooting stars actually all that elusive? And what are they, exactly? … Read more

A Rare, Repeatedly Exploding Star Has Been Caught Producing Powerful Gamma Rays

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A rare star that repeatedly explodes appears to be also generating the most energetic form of light in the Universe. Analysis of an eruption from the binary system RS Ophiuchi has revealed that the shock wave expanding out into space acts as a particle accelerator that generates gamma radiation. This suggests the conditions that generate … Read more

A Single Genetic Test Can Accurately Diagnose 25 Rare Diseases Faster Than Ever

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Scientists have developed a quick genetic test that can diagnose a large range of rare muscle and nerve diseases with near perfect accuracy. Tandem repeat disorders are a family of over 50 inherited diseases, including Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), that seem to occur when short DNA sequences are repeated too many times. … Read more

Marine biology: Watch first video of a possible rare sponge reef found near California

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Vast mounds of sponges stretching for hundreds of metres have been discovered 600 metres down near the Channel Islands off California Environment 3 March 2022 By Michael Le Page Vast mounds made of the skeletons of glass sponges have been discovered 600 metres down on the seabed of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary off … Read more

On the Great Lakes, scientists are making a ‘Winter Grab’ of rare data | Science

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GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN—On a brutally cold day here earlier this week, Kirill Shchapov stood 200 meters off the shore of Lake Michigan, using a green auger to drill into a glistening ice sheet that stretched to the horizon. A fountain of water erupted when he yanked the auger from the hole. But soon Shchapov, a … Read more

A Creepy, Exceptionally Rare ‘Ghost Shark’ Chimaera Has Been Found in The Pacific

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Researchers have discovered an exceptionally rare, newly hatched “ghost shark” near New Zealand’s South Island, according to the country’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).   Translucent, gelatinous and crowned with a pair of giant black eyes on its pointed head, the alien-like baby likely belongs to one of the more than 50 … Read more

Incredibly rare stellar merger may have created strange stars

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Two particularly strange stars may have formed in a lucky collision, according to new research. What makes these two stars unusual is the high levels of carbon and oxygen at the surface of their atmospheres. Those elements are left behind as a star burns its helium, but that process takes place in the star’s core … Read more

Nuclear explosion in space: Neutron star blast is so rare we may never see one again

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Astronomers say a “hyperburst” nuclear explosion within a neutron star could explain its strange behaviour – but the conditions required to create the explosion are so rare that we will probably never see one again Space 11 February 2022 By Jonathan O’Callaghan An artist’s illustration of an explosion in space Shutterstock/mik ulyannikov Astronomers think they … Read more

Rare earth elements for smartphones can be extracted from coal waste

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Recycling rare earth elements from the ash left over from coal burning is cheaper, easier and more environmentally friendly than digging them out of mines Environment 9 February 2022 By Alice Klein A microscope image of tiny glass spheres in coal fly ash that contain rare earth elements Rice University Rare earth elements that are … Read more

Don’t miss: A rare chance to see a coveted natural history book

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New Scientist’s weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn’t miss Humans 2 February 2022 Read Strange Bedfellows accompany many of us through our lives, yet most of us know next to nothing about common sexually transmitted infections. Ina Park aims to change all that in this upbeat … Read more