Science

Most new dinosaur species are announced after researchers uncover multiple bones or even an entire skeleton. The discovery of Uragasaurus kalasinensis proves that this is not always necessary. Scientists have identified the giant long-necked dinosaur from a single, exceptionally well-preserved vertebra found in northeastern Thailand. Despite the limited fossil material, the bone preserved a unique…

PC: W. M. Keck Observatory For decades, dark matter has been treated as the unseen framework around which galaxies take shape. Even the smallest galaxies are generally thought to be wrapped inside vast halos of it, with the invisible material outweighing the stars by a wide margin. That assumption has been challenged before by two…

Few natural experiences are as universally loved as the earthy scent that rises after the first drops of rain hit dry ground. Petrichor, what most people describe as the smell of fresh rain, but the rain itself has almost no scent. Instead, what your nose detects is a remarkable chemical called geosmin, produced by soil-dwelling…

The pink light visible in recent timelapse footage from the International Space Station is not a camera effect or a reflection from Earth. Instead, it comes from a small plant-growing facility tucked inside the station’s Columbus laboratory, where astronauts have been tending crops as part of an ongoing experiment into how plants behave beyond our…

Typical children going to an elementary school in Japan mostly spend their free time studying, playing baseball or reading all the manga they can get their hands on. But Jo Nagai, a ten-year-old resident of Kobe, Japan decided to spend his spare time hand-raising swallowtail butterflies. Identified with the bright dots that outline their wings,…

Are Milky Way’s coldest stars actually alien megastructures? New study explores Some of the coldest objects currently listed as stars in the Milky Way may not be stars at all. A new study by astrophysicist Amirnezam Amiri from the University of Arkansas suggests that these extremely cold objects could instead be giant energy-harvesting structures built…

For years, scientists thought Greenland sharks were basically blind. These deep-sea creatures live in the freezing dark waters of the Arctic and often have parasites clinging to their eyes, so it seemed obvious that their vision was pretty much gone. But a new study from researchers at the University of California, Irvine, says that assumption…

Two people can look at the exact same run of bad luck and walk away with completely different conclusions. One decides the world is chaotic and nothing can be predicted. The other starts looking for the pattern hiding underneath the noise. Abraham de Moivre, the French mathematician who spent much of his career pricing gambling…

An adult rattlesnake rests with juveniles at a den under remote observation in Colorado (AP file photo) Many people believe that baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than adult ones because they cannot control the amount of venom they inject when they bite. A new study has now challenged this long-held belief.Researchers from Loma Linda University…

Elon Musk has laid out another far-reaching vision for SpaceX, saying the company could return humans to the Moon within the next few years and eventually move thousands of people beyond Earth. Speaking during an interview with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Musk described plans that would go far beyond short astronaut missions, including permanent settlements…