Sci.News: Breaking Science News

Astronomers Detect Giant Flare from Magnetar in Messier 82

Using sensitive instruments onboard ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (Integral) mission, astronomers have detected a gamma-ray burst named GRB 231115A from the center of Messier 82 (M82, NGC 3034 or the Cigar Galaxy), a starburst irregular galaxy located 12 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. They suggest that GRB 231115A's spectral and timing properties,...

Space Exploration

Mars Express Spots 'Spiders' at Outskirts of Martian 'Inca City'

ESA's Mars Express spacecraft have spotted the telltale traces of 'spiders' scattered across the southern polar region of Mars. This image of the Martian Inca City was captured by the High Resolution Stereo Camera onboard ESA's Mars Express orbiter on February 27, 2024. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin. "Rather than being actual spiders, the Martian 'spiders' form when spring sunshine...

Archaeology

Humans Occupied Lava Tube Cave in Saudi Arabia for 7,000 Years, Archaeologists Find

New archaeological excavations have revealed repeated phases of human occupation of Umm Jirsan lava tube in the Harrat Khaybar, north-western Saudi Arabia, ranging from at least the Neolithic through to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age (10,000-3,500 years ago). Photographs of Umm Jirsan Cave and its interior sections. Image credit: Stewart et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299292. Intensified field research...

Paleontology

Footprints of Giant Troodontid Dinosaur Found in China

Paleontologists have discovered the tracks of a 5-m- (16.4-foot-) long troodontid at the Longxiang locality in the Chinese province of Fujian. An illustrated reconstruction of the Fujianipus yingliangi track-maker. Image credit: Yingliang. The Longxiang tracksite includes twelve two-toed tracks that fall into two morphologies, differentiated by both size and form. The smaller tracks, around 11 cm...

Biology

Rapidly Spreading Virus Threatens Health of Cacao Trees, Researchers Say

The cacao swollen shoot virus disease is among the most economically damaging diseases of cacao trees and accounts for almost 15-50% of harvest losses in Ghana. This virus is transmitted by several species of mealybugs when they feed on cacao plants. Cacao tree with cacao pods attached directly to the tree trunk and branches. Image credit: Gyamera et al., doi: 10.1094/PDIS-10-22-2412-FE. The cacao...

Physics

Scientists Create Single-Atom-Thick Gold: Goldene

Goldene in the form of gold monolayer sheets has been prepared by etching away titanium carbide (Ti3C2) slabs from titanium gold carbide (Ti3AuC2). Preparation of goldene. Image credit: Kashiwaya et al., doi: 10.1038/s44160-024-00518-4. "If you make a material extremely thin, something extraordinary happens — as with graphene. The same thing happens with gold," said Dr. Shun Kashiwaya,...

Genetics

Arabica Coffee Originated More Than 600,000 Years Ago in Ethiopia: Study

An international team of scientists has generated the highest quality reference genome to date of the world's most popular coffee species, Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica). Their results suggest that this species developed more than 600,000 years ago in the forests of Ethiopia via natural mating between two other coffee species: Coffea eugenioides and Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora). Coffea arabica....

Geology

Earliest Evidence of Earth's Magnetic Field Found in Greenland

Recovering ancient records of Earth's magnetic field is challenging because the magnetization in rocks is often reset by heating during tectonic burial over their long and complex geological histories. Geoscientists from MIT and elsewhere show that rocks from the Isua Supracrustal Belt in West Greenland have experienced three thermal events throughout their geological history. The first event was...

Other Sciences

Earliest Evidence of Earth's Magnetic Field Found in Greenland

Recovering ancient records of Earth's magnetic field is challenging because the magnetization in rocks is often reset by heating during tectonic burial over their long and complex geological histories. Geoscientists from MIT and elsewhere show that rocks from the Isua Supracrustal Belt in West Greenland have experienced three thermal events throughout their geological history. The first event was...