Using high-precision spectroscopic observations from the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) onboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers detected helium gas escaping from WASP-107b, a super-Neptune exoplanet approximately 212 light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. An artist’s impression of the exoplanet WASP-107b. Image credit: University of Geneva...

Using data captured by the SuperCam microphone aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover over two Martian years, planetrary scientists have detected 55 triboelectric discharge events associated with dust devils and dust storms. Detection of electric discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument on board NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image credit: Nicolas Sarter. In our Solar System, lightning...

Severe and persistent river droughts, each lasting longer than 85 years, affected the Indus basin between 4,400 and 3,400 years ago, according to new research. The findings may help explain why this ancient civilization slowly declined, and highlights how environmental factors could shape ancient societies. An artist’s reconstruction of the gateway and drain at the ancient city of Harappa. Image...

A new species of the sauropod dinosaur genus Mamenchisaurus has been discovered in China dating back to the Late Jurassic epoch. Life reconstruction of another Mamenchisaurus species, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum. Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira. Mamenchisaurus sanjiangensis roamed our planet during the Early Oxfordian age of the Jurassic period, some 160 million years ago. This dinosaur was a...

Although dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and wolves (Canis lupus) can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, hybridization between the two is far more rare than domestic and wild populations of other species. In new research, scientists from the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the University of California Davis combined highly sensitive...

In his new book ‘A Brief History of the Philosophy of Time,’ Wake Forest University’s Professor Adrian Bardon proposes that our sense of the passage of time is an example of psychological projection — a type of cognitive error that involves misconceiving the nature of your own experience. Time is an example of psychological projection. Image credit: Gemini AI. ‘Time flies,’ ‘time...

Black cumin seeds have traditionally been valued for their medicinal properties. In a new study, researchers explored its potential in addressing obesity-related conditions. Ahmed et al. suggest that black cumin seed (Nigella sativa) may serve as a promising natural agent in obesity-related conditions. Image credit: Andre Holz / CC BY-SA 3.0. Nigella sativa, or black cumin, is a flowering plant from...

The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat (Felis lybica lybica). Its global distribution alongside humans testifies to its successful adaptation to anthropogenic environments. Uncertainty remains regarding whether domestic cats originated in the Levant, Egypt, or elsewhere in the natural range of African wildcats. An international team of scientists led by University of Rome...

For decades, scientists have been baffled by two enormous structures buried deep inside Earth. These anomalies may retain geochemical signatures distinct from the surrounding mantle. Yet, their origin remains enigmatic. Rutgers University geodynamicist Yoshinori Miyazaki and colleagues offer a striking explanation for these anomalies and their role in shaping Earth’s ability to support life. The...

In 2009, paleoanthropologists found eight bones from the foot of an ancient human ancestor in 3.4-million-year-old sediments at the paleontological site of Woranso-Mille in the Afar Rift in Ethiopia. According to new research, the fossil — named the Burtele foot — belongs to a hominin species called Australopithecus deyiremeda. The discovery provides further proof that two hominin species...