Using the High Acuity Wide-field K-band Imager (HAWK-I) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have captured a new image of the emission nebula RCW 36, highlighting the luminous cradle of newborn stars and substellar objects known as brown dwarfs. This VLT/HAWK-I image shows the emission nebula RCW 36; while the dark clouds in the middle of the image make up the head and body of the bird...

Scientsts from the United States, Europe and China have used the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) onboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft to map detailed patch structures in Ganymede’s aurorae that parallel those seen on Earth. Their findings indicate that the interplay between magnetic fields and charged particles may be a universal engine for auroral lights, with implications for understanding magnetospheres...

Early humans living in Europe some 40,000 years ago developed a conventional system of geometric signs — deliberate, repeatable markings that went beyond decoration and hint at an early form of structured communication, according to a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Mobile artifacts with geometric signs from the Swabian Aurignacian. Image credit:...

Fossils trapped in amber aren’t just beautiful, they may preserve real ecological interactions, including possible parasitism or commensal relationships between ants and mites, as revealed by a new, cutting-edge morphological study of six specimens of Baltic, Dominican and Burmese amber. Fossil ant colony preserved in a piece of Baltic amber from Lithuania. Image credit: José de la Fuente &...

The ancestors of today’s malaria-spreading mosquitoes in the Anopheles leucosphyrus (Leucosphyrus) group may have shifted to feeding on humans around 1.8 million years ago, coinciding with the arrival of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia. The arrival of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia 1.8 million years ago triggered the evolution of major human malaria vectors. A preference for feeding on humans is...

Astrophysicists from the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago have developed an innovative method to measure the Hubble constant — the rate at which the Universe is expanding — using the subtle background hum of gravitational waves. As gravitational-wave detectors become more sensitive in the coming years, this approach could reshape our understanding of cosmic history...

Adding one avocado and a cup of mango each day improves vascular health indices and reduces key cardiometabolic risk factors in people with elevated blood sugar, suggesting a simple dietary shift could strengthen heart health long before diabetes develops. In adults with prediabetes, daily inclusion of avocado and mango increases fruit consumption, diversifies nutrient composition, and improves vascular...

Prehistoric humans and Neanderthals didn’t just interbreed, they did so with a consistent sex bias, as male Neanderthals and female modern humans mated more often, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania. This ancient pattern could explain why Neanderthal DNA is nearly absent from the human X chromosome and reveal that social behavior, not just biology, influenced our genetic...

New orbital data reveal that the most recently active volcanic systems on Mars weren’t simple one-off blasts into space; instead, long-lived magmatic plumbing beneath Pavonis Mons, one of the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes, reshaped lava flows over time, with distinct eruptive phases and evolving chemical signatures, offering fresh insights into the planet’s inner dynamics and how rocky planets...

Prehistoric humans and Neanderthals didn’t just interbreed, they did so with a consistent sex bias, as male Neanderthals and female modern humans mated more often, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania. This ancient pattern could explain why Neanderthal DNA is nearly absent from the human X chromosome and reveal that social behavior, not just biology, influenced our genetic...