Astronomy

Webb Discovers Most Distant Jellyfish Galaxy Ever Seen

This Webb image shows the jellyfish galaxy COSMOS2020-635829; the dashed circles mark the four extraplanar sources that are identified in the tail of the galaxy. Image credit: Roberts et al., doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae3824.

New observations from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope reveal a galaxy with sweeping gaseous ‘tentacles’ in a galaxy cluster at redshift of 1.156, meaning we’re seeing it as it was approximately 8.5 billion years ago. This Webb image shows the jellyfish galaxy COSMOS2020-635829; the dashed circles mark the four extraplanar sources that are identified in the tail of the galaxy. Image...

Archaeology

5,300-Year-Old Drilling Tool Found in Egypt

Original photograph of the Badari drill published in 1927 by Guy Brunton (left) and the actual artifact. Image credit: Martin Odler & Jiří Kmošek, doi: 10.1553/AEundL35s289.

A tiny copper-alloy object long dismissed as a simple awl has been reclassified as the earliest known rotary metal drill from ancient Egypt. Original photograph of the Badari drill published in 1927 by Guy Brunton (left) and the actual artifact. Image credit: Martin Odler & Jiří Kmošek, doi: 10.1553/AEundL35s289. The ancient drill is only 6.3 cm (2.5 inches) long and weighs about 1.5 grams. Dating...

Biology

Fungi on International Space Station Show Surprising Metal Extraction Skills

NASA astronaut Michael Scott Hopkins performs a microgravity experiment on the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA.

As human space exploration pushes farther from Earth, the need for sustainable ways to obtain local resources is becoming increasingly urgent, as routine resupply missions grow impractical. Asteroids — some of them rich in valuable metals such as platinum-group elements — have emerged as especially promising targets. In a new experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS), scientists...

Physics

Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino May Signal First Glimpse of Primordial Black Hole Explosion

The KM3NeT experiment has recently observed a neutrino with an energy around 100 PeV, and IceCube has detected five neutrinos with energies above 1 PeV; while there are no known astrophysical sources, exploding primordial black holes could have produced these high-energy neutrinos. Image credit: Gemini AI.

Physicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst argue that an ultra-high-energy neutrino detected by the KM3NeT experiment could be the signature of an explosion of a ‘quasi-extremal primordial black hole,’ pointing toward new physics beyond the Standard Model. The KM3NeT experiment has recently observed a neutrino with an energy around 100 PeV, and IceCube has detected five neutrinos with...

Genetics

Japanese Archipelago Was Once a Refuge for Cave Lions

Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France.

Between 73,000 and 20,000 years ago (Late Pleistocene), the Japanese Archipelago was inhabited by cave lions (Panthera spelaea), according to a new genetic and proteomic analysis of fossilized felid remains previously attributed to tigers (Panthera tigris). Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France. Lions and tigers were widespread apex predators during the Late Pleistocene and integral components...

Geology

New Research Uncovers Hidden Complexity beneath Martian Surface

This perspective view from ESA’s Mars Express shows three of Mars’ famously colossal volcanoes (from left to right): Arsia, Pavonis and Ascraeus Mons. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

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...