Something’s Missing in This Stunning Photo of Space Station Passing in Front of the Midday Sun
Posted on May 7, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 311 words
| Patria Henriques
Swirling 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) completes a full orbit of our planet every 90 minutes or so. You can see it with your naked eyes at night (at least, you can see a white dot of steady-cruising light), but spotting the station during the daytime — as photographer Rainee Colacurcio did in the fiery photo above — requires a bit of technological assistance.
[Read More]Space Rocks! Photos of Meteorites for Sale
Posted on May 7, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 559 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Gibeon Mask
Meteorites are pieces of asteroids, the moon and Mars that travel to Earth after being ejected from these heavenly bodies. Exotic origins aside, meteorites can be beautiful, mimicking abstract sculpture for example, and many bring interesting stories when they collide with Earth. On Oct. 14, 2012, more than 125 meteorite specimens and related material go up for auction. Here's a look at few of them. Above, the naturally formed holes on this iron Gibeon meteorite found in Namibia give it an animal-like appearance.
[Read More]Weird Worm Crawling in Oregon Woman's Eye Has Only Been Seen in Cows
Posted on May 7, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 653 words
| Arica Deslauriers
It's certainly horrifying to discover small translucent worms squirming through your eyeballs. But what if those worms have never been found in human eyes before?
That's what happened to a 26-year-old woman in Oregon who thought she felt something in her eye — and that something turned out be a parasitic eye worm that previously had been known to infect only cattle, according to a new report from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[Read More]Whoa! Mutant Tadpoles Sprout Eyeballs on Their Tails
Posted on May 7, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 779 words
| Trudie Dory
Eyes hooked up to the tail can help blinded tadpoles see, researchers say.
These findings could help guide therapies involving natural or artificial implants, scientists added.
A major roadblock when it comes to treating blindness and other sensory disorders is how much remains unknown about the nervous system and its ability to adapt to change. To learn more about the relationship between the body and the brain, researchers wanted to see how capable the brain was of interpreting sensory data from abnormal "
[Read More]'Ghost' population of humans discovered in ancient Africa
Posted on May 6, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 889 words
| Patria Henriques
During the Stone Age in what is now western Cameroon, four children who perished before their prime were buried in a natural rock shelter. Now, thousands of years later, an analysis of the ancient DNA found in their bones has revealed secrets about the people who lived there many millennia ago, according to a new study.
Perhaps the most surprising finding is that these children are not related to the modern-day Bantu-speaking cultures that reside in the region today, the researchers said.
[Read More]5 Things You Didn't Know About Sunscreen
Posted on May 6, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 881 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
5 Things to Know Before You Buy SunscreenA stroll down the sunscreen aisle can be a stressful experience.
Water-resistant? Broad spectrum? SPF 100? How do you know what's really the best sunscreen for your skin and overall health?
Each year, the Environmental Working Group releases its guide to buying sunscreen. The EWG is an independent advocacy group focused on public health and environmental issues based in Washington, D.C. [Full story: New Sunscreen Recommendations for 2017: Here's What to Look For]
[Read More]6 Surprising Facts About NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour
Posted on May 6, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 745 words
| Arica Deslauriers
NASA's space shuttle Endeavour is set to launch Friday (April 29) on its final spaceflight, and record crowds -- including President Barack Obama -- are expected to see the orbiter off.
On its STS-134 mission, Endeavour will deliver a $1.5 billion astrophysics experiment to the International Space Station. It will also drop off some supplies to help outfit the orbiting lab for the post-shuttle era, which begins after Atlantis' STS-135 mission this summer.
[Read More]Arabia's Largest Volcano Field
Posted on May 6, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 214 words
| Patria Henriques
Es Safa is a striking basaltic volcanic field located to the southeast of Damascus, Syria, seen in an image released today. It lies within the larger Harrat Ash Shamah the largest volcanic field on the Arabian tectonic plate .
Harrat Ash Shamah parallels the Red Sea and extends from northeastern Israel, through southern Syria and Jordan, and into Saudi Arabia, covering an area of over 19,000 300 square miles (50,000 square kilometers).
[Read More]Bike Around the World, from Home: CycleOps VirtualTraining Review
Posted on May 6, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 871 words
| Patria Henriques
It's possible to cycle in Manhattan along the banks of the Hudson River, or down a California highway that trails the Pacific coastline, without ever leaving your house, thanks to a new cycling system.
Indoor cycling systems have been around awhile, and are often used by professional cyclists for training, but the VirtualTraining softwaresystem from CycleOps has added features that aim to make cycling in the living room appealing to people who'd like to ride a bike just for the fun of it.
[Read More]Ceramic Pottery Reveals an Ancient Geomagnetic Field Spike
Posted on May 6, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 762 words
| Arica Deslauriers
More than 2,500 years ago in the ancient Near East, the Earth's geomagnetic field was going gangbusters. During the late eighth century B.C., a new study finds, the magnetic field that surrounds the planet was temporarily 2.5 times stronger than it is today.
Researchers know about these fluctuations thanks to the bureaucracy of Judah, an ancient kingdom situated around what is now Jerusalem. Pottery jugs from between the eighth and second centuries B.
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