Massive disk galaxy could change our understanding of how galaxies are born
Posted on October 20, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 497 words
| Fernande Dalal
A massive, rotating disk galaxy (opens in new tab)that first formed just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, could upend our understanding of galaxy formation, scientists suggest in a new study.
In traditional galaxy formation models and according to modern cosmology, galaxies are built beginning with dark-matter halos. Over time, those halos pull in gases and material, eventually building up full-fledged galaxies. Disk galaxies(opens in new tab), like our own Milky Way(opens in new tab), form with prominent disks of stars and gas and are thought to be created in a method known as "
[Read More]Nazi Code-Making Enigma Machine Is Up for Auction
Posted on October 20, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 380 words
| Patria Henriques
A rare Enigma machine — a German gadget that encoded secret messages during World War II — is up for auction.
The device is unique, even among Enigma machines. That's because it has a German navy-designed, three-cipher rotor (M3), and it even has a proper name: the Funkschlüssel.
The Nazis used Enigma machines before and during WWII, from 1934 through 1945, to send directives that their enemies couldn't decipher. But as the war drew to a close, the Germans began to destroy these machines to keep them out of Allied hands.
[Read More]New Bone-Eating Life Form Discovered in Bizarre Alligator-Corpse Study
Posted on October 20, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 653 words
| Trudie Dory
Once upon a research grant, scientists strapped three dead alligators into weighted harnesses and deposited the corpses 6,600 feet (2 kilometers) down in the Gulf of Mexico.
The first gator was overrun with giant pink crustaceans within a day and slowly eaten from the inside out.
The second gator was devoured down to its skull and spine after 51 days.
And the third gator? Well, nobody knows; its corpse was ripped from the harness and carried off by an unseen predator within a week, leaving behind some torn rope and unsettled sand.
[Read More]Opal-Filled Fossils Reveal Timid, Dog-Size Dinosaur That Lived Down Under
Posted on October 20, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 602 words
| Arica Deslauriers
When Mike Poben, an opal buyer and and fossil fanatic, bought a bucket of opal from an Australian mine, he was surprised to find to find what looked like an ancient tooth in the pile.
Later, he also found a fossilized jaw piece — one that was shiny and glistening with opal.
After showing the two opalized specimens to paleontologists in 2014, Poben learned that they were part of a previously unknown dog-size dinosaur species, a new study finds.
[Read More]Removing Pubic Hair Probably Won't Increase Your Risk of STDs, Study Finds
Posted on October 20, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 541 words
| Trudie Dory
Good news for fans of Brazilian waxing or other "extreme grooming" practices: Removing pubic hair may not increase your risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to a small new study.
The findings contradict earlier research, which found a link between frequent pubic hair removal and an increased risk of several STDs. However, these earlier studies relied on self-reports of STD diagnoses, rather than diagnoses that were confirmed with lab tests.
[Read More]Scientists Find a Strange New Cell in Human Brains: The 'Rosehip Neuron'
Posted on October 20, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 846 words
| Trudie Dory
Neuroscientists have made a rosy discovery: a new type of human brain cell.
The newest neuron has been named the "rosehip neuron," thanks to its bushy appearance. The brain cell, with its unique gene expressions, distinctive shape and diverse connections with other neurons, has not been described before and, what's more, it isn't present in neuroscientists' favorite subject: mice. [3D Images: Exploring the Human Brain]
An international group of researchers reported their finding today (Aug.
[Read More]Solar eclipse looks otherworldly in 'Golden Ring' astrophotography shot
Posted on October 20, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 592 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
An otherworldly photograph of a solar eclipse took top prize in this year's Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
The highly sought-after award is given by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in England. The winning photographer, Shuchang Dong of China, captured the shot during an annular solar eclipse from the Ali region of Tibet on June 21, 2020. Titled, "The Golden Ring," the photograph looks like just that - a circle of light against a dark, moody sky.
[Read More]'Broken-Heart' Syndrome Is Real. This Complication Makes It Deadly.
Posted on October 19, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 802 words
| Arica Deslauriers
People who experience a rare condition known as "broken-heart syndrome" need immediate medical attention, but often make a quick recovery. But the problem can be particularly deadly if these patients also develop a complication in which their heart can't pump enough blood to the body, a new study finds.
What's more, the risk of death for broken-heart syndrome patients with this complication — known as cardiogenic shock — remains high not only while they are in the hospital, but for years afterwards.
[Read More]'Gravity portals' could morph dark matter into ordinary matter, astrophysicists propose
Posted on October 19, 2022
| 6 minutes
| 1200 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Astrophysicists have an idea that could help to solve two mysteries: the reason for the bizarre abundance of super-high-energy radiation shooting from the center of our galaxy and the identity of invisible stuff called dark matter that has perplexed the world since its discovery some 50 years ago.
And the idea has a super-cool name: gravity portals. The idea goes, when two dark matter particles (whatever they are) get sucked into one of these portals, they obliterate each other and spit out shockingly strong gamma rays.
[Read More]Artificial Ear Grown on Rat's Back
Posted on October 19, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 415 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
From artificial eyeballs to limbs, doctors have dreamed up dozens of ways to replace body parts when things go wrong.
Now they can add a new device to their repertoire: a lifelike, flexible ear made from cartilage cells seeded on a titanium scaffold.
The new technique, described July 30 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, is better than previous tissue-engineering efforts and could replace a laborious technique that requires plastic surgeons to fashion a crude ear shape out of a lump of cartilage.
[Read More]