Science

Wildlife

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 06:19:01 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

New fish species found living underground is colorless, blind, and has no ribs

A blind, colorless fish pumped from a well in India is a new genus: the first fish species ever found living entirely underground.

So basically, a fish evolved into an earthworm. Now there is a creature well equipped to survive most disasters, except maybe drought.

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Wildlife

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 05:42:36 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Inside the famous narwhal tusk, scientists found another twist

A 3D look inside a narwhal tusk uncovered a second spiral twisting in the opposite direction, creating a structure researchers didn't expect.

Fascinating.

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Fossils

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:00:54 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

New giant salamander species discovered in 3.5-million-year-old fossils

Three mysterious fossils have uncovered a giant salamander species lost for 3.5 million years.

Fossils discovered in Japan more than two decades ago have finally been identified as a new genus and species of giant salamander. Limnospondylus ajimuensis lived around 3.5 million years ago in a warmer, wetter Kyushu and may have reached 1.1 meters in length. Its discovery hints that many more unknown giant salamanders could be hiding among fossils previously given the wrong classification.

Ancient amphibians used to be a lot more impressive than modern ones.

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Wildlife

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:32:34 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This ancient sea worm has “bio-metal” jaws unlike anything scientists have seen

A tiny sea worm's metal-like jaws may have revealed an entirely new class of natural materials.

An ancient sea worm may hold the secret to a whole new category of natural materials. Its jaws combine proteins and metal ions in a way that gives them metal-like strength and unusual mechanical behavior, yet they still differ from traditional metals. Researchers believe these "bio-metals" could open new directions in materials science while revealing just how sophisticated nature's designs can be.

This reminds me of how scorpions use metal.

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Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Physics

Thu, 14 May 2026 05:43:01 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Physics

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing, Part 14: Survival Skills, Part 15: Archaeology, Part 16: Biology, Part 17: Chemistry, Part 18: Linguistics, Part 19: Meteorology.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 20: Physics

Physics is the science of studying matter (like atoms), its motion (like inertia), and related aspects like force and energy. We all experience aspects of physics everyday; the difference between steering an empty grocery cart and a full one is a matter of mass and inertia. It's just that inept teachers make it seem hard and unfamiliar instead of a normal part of life. But you can use physics to optimize your skateboard stunts or any other sport; it's there in video game design; it's all around us. Aspects include astrophysics, biophysics, electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, optics, quantum physics, and solid-state physics. Here on Dreamwidth, check out common_nature, environment, interested_in_that, science, and scienceworld. space_swap is a rocket-inspired fanwork fest.

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Space Exploration

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 21:29:15 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

NASA’s Webb telescope just discovered one of the weirdest planets ever

A newly discovered exoplanet is rewriting the rules of what planets can be. Orbiting a city-sized neutron star, this Jupiter-mass world has a bizarre carbon-rich atmosphere filled with soot clouds and possibly diamonds at its core. Its extreme gravity stretches it into a lemon shape, and it completes a full orbit in under eight hours. Scientists are stunned — no known theory explains how such a planet could exist.

Sounds fun. Anybody want to set a story there? I miss when new scientific discoveries spawned a flood of stories.

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Space Exploration

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 02:22:56 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Astronomers Find the First Compelling Evidence of "Monster Stars" in the Early Universe

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of international researchers has discovered chemical fingerprints of gigantic primordial stars that were among the first to form after the Big Bang.

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Nature

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:50:43 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

New study finds exercising outdoors is 'superior' to the gym or city: 'Our brain loves nature'

A major finding is that exercise in nature provided far greater mental benefits than urban and indoor environments, with participants reporting much higher levels of joy, calm, satisfaction, and optimism after working out in the outdoors.

On a physiological level, researchers measured that the participants’ heart rates dropped more quickly after a walk in nature. Additionally, heart rate variability, which shows how well the body’s nervous system goes into recovery, was 20-30% higher than the indoor walk.

Participants also reported lower levels of anxiety, irritation, and boredom after exercising in nature. Boredom levels actually increased after walking indoors, the researchers shared.

( Read more... )

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Physics

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 05:59:05 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This video demonstrates how the location of mass affects travel downhill.

If you want to build a wheel, put as much of the mass as close to the hub as possible for more efficient travel. Here is an old wagonwheel. See how the center is built up? That's not just to strengthen the area around the axle, it makes the wheel work better.

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Lunar Eclipse

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 01:56:39 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Total lunar eclipse of the full Corn Moon September 7, 2025

On September 7, 2025, a total lunar eclipse of the full Corn Moon will sweep across Antarctica, Australia, Asia, the western Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Europe, the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Africa. Total lunar eclipses can turn a deep shade of red and are often called a Blood Moon. How dark will the September 2025 total lunar eclipse be?

( Read more... )

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Wildlife

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 01:49:07 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

ANT QUEEN LAYS EGGS THAT HATCH INTO TWO SPECIES

Reproduction is strange in many social insects, but the Iberian harvester ant (Messor ibericus) takes the weirdness to the next level. Queens mate with males of another species and then clone them, researchers report today in Nature, which means this ant is the only known organism that propagates two species by itself. Evolutionary biologist Jonathan Romiguier of the University of Montpellier, who led the team, calls M. ibericus “in a sense, the most complex, colonial life form we know of so far.”

Odd to see this on Earth, which is quite hospitable to life. However, I'm familiar with the concept of interspecies reproduction from other planets. It often appears as a safety catch allowing a species to capitalize on any available mate in environments where life is scarce and survival very difficult. It greatly maximizes the ability to mix up genetics and find the best combinations.

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Early Humans

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 02:40:32 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Ancient fossil discovery in Ethiopia rewrites human origins

The fossils found in northeastern Ethiopia date between 2.6 to 2.8 million years ago and shed new light on human evolution.
In the deserts of Ethiopia, scientists uncovered fossils showing that early members of our genus Homo lived side by side with a newly identified species of Australopithecus nearly three million years ago. These finds challenge the old idea of a straight evolutionary ladder, revealing instead a tangled web of ancient relatives.

I'm surprised to find such far-flung relatives coexisting like that, but it's a happier image than today's lonely Homo.

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Robotics

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 01:04:46 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

WARNING: Do not watch with mouth full.

Robots race, play football, crash and collapse at China's 'robot Olympics'

BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) - China kicked off the three-day long World Humanoid Robot Games on Friday, looking to showcase its advances in artificial intelligence and robotics with 280 teams from 16 countries.
Robots competed in sports such as track and field, and table tennis, as well as tackled robot-specific challenges from sorting medicines and handling materials to cleaning services

Watching the evolution of robotics on a primitive planet is hilarious.

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Climate Change

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:44:06 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Unprecedented climate shocks are changing the Great Lakes forever

Heat waves and cold spells are now more common on the Great Lakes, according to U-M research, with implications for the region's weather, economy and ecology.
Extreme heat waves and cold spells on the Great Lakes have more than doubled since the late 1990s, coinciding with a major El Niño event. Using advanced ocean-style modeling adapted for the lakes, researchers traced temperature trends back to 1940, revealing alarming potential impacts on billion-dollar fishing industries, fragile ecosystems, and drinking water quality.

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Robotics

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 19:42:06 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

China firm plans world’s first pregnancy humanoid robot using artificial womb

The innovation uses artificial amniotic fluid and nutrient delivery via hose, replicating natural gestation, now to be integrated into humanoid robots.

( Read more... )

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Genetics

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 19:58:34 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Great white sharks have a DNA mystery science still can’t explain

Once on the brink during the last ice age, great white sharks made a remarkable recovery globally, but their DNA reveals a baffling story. Classic migration explanations fail, leaving scientists with a mystery that defies reproductive and evolutionary logic.

The most important part of science is being willing and able to say, "I don't know."

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Climate Change

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 06:25:53 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Mexican cave stalagmites reveal the deadly droughts behind the Maya collapse

Summary:
Chemical evidence from a stalagmite in Mexico has revealed that the Classic Maya civilization’s decline coincided with repeated severe wet-season droughts, including one that lasted 13 years. These prolonged droughts corresponded with halted monument construction and political disruption at key Maya sites, suggesting that climate stress played a major role in the collapse. The findings demonstrate how stalagmites offer unmatched precision for linking environmental change to historical events.

Just in case you thought climate change wasn't very important, a shift in the environmental conditions is one of the leading causes of civilization collapse.

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Early Humans

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 23:04:49 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Science Newsfrom research organizations

Mysterious Denisovan interbreeding shaped the humans we are today.
Denisovans, a mysterious human relative, left behind far more than a handful of fossils—they left genetic fingerprints in modern humans across the globe. Multiple interbreeding events with distinct Denisovan populations helped shape traits like high-altitude survival in Tibetans, cold-weather adaptation in Inuits, and enhanced immunity. Their influence spanned from Siberia to South America, and scientists are now uncovering how these genetic gifts transformed human evolution, even with such limited physical remains.

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Conservation

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 21:14:50 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Scientists confirm two new species of pika in the Himalayas after 20 years of research

Using data collected from 2003, 2023, and 2024, researchers Pan Xuan and Wang Xuming were able to delineate previously unidentified species as Ochotona galunglaensis and O. legbona.

“Our findings highlight the previously underestimated diversity within Conothoa and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of pika diversity in the Himalayan region,” Xuan and Xuming observed in their study, which was published in Ecology and Evolution.

Pint-sized pikas, which resemble hamsters in appearance, are not rodents but lagomorphs, meaning that they are closely related to rabbits and hares.

Good news, but hardly a surprise. Pikas are currently alpine species. That means they are easily isolated and thus prone to speciation. Think of mountaintops as islands, in the sense that creatures dwelling there find it difficult or impossible to move from one to another.

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Fossils

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:41:26 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Stunning “wonder reptile” discovery rewrites the origins of feathers

An international team of researchers has published a breakthrough study in the journal Nature showing that early reptiles from the Triassic period had unique structures growing from its skin that formed an alternative to feathers.

The newly described Mirasaura grauvogeli from the Middle Triassic had a striking feather-like crest, hinting that complex skin appendages arose far earlier than previously believed. Its bird-like skull, tree-climbing adaptations, and pigment structures linked to feathers deepen the mystery of reptile evolution.

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Climate Change

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 23:33:54 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

HOW WILL CALIFORNIA BE IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE?

California is the most populous state in the United States and a global economic powerhouse. The state, however, has one of the world’s most varied and volatile climates and scientists and public officials are concerned about the impacts that human-caused climate change will inflict upon California. Already subject to drought, wildfires, and extreme weather, California’s environmental and social problems will be exacerbated by a warmer world. Temperatures will continue to rise in coming decades due to greenhouse gases that are accumulating in the atmosphere from transportation, industry, and other human activity. These gases absorb and trap heat radiating from the Earth’s surface, and bolster the atmospheric greenhouse effect that is increasingly warming the planet.

Scripps scientists have contributed regional downscaled modeling, analysis, and organization to a series of California Climate Change Assessments. Besides providing a comprehensive assessment of possible climate change trajectories and outcomes, the Scripps products served numerous other study teams, underpinning an evaluation of effects of climate change at regional and local scales. In California’s recent Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the Scripps team produced an ensemble of climate change information at unprecedented detail that was made available to government agencies and other decision makers in California.

What will climate feel like in 60 years for your city?
Scientists use complex models to predict the effects of climate change on cities around the world.

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Moment of Silence: Jim Lovell

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 23:27:38 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Astronaut Jim Lovell has passed away. He flew four missions, including the famous Apollo 13 in which the crew narrowly averted disaster.

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson

( Read more... )

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Fossils

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 22:08:08 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Illinois is home to one of the ‘world's best fossil sites': Field Museum

"These fossils tell the story of an ancient inland sea, home to alien-looking plants and animals such as squid-like cephalopods, sea scorpions, and the bizarre-looking state fossil of Illinois, the Tully monster," said the release.

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Space Exploration

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:41:25 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Underground life on Mars? Cosmic rays could make it possible

Research challenges long-held assumptions about where life can exist in the solar system.
Cosmic rays from deep space might be the secret energy source that allows life to exist underground on Mars and icy moons like Enceladus and Europa. New research reveals that when these rays interact with water or ice below the surface, they release energy-carrying electrons that could feed microscopic life, a process known as radiolysis. This breakthrough suggests that life doesn't need sunlight or heat, just some buried water and radiation.

*laugh* Took them long enough. Earth has an ecosystem around the black smokers that runs on heat and chemistry instead of sunlight.

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Physics

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 21:37:48 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Rutgers physicists just discovered a strange new state of matter

The finding could lead to advanced technological applications and new quantum devices.
At the edge of two exotic materials, scientists have discovered a new state of matter called a "quantum liquid crystal" that behaves unlike anything we've seen before. When a conductive Weyl semimetal and a magnetic spin ice meet under a powerful magnetic field, strange and exciting quantum behavior emerges—electrons flow in odd directions and break traditional symmetry. These findings could open doors to creating ultra-sensitive quantum sensors and exploring exotic states of matter in extreme environments.

Yep, that's useful in many advanced technologies including supercomputers and rovers for space exploration.

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