Showing 20 articles starting at article 1261
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Offbeat: General
Published Lower jersey numbers make football players look thinner
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Football players sometimes choose jerseys with lower numbers thinking that they'll look slimmer and faster. There's a scientific basis for that belief, according to a new study. In two experiments, volunteers consistently said that images of players in jerseys numbered 10 to 19 looked thinner than players in jerseys numbered 80 to 89, even when the bodies were the same size. The finding suggests that people's previously learned associations between numbers and sizes influence their perceptions of body size.
Published Vast bubble of galaxies discovered, given Hawaiian name
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The immense bubble is 820 million light years from Earth and believed to be a fossil-like remnant of the birth of the universe.
Published Fossil spines reveal deep sea's past
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Right at the bottom of the deep sea, the first very simple forms of life on earth probably emerged a long time ago. Today, the deep sea is known for its bizarre fauna. Intensive research is being conducted into how the number of species living on the sea floor have changed in the meantime. Some theories say that the ecosystems of the deep sea have emerged again and again after multiple mass extinctions and oceanic upheavals. Today's life in the deep sea would thus be comparatively young in the history of the Earth. But there is increasing evidence that parts of this world are much older than previously thought.
Published Human shoulders and elbows first evolved as brakes for climbing apes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that the flexible shoulders and elbows that allow us to throw a football or reach a high shelf may have evolved as a natural braking system that let our primate ancestors get out of trees without dying. The researchers used sports-analysis software to compare the climbing movements of chimpanzees and small monkeys called mangabeys. While the animals climb up trees similarly, the researchers found that the shallow, rounded shoulder joints and shortened elbow bones that chimps have -- similar to humans -- allow them to fully extend their arms above their heads when climbing down, holding onto branches like a person going down a ladder to support their greater weight. When early humans left forests for the grassy savanna, these versatile appendages would have been essential for gathering food and using tools for hunting and defense. The findings are among the first to identify the significance of 'downclimbing' in the evolution of apes and early humans.
Published Will it slip or will it grip: scientists ask, 'what is snail mucus?'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists profile the mucus of Cornu aspersum -- a snail species used in beauty product formulation and eaten as escargot -- and detail the composition of three unique types of secretions -- one that hydrates and protects its skin, another that works as a glue-like adhesive, and another that lubricates to allow the animal to move freely across surfaces.
Published Webb reveals new structures within iconic supernova
(via sciencedaily.com) NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has begun the study of one of the most renowned supernovae, SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). Located 168,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, SN 1987A has been a target of intense observations at wavelengths ranging from gamma rays to radio for nearly 40 years, since its discovery in February of 1987. New observations by Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) provide a crucial clue to our understanding of how a supernova develops over time to shape its remnant.
Published Scientists detect and validate the longest-period exoplanet found with TESS
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have detected and validated two of the longest-period exoplanets found by TESS to date. These long period large exoplanets orbit a K dwarf star and belong to a class of planets known as warm Jupiters, which have orbital periods of 10-200 days and are at least six times Earth's radius. This recent discovery offers exciting research opportunities for the future of finding long-period planets that resemble those in our own solar system.
Published Two out of three volcanoes are little-known. How to predict their eruptions?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What is the risk of a volcano erupting? To answer this question, scientists need information about its underlying internal structure. However, gathering this data can take several years of fieldwork, analyses and monitoring, which explains why only 30% of active volcanoes are currently well documented. A team has developed a method for rapidly obtaining valuable information. It is based on three parameters: the height of the volcano, the thickness of the layer of rock separating the volcano's reservoir from the surface, and the average chemical composition of the magma.
Published New giant planet evidence of possible planetary collisions
(via sciencedaily.com) A Neptune-sized planet denser than steel has been discovered by an international team of astronomers, who believe its composition could be the result of a giant planetary clash.
Published Breathe! The shape-shifting ball that supports mental health
(via sciencedaily.com) A soft ball designed to support mental health by 'personifying' breath has been invented by a computer science student.
Published The scent of the afterlife unbottled in new study of ancient Egyptian mummification balms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has recreated one of the scents used in the mummification of an important Egyptian woman more than 3500 years ago.
Published Tiny mineral inclusions picture the chemical exchange between Earth's mantle and atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using synchrotron techniques, scientists have unveiled important information on The Great Oxidation Event by studying apatite inclusions in zircon crystals from old magmas.
Published How to write in water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have overcome a fundamental obstacles for writing and drawing lines, letters, and complex patterns within the bulk of a liquid.
Published Enhanced chemical weathering: A solution to the climate crisis?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Could blending of crushed rock with arable soil lower global temperatures? Researchers study global warming events from 40 and 56 million years ago to find answers.
Published Drops of seawater contain traces of an ancient world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research links chemical changes in seawater to volcanic activity and changes.
Published Carbon dioxide -- not water -- triggers explosive basaltic volcanoes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geoscientists have long thought that water -- along with shallow magma stored in Earth's crust -- drives volcanoes to erupt. Now, thanks to newly developed research tools, scientists have learned that gaseous carbon dioxide can trigger explosive eruptions.
Published Scientists crack the code of what causes diamonds to erupt
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that the breakup of tectonic plates is the main driving force behind the generation and eruption of diamond-rich magmas from deep inside the Earth.
Published Geomagnetic field protects Earth from electron showers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geophysicists studied the activity of high energy electrons and clarified the unexpected protective role of the geomagnetic field surrounding the Earth.
Published Invasion of the Arctic Ocean by Atlantic plankton species reveals a seasonally ice-free ocean during the last interglacial
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A subpolar species associated with Atlantic water expanded far into the Arctic Ocean during the Last Interglacial, analysis of microfossil content of sediment cores reveals. This implies that summers in the Arctic were ice free during this period.
Published Research reveals Hawai'i's undersea volcano, Kama'ehu, erupted five times in past 150 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Kama?ehuakanaloa (formerly L??ihi Seamount), a submarine Hawaiian volcano located about 20 miles off the south coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i, has erupted at least five times in the last 150 years, according to new research led by Earth scientists at the University of Hawai'i at M?noa.