The largest 3D map yet of the universe’s huge galaxies and bright black holes may serve as a springboard toward solving some of astronomy’s greatest mysteries, its creators say. The map uses new data to reveal the locations of more than a million galaxies over a total volume of 70 billion cubic light-years. David Schlegel…
Exotic kingdoms and bizarre creatures deep beneath the sea or within the bowels of the Earth have been the stuff of myths, science fiction and steampunk fantasy since before Jules Verne first set pen to paper. However, a real-life realm of strange beings lurks within undersea volcanoes and understanding that ecosystem on Earth helps in…
New fossils recast a flat-faced oddity as a star species in the first chapter of the human story—perhaps even as our oldest known truly human ancestor. At the least, the fossils confirm that at least three different human species inhabited the same Kenyan neighborhood at the dawn of humanity, according to a new study led…
The U.S. Department of State has increased its efforts to promote international cooperation in science and engineering by launching two new outreach initiatives. One will seek to tap into US-based scientific diasporas — scientists from developing countries and elsewhere who are currently working in the United States. The second will support the engagement of US…
Fist pumps, hands in the air and jumping up and down, seen at every event at the Olympics, turn out to be the same across all cultures and likely have their roots in non-human primate displays. When Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas and Usain Bolt celebrate their wins, they are displaying a declaration…
A new genetic map paints a comprehensive picture of the 2,000 or so years in which different Jewish groups migrated across the globe, with some becoming genetically isolated units while others seemed to mix and mingle more. The findings allow researchers to trace the diaspora, or the historical migration, of the Jews, which began in…
In the 1600s, Europeans exploring the American southeast wrote of a purification ritual practiced by the native people, involving dancing, vomiting, and large amounts of what the travelers called black drink. Served from shell cups, the highly caffeinated tea was brewed from the shrub Ilex vomitoria, a species of holly. In a new study, researchers…
By some estimates, a third of Earth’s organisms live in our planet’s rocks and sediments, yet their lives are almost a complete mystery. The recent work of microbiologist James Holden of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and colleagues shines a light into this dark world. In the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they…
Curiosity, the largest and most advanced spacecraft ever sent to another planet, stuck its extraordinary landing in triumphant and flawless fashion, and is poised to begin its pioneering, two-year hunt for the building blocks of life — signs that Earth’s creatures may not be not alone in the universe. NASA’s $2.5-billion mission involved the work…
Sometimes, history really does seem to repeat itself. For the past 15 years, Peter Turchin, who studies population dynamics at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, has been taking the mathematical techniques that once allowed him to track predator–prey cycles in forest ecosystems, and applying them to human history. He has analyzed historical records on…