New Data Support Einstein on Accelerating Universe
Galaxy measurements indicate dark energy, not flaw in relativity, to blame for cosmic repulsion
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New Evidence of Earliest Use of Fire
Scientists say they have new evidence that our ancestors were using fire as early as a million years ago. the evidence takes the form of ash and bone fragments recovered from Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. The research team told the journal PNAS that the sediments suggest frequent, controlled fires were lit on the site….
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Bostrum: We’re Underestimating the Risk of Human Extinction
Unthinkable as it may be, humanity, every last person, could someday be wiped from the face of the Earth. We have learned to worry about asteroids and supervolcanoes, but the more-likely scenario, according to Nick Bostrom, a professor of philosophy at Oxford, is that we humans will destroy ourselves. Bostrom, who directs Oxford’s Future of…
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Life’s Building Blocks Grow Close to Home
Though life is a complicated brew, some of its ingredients can be plucked from Earth’s backyard instead of being imported from more distant interstellar fields. In a new study, scientists suggest that complex organic molecules — such as the amino acids that build proteins and the ringed bases that form nucleic acids — grow on…
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Neanderthals Were Dying Out Before Humans Arrived
Neanderthals in Western Europe started disappearing long before Homo sapiens showed up, suggesting that cold weather, and not cold-hearted humans, might have been responsible for the species’ ultimate demise. The findings, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, suggest that at least one population of Neanderthals was vulnerable to climate change. The researchers found…
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Fossilized Raindrop Dimples Add to Mystery of Ancient Earth’s Warmth
Pumice-like cratery indents formed by ancient raindrop splats are adding to the mystery of why the adolescent Earth was warm enough to host rivers and oceans, despite the dim sun of the day. Thanks to fossilized impressions from rains that fell down on Africa 2.7 billion years ago, the “Faint Young Sun” paradox is getting…
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Ancient Human Ancestor Had Feet Like an Ape
Fossil foot hints that tree-dwellers lived alongside species built for walking.
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Can Astronauts Survive Rigors of Long Space Journeys?
As the United States considers a manned mission to Mars by the mid-2030s, ongoing research is beginning to raise doubts about the ability of human astronauts to survive such a multi-year journey in zero gravity without severe and possibly permanent physical or psychological damage. One of the most pressing concerns, researchers say, would be the…
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Geologists Correct a Rift in Africa
The Great Rift Valley of East Africa – the birthplace of the human species – may have taken much longer to develop than previously believed. Scientists now believe the western portion of the rift is approximately as old as the eastern part – about 25 million years old. Previous studies have repeatedly suggested the Eastern…
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Billions of Habitable Alien Planets Should Exist in Our Galaxy
There should be billions of habitable, rocky planets around the faint red stars of our Milky Way galaxy, a new study suggests. Though these alien planets are difficult to detect, and only a few have been discovered so far, they should be ubiquitous, scientists say. And some of them could be good candidates to host…