Three meteorites contain the molecular building blocks of DNA and its cousin RNA, scientists recently discovered. A subset of these building blocks had been detected in meteorites before, but the rest of the collection seemed mysteriously absent from space rocks — until now. The new discovery supports the idea that, some four billion years ago, …
These meteorites contain all of the building blocks of DNA Read More »
In the winter, the woods of New Hampshire are littered with small, frozen frogs. Although a frozen wood frog’s heart does not beat, the frog is not dead. It is in an state of suspended animation: an amphibian ice cube. As spring approaches, the frogs begin to thaw from the inside out. Their hearts beat. …
A fresh examination of meteorites that landed in the United States, Canada and Australia is bolstering the notion that such objects may have delivered to Earth early in its history chemical ingredients vital for the advent of life. Scientists previously had detected on these meteorites three of the five chemical components needed to form DNA, …
Could key ingredients for life have arrived from space? Scientists say yes Read More »
An illustration of a near-zero index metamaterial shows that when light travels through, it moves in a constant phase. Credit: Second Bay Studios/Harvard SEAS In physics, as in life, it’s always good to look at things from different perspectives. Since the beginning of quantum physics, how light moves and interacts with matter around it has …
Zero-index metamaterials offer new insights into the foundations of quantum mechanics Read More »
All stars, including our sun, are born from a cloud of dust and gas. This cloud can also seed planets that will orbit the star. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Michigan State University’s Seth Jacobson and colleagues in China and France have unveiled a new theory that could help solve a galactic mystery of how our solar system …
This schematic shows the various ejecta and winds (red and purple) given off by the exploding star (left, yellow). The common-envelope disk (blue) surrounds both stars, the one exploding as a supernova and its binary partner (not shown). The boundary layer around the common-envelope disk is the source of the hydrogen the team detected. Credit: …
Supernova reveals its secrets to team of astronomers Read More »
By exchanging a classical material for one with unique quantum properties, scientists have made a superconducting circuit that’s capable of feats long thought to be impossible. The discovery, made by researchers from Germany, the Netherlands, and the US, overturns a century of thought on the nature of superconducting circuits, and how their currents can be …
Physicists Developed a Superconductor Circuit Long Thought to Be Impossible Read More »
A long-dormant underwater volcano near Antarctica has woken up, triggering a swarm of 85,000 earthquakes. The swarm, which began in August 2020 and subsided by November of that year, is the strongest earthquake activity ever recorded in the region. And the quakes were likely caused by a “finger” of hot magma poking into the crust, …
Underwater volcano magma ‘finger’ triggered 85,000 earthquakes near Antarctica Read More »
This story is part of Mysteries of the BrainCNET’s deep dive into the infinite complexities of the human brain. Picture a red apple. Great. Now, which of the following describes you? Group 1: You’re visualizing a vibrant, ruby-colored fruit like it’s living in your mind. Group 2: You’re pondering the concept of an apple without …
Your Pupils Might Reveal How Strong Your ‘Mind’s Eye’ Is Read More »
