Evolution May be Impossible in Star Systems Without a Giant Planet
What are the implications of a star systems missing a massive gas giant such as our Solar Systems' Jupiter --it could imply conditions of massive bombardment from comets and asteeoids that would prevent the development of advanced life.
The artist's impression below of the debris disc and planets around the star known as Gliese 581, superimposed on Herschel PACS images at 70, 100 and 160 micrometre wavelengths. The line drawing superimposed on the Herschel image gives a schematic representation of the location and orientation of the star, planets and disc, albeit not to scale. GJ 581’s planets have masses between 2 and 15 Earth masses and are all located within 0.22 Astronomical Units (AU, where 1 AU is the distance between Earth and our Sun) of the central star. Minus a Jupiter-like gas giant, a vast debris disc extends from approximately 25 AU to 60 AU. |  |
Polar Ice Sheets Shrinking Worldwide, Study Confirms
The polar ice sheets are indeed shrinking—and fast, according to a comprehensive new study on climate change.
And the effects, according to an international team, are equally clear—sea levels are rising faster than predicted, which could bring about disastrous effects for people and wildlife.
Rising seas would increase the risk of catastrophic flooding like that caused by Hurricane Sandy last month in New York and New Jersey. Environmental damage may include widespread erosion, contamination of aquifers and crops, and harm to marine life. And in the long term, rising seas may force hundreds of millions of people who live along the coast to abandon their homes.
And the effects, according to an international team, are equally clear—sea levels are rising faster than predicted, which could bring about disastrous effects for people and wildlife.
Rising seas would increase the risk of catastrophic flooding like that caused by Hurricane Sandy last month in New York and New Jersey. Environmental damage may include widespread erosion, contamination of aquifers and crops, and harm to marine life. And in the long term, rising seas may force hundreds of millions of people who live along the coast to abandon their homes.
Pictures: Oldest Pharaoh Rock Art Rediscovered in Egypt
This ancient rock picture near Egypt's Nile River was first spotted by an explorer more than a century ago—and then almost completely forgotten.
Scientists who rediscovered it now think it's the earliest known depiction of a pharaoh.
The royal figure at the center of the panel wears the "White Crown," the bowling pin-shaped headpiece that symbolized kingship of southern Egypt, and carries a long scepter. Two attendants bearing standards march ahead of him; behind him, an attendant waves a large fan to cool the royal head. A hound-like dog with pointed ears walks at the ruler's feet. Surrounding the king are large ships, symbols of dominance, towed by bearded men pulling on ropes.
Scientists who rediscovered it now think it's the earliest known depiction of a pharaoh.
The royal figure at the center of the panel wears the "White Crown," the bowling pin-shaped headpiece that symbolized kingship of southern Egypt, and carries a long scepter. Two attendants bearing standards march ahead of him; behind him, an attendant waves a large fan to cool the royal head. A hound-like dog with pointed ears walks at the ruler's feet. Surrounding the king are large ships, symbols of dominance, towed by bearded men pulling on ropes.
Rat eradication project on South Georgia set to resume
The largest animal eradication project the world has ever seen is set for its next phase.
The Habitat Restoration Project on the Atlantic island of South Georgia aims to wipe out millions of rats that first arrived on sealing and whaling ships. A test mission to spread poison pellets in 2011, aiming to rid 128 sq km of the rodents, seems to have been successful. |  |
Germany to Ban Sex with Animals
Germany plans to slap a fine of up to 25,000 euros on people having sexual relations with pets, but zoophiles plan to fight the move. They say there's nothing wrong with consensual sex and that the true violations of animal rights are taking place in the farming industry.
The German government plans to ban zoophilia -- sex with animals -- as part of an amendment to the country's animal protection law, but faces a backlash from the country's zoophile community, estimated to number over 100,000. |  |
Poachers' trade in rhino horn is 'pushing species into decline'
The killing of rhinoceroses for their horns has soared to record highs in South Africa, with environmentalists now warning that the population of the species risks falling into decline.
South Africa, which is home to more rhinos than any other country, has lost 588 animals to poaching so far this year – against the 448 that were poached in the full 12 months of 2011. "The figure will rise to 600 – and probably more than that because December is quite a happy month for poachers – a lot of the guards are on leave,'' said Morné du Plessis, chairman of the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa. |  |
Bizarre Insectlike Creatures Found in Spanish Cave
Three bizarre-looking springtails, tiny insectlike creatures, have been discovered in a Spanish cave.
Springtails are amongst the most ancient and widespread animals on the planet. Like insects, they have six legs, but are small, more primitive and lack wings. They usually have a furca, or a tail used to spring away from danger, hence the name "springtails." Many cannot be seen with the naked eye; the largest species is about 0.24 inches long (6 millimeters). |  |
Primate Origins Tied to Rise of Flowering Plants
One of the great origin stories in the history of mammals is the rise of primates. It's a story that scientists are still trying to write.
In the early 20th century, anatomists believed primates united by big brains, grasping hands and feet, and excellent vision, among other features-evolved in response to living in trees. In the 1970s, however, biological anthropologist Matt Cartmill realized an arboreal lifestyle alone wasn't enough to explain primates unique set of characteristics. Plenty of mammals, like chipmunks, live in trees but don't have nimble hands or closely spaced, forward-facing eyes that allow for good depth perception. Instead, Cartmill suggested these features evolved because early primates were insect predators. He noted that many modern predators, such as cats and owls, have forward-facing eyes because they rely on good vision to grab prey. In the case of early primates, Cartmill said, they hunted tree-dwelling insects. |  |
Grangemouth and Longannet lights help birds feed at night
Light from the Grangemouth oil refinery and Longannet power station help migrating birds find food in winter, according to researchers.
Scientists were studying how artificial light affected the common redshank's feeding habits in the Forth estuary. They found that, at night, birds in well-lit areas foraged for longer and used sight rather than touch. |  |
How illegal logging in Brazil's Amazon turns 'legal'
Deforestation in Brazil's huge Amazon region has slowed in recent years, and this week the government said it was at its lowest level since monitoring began 24 years ago. But despite tougher regulations, unscrupulous loggers are still finding ways to get timber out of the jungle and selling it as legally felled wood, locals say.
Fabio Lourenco de Souza, a young Brazilian farmer, lives in a settlement known as PDS Esperanca (Hope), in the Xingu river valley in eastern Amazonia. Although the land is rich in tropical timber, along with most of the 300 families in the settlement, he wants nothing to do with loggers. |  |
Washington is first state to tackle ocean acidification
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday ordered state agencies to take initial steps to combat ocean acidification, making it the first state to address problematic changes in ocean chemistry that threaten shellfish farms, wild-caught fish and other marine life.
Gregoire signed the executive order based on the recommendation of a blue ribbon panel of experts that pointed out how increasingly acidified waters pose a direct threat to the state’s $270 million shellfish industry. |  |
An engraved stone artifact found at the Shuidonggou Paleolithic site, northwest China
The origin and dispersal of modern humans and modern human behavior are key interests in Paleolithic archaeology and anthropology.
Engraved objects are usually seen as a hallmark of cognition and symbolism, which are viewed as important features of modern human behavior. In recent years, engraved ochre, bones and ostrich eggs unearthed from various Paleolithic sites in Africa, the Near East and Europe have attracted the attention of many scholars. |  |
Cheers! One of world's earliest micro-breweries found
Archaeologists working in Western Cyprus are raising a glass to the discovery of a Bronze Age 'micro-brewery', one of the earliest ever found.
The team who excavated the two by two metre domed mud-plaster structure, led by Dr Lindy Crewe from The University of Manchester, have demonstrated it was used as a kiln to dry malt to make beer three-and-a half-thousand years ago.
The team who excavated the two by two metre domed mud-plaster structure, led by Dr Lindy Crewe from The University of Manchester, have demonstrated it was used as a kiln to dry malt to make beer three-and-a half-thousand years ago.
Scientists discover tobacco tree that could be used as biofuel
Researchers at Royal Holloway have been awarded a grant from the European Union, after identifying a tobacco tree that could produce biofuels.
Scientists in the School of Biological Sciences discovered that Nicotiana Glauca produces compounds that can be used as a biodiesel. This could be used directly as fuel or cracked to produce petroleum products. Significantly, the plant is known to grow well in warm and arid climates. It does not require fertile ground and can thrive in regions that only get 200mm of rainfall a year, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. |  |
3-D printer and moon rocks join up to make repairs in space
When lunar colonists need a new tool or replacement part to fix a broken spacecraft leg, all they'll need to do is scoop up some moon rocks and feed them into a 3-D printer, suggests a new proof-of-concept study.
The ability to use material already on the moon to build things and fix equipment could save earthlings a bundle of money in fuel costs since they won't have to haul everything they need to their lunar outposts.
The ability to use material already on the moon to build things and fix equipment could save earthlings a bundle of money in fuel costs since they won't have to haul everything they need to their lunar outposts.
Achievement: Quantum Teleportation Between Two Macroscopic Objects
Sometimes it's tough to get excited about stuff happening in quantum technologies, not because it's anything less than fascinating but because it can be so hard to wrap your head around this stuff and anyhow the practical applications often seem very far away. But this is one of those milestones that you have to appreciate: Physicists have for the first time teleported quantum information from one macroscopic object to another.
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Deep In The Earth's Core, Clues About Its Mysterious Birth
We've known for over half a century that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, but for people like University of California, Davis geologist Qing-zhu Yin, that number just isn't good enough--they need to determine what digit comes after the '5'. Yin has spent the last fifteen years trying to figure out exactly how our solar system formed--how, over a span of some tens of millions of years, a large chaotic disc of dust and gas turned itself into eight planets in orderly orbit around a central star.
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Largest Quasar Ever Discovered Burns 100 Times Brighter Than Entire Milky Way
Astronomers have found a galaxy whose super-luminous nucleus--called a quasar--is burning 100 times as much energy as the entire Milky Way galaxy.
Though theory has long predicted that quasars this powerful should exist, the newly-discovered object, known as SDSS J1106+1939, is by far the most energetic ever observed. The quasar is powered by a supermassive black hole that lies at its center. Scientists made the discovery using the X-shooter spectrograph instrument attached to ESO's Very Large Telescope. |  |
Altimeter Built at Goddard Helped Identify Ice on Mercury
A Goddard-built instrument on NASA's MESSENGER mission provided one of three new lines of evidence that water ice exists near the north pole of Mercury. Most of the ice is covered by a thin layer of material that blankets and protects the ice, but in a few areas where sunlight never reaches, some ice lies exposed on the surface, the researchers announced Nov. 29 in three papers published by Science Express and at a NASA press conference.
The findings are based on reflectance measurements made by the spacecraft's laser altimeter and hydrogen concentrations from the neutron spectrometer as well as new computer modeling that explains how ice could persist for eons on the planet closest to the sun. |  |
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