NASA has set its sights on the Moon, aiming to send astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2026 and establish a long-term presence there by the 2030s. But the Moon isn’t exactly a habitable place for people.Cosmic rays from distant stars and galaxies and solar energetic particles from the Sun bombard the surface, and exposure to these particles can pose a risk to human health.Both galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles, are high-energy particles that travel close to the speed of l ...read more

Humans have long been fascinated by organisms that can produce light. Aristotle, who was a scientist as well as a philosopher, wrote the first detailed descriptions of what he called “cold light” more than 2,000 years ago. More recently, pioneering researchers like World War II Army veteran Emmett Chappelle and deep submergence vehicle pilot Edith Widder advanced the study of this phenomenon with novel technologies.At least 94 living organisms produce their own light through a chemical react ...read more

Millions of years before the Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth, another group of gigantic meat-eating dinosaurs reigned supreme in the Early to Mid-Cretaceous period. The theropod, known as the Carcharodontosaurus, reached a truly enormous size, some growing even bigger than the icon of the Jurassic Park series. Blade-Like Teeth of the CarcharodontosaurusThese enormous predators were amongst the largest to ever walk the Earth. They roamed North Africa around 99 million years to 94 million years ...read more

Jonah Choiniere, a paleobiologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, was boating around the world’s largest artificial lake in 2018 when he and his team found the first known fossils of Musankwa sanyatiensis — an ancestor of the sauropod dinosaurs from around 210 million years ago.Part of a flood of similar discoveries from the past decade or so, the fossils hint at how the four-legged sauropods developed from the two-legged sauropodomorphs that preceded them. “We knew r ...read more

For hundreds of years, mariners and fishermen knew this sea creature as a herald of woe. Seeing one in the water or even washed up on shore was an omen, a warning of some impending disaster, typically a natural one, such as an earthquake or tsunami. In Japan, the creature was named “ryugu no tsukai,” a messenger from the palace of the sea god. Others dramatically dubbed it the Harbinger of Doom, or simply the Doomsday Fish. You may know it as the oarfish.Then again, this might be your first ...read more

The Oregon Cascade Range is ... complicated. From the surface it looks like the chain of volcanoes that we started exploring back in British Columbia remains the same. However, once you start looking at the deep geologic processes that are causing volcanoes in Oregon, you quickly realize there is a lot going on."How much?" you say? Here's a short list:The Juan de Fuca plate is still subjecting (sliding underneath) North America just off the Pacific Coast.Much of the basin that follows the Columb ...read more

If you thought the COVID-19 lockdowns were rough, think of this: Astronauts on the Mars mission will be confined to a spaceship with three to five other people for more than two years. And they will be, at peak distance, 140 million miles from anything they’ve ever known. Even the most extreme introvert and most daring adventurer might find that disconcerting. But NASA is on it.The Human Factors and Behavioral Performance (HFBP) team, a part of NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP), works to u ...read more

British historian Amanda Glover says she loves a mystery.  And according to a research article she published in February, she may be beginning to untangle one of the greatest historical mysteries of England's Tudor period, which lasted from 1485 to 1603.  The mystery in question is that of Anne Boleyn, the ill-fated second wife of King Henry VIII who was accused of and executed for adultery by her own husband. While Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London, awaiting execution, she wrote an ...read more

Two athletes square off for an intense dance battle. The DJ starts spinning tunes, and the athletes begin twisting, spinning and seemingly defying gravity, respectfully watching each other and taking turns showing off their skill.The athletes converse through their movements, speaking through a dance that celebrates both athleticism and creativity. While the athletes probably aren’t consciously thinking about the physics behind their movements, these complex and mesmerizing dances demonstrate ...read more

Food’s role in climate change has emerged as one of the defining challenges of our time. The journey of a steak, fruit or salad from the vast expanses of agricultural lands to the plates on our tables leaves a significant footprint on the environment.At the heart of this challenge is the prodigious use of fertilizers and a growing global population’s increasing demand for meat.As earth, climate and atmosphericscientists, we track global greenhouse gas emissions and just published the most co ...read more