Back in 1971, a couple of British astronomers predicted the existence of a black hole at the center of our galaxy. And in 1974, other astronomers found it, naming it Sagittarius A*. Since then, astronomers have discovered that a similar “supermassive black hole” sits at the center of almost every other large galaxy. In 2019, they took the first image of a supermassive black hole. Today, these exotic objects are a fundamental part of our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. But what ...read more
A molecule that is currently being used to treat cancerous soft-tissue sarcomas may be the key for developing a cure for HIV.This molecule, known as EBC-46, works by temporarily activating the HIV virus in the affected cells as they hide so that the body’s immune system can remove the virus, according to a study published recently in Science Advances.“It’s pretty amazing,” says Paul Wender, a chemist at Stanford University. “In this new agent, we were seeing things that get up to 90 pe ...read more
In the cave of El Mirón in northern Spain, intrigue surrounds a woman who was laid to rest there 19,000 years ago. Her bones, coated in an earthy shade of red derived from the natural pigment ochre, led archaeologists to give her the name the "Red Lady of El Mirón;" new research, however, has taken a closer look not at her red-hued bones, but at the soil within the cave. In a study recently published in Nature Communications, researchers analyzed sedimentary ancient DNA, or sedaDNA, refining ...read more
Dating can be full of surprises. In the social kind, one can learn about all sorts of unexpected things about a potential partner. In the scientific type, sometimes strange, unexplained phenomena comes to light.The latter was the case for a group of scientists, who found twice as much Beryllium-10 in the Pacific seabed then expected. This anomaly could shift our understanding of cosmic phenomenon that affect the Earth and also help recalibrate scientific dating techniques, they report in Nature ...read more
Is it better to be smooth or to be scaly? For fossil plesiosaurs around 183 million years ago, the answer was a bit of both. Scrutinizing some of the first soft tissues from a fossil plesiosaur in a study in Current Biology, a team of researchers has revealed that these massive marine reptiles sported both smooth and scaly skin, potentially suited to swimming as well as to skimming or “bottom-walking” over the seafloor.“Fossilized soft tissue, such as skin and internal organs, is exception ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine