Scientists are describing a set of 23,000-year-old human footprints discovered in New Mexico as the earliest evidence of human activity in the Americas, 10,000 years earlier than previously believed. British and American archaeologists uncovered the prints in soft mud adjoining Alkali Flat, a dry lakebed at White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico. Using … Read more
This gives new meaning to the phrase, good things come in small packages. A $4 million satellite likened to a ‘family-sized box of Cheerios’ is headed into space later this month to look at the physics of distant exoplanets known as ‘hot Jupiters,’ including the hottest planet ever found. Known as Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment … Read more
Even vampire bats enjoy dinner with friends! Females who roost together tend to forage for blood together too, study finds Researchers strapped backpack sensors to 50 female vampire bats in Panama Just over half were wild bats and the rest had been in captivity for two years The team found that females who roost together … Read more
A bizarre armoured spike fossil, found in Morocco, belonged to a new species of dinosaur that was ‘unlike anything else in the animal kingdom,’ research has found. The fossil shows a series of spikes that were fused to the rib of the beast, which is unusual for an ankylosaur, as it would usually be connected … Read more
Apple may soon be forced to mothball its proprietary lightning connector as the EU unveiled plans to force all new smartphones to use USB-C as standard from 2022. The planned change, announced today, would not affect the majority of device manufacturers, as many have already adopted the fast-charging connector design. If delivered, the move would … Read more
NASA‘s InSight lander has measured one of the biggest and longest marsquakes yet, which featured tremors of 4.2 magnitude lasting nearly an hour and a half, the space agency said. The robotic seismometre celebrated 1,000 days on the Red Planet on September 18, when it detected the largest tremor since it arrived at the Elysium … Read more
Amateur freedivers discover 53 perfectly-preserved Roman gold coins while cleaning rubbish on the seabed off the coast of Alicante – in what is one of Europe’s greatest hoards yet Brother-in-laws Luis Lens and César Gimeno came across the haul while diving The 53 intact gold coins are said to be in ‘a perfect state of … Read more
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s almost time to get your coats out of storage, as autumn will officially begin tonight. The autumn equinox will take place at 20:21 BST today (September 22) – officially marking the arrival of autumn and colder temperatures for the Northern Hemisphere. The event occurs in September every … Read more
NASA‘s incredible supersonic aircraft that will travel faster than the speed of sound is taking shape as it gears up for its first test flight next year. The American space agency shared a timelapse video of the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology’s (QueSST) construction for the craft dubbed the ‘son of Concorde,’ which is taking place at … Read more
Earth’s rotation began to slow around 2.4 billion years ago and that may have sparked the growth of oxygen on the planet, a new study reveals. A team of scientists, led by researchers from the University of Michigan, suggest Earth’s slowed rotation resulted in continuous daylight that kick-started bacteria into producing large amounts of oxygen. … Read more