In pictures
New species of dinosaur from Alberta
Acrotholus audeti, a new species of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur, was identified from recently discovered and historically collected fossils from Alberta, Canada. The article describing the new species was published today, 7 May, in the journal…
New device can extract human DNA very fast
Engineers have created a device that can extract human DNA in a simpler and more efficient way than conventional methods. They designed microscopic probes that dip into a fluid sample and apply an electric field within the liquid. That draws…
New species of small theropod discovered in China
A new species of small fossil theropod have been discovered in northwestern China by a team of international researchers. In a paper published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, the authors explain recovering the skull, mandible and…
A mid-level solar flare seen by NASA
A mid-level solar flare, peaking on 3 May, was seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. This flare was classified as an M5.7-class flare. M-class flares are the weakest ones. They can cause some space weather effects near Earth…
Strange new 'species' of ultra-red galaxy discovered
In the distant reaches of the universe, almost 13 billion light-years from Earth, a strange species of galaxy lay hidden. Cloaked in dust and dimmed by the intervening distance, even the Hubble Space Telescope couldn't spy it. It took the revealing…
Cassini chronicles life of Saturn's giant storm
New images and animated movies from NASA's Cassini spacecraft chronicle the birth and evolution of the colossal storm that ravaged the northern face of Saturn for nearly a year…
Scientists create light from vacuum
Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology have succeeded in creating light from vacuum - observing an effect first predicted over 40 years ago. The results were published in the journal Nature. In an innovative experiment, the scientists…
Scientists discover gene switch responsible for flight muscle formation
Flies are real flight artists, although they only have small wings compared to their body size. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, recently identified the genetic switch that regulates…
Scientists find evidence for 'great lake' on Europa
In a significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside…
Newly merged black hole eagerly shreds stars
A galaxy's core is a busy place, crowded with stars swarming around an enormous black hole. When galaxies collide, it gets even messier as the two black holes spiral toward each other, merging to make an even bigger gravitational monster…
