Science Scanner: Monster Galaxy; Mars Missions On Vacation
Monster Galaxy Found Near Edge of Universe A group of researchers imaged a “monstrous galaxy” – SDP.81, located some 11.7 billion light-years from Earth, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and a natural magnification method called “gravitational lensing.” The researchers used the gravity of a massive galaxy 3.4 billion light-years away to […]
Science Images from May 2015
Paralyzed Man Wills Robotic Arm to Move
A quadriplegic man can now operate a robotic arm using just his thoughts and imagination. Erik Sorto, who was paralyzed from the neck down after suffering a gunshot wound 13 years ago, became the first person in the world to have a neuroprosthetic device implanted in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), which is an area […]
Mercury’s Surface ‘Painted’ With Carbon from Comets
A first glance, the planet Mercury looks a lot like our Moon, both gray and pockmarked with craters after being bombarded with meteorites and blasted by the solar wind over the millennia. Some take the similarity further, referring to them as “twins.” The color of Mercury’s surface though is much darker than the moon, so […]
The Best Science Images – February 2015
Extrasolar Object’s Ring System is 200 Times Larger Than Saturn’s
One of our solar system’s most fascinating planets is Saturn. It’s the 2nd largest planet, after Jupiter. But what makes Saturn stand out from the others is the dazzling system of rings that surround it. Recently, a Dutch and an American astronomer found that an extrasolar object, discovered back in 2012, is surrounded by a […]
Obesity Found to Age the Liver Faster
U.S. and German scientists have found, for the first time, that obesity significantly quickens the aging process of the liver and have revealed that carrying excessive weight can negatively impact certain human tissues. While scientists have suspected that obesity does play a significant role in aging a person faster the American/German team said that their […]
Some Bacteria are Sneakier Than First Suspected
The emergence and rapid growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria has become a serious worldwide health concern. The World Health Organization said in its 2014 report on antimicrobial resistance that “without urgent, coordinated action, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries, which have been treatable for decades, can […]
Sunblock Could Harm Sea Animals, Seals/Sea Lions Once Spread TB, Link Between Colds/Infections and Strokes in Children, Life Found Deep Beneath Antarctic Ice
Sunblock Good For You – May Be Bad For Marine Animals For many people, especially in the northern hemisphere, summer time is also vacation time, and one of the most popular destinations is the beach. One of the most important rituals for beachgoers is slathering on gobs of sunblock on their bodies. But what people […]
Rhythmic Light Pulses Help Astronomers Accurately Measure Medium Sized Black Hole
Astronomers have calculated that there may be about 100 million black holes in the galaxy. And they mostly fall into two sizes… stellar and supermassive. The size difference has to do with how much mass they contain versus that of our own sun or solar mass. For some time now, astronomers have also theorized that […]