I have had many conversations over the years about life extension, and the idea often meets with resistance. People get upset when they hear about an individual whose life is shortened by a disease, but when faced with the possibility of the overall extension of human life, they react negatively. “Life is too hard to … Read more
The sun unleashed a flurry of radiation-filled explosions in May. When they crashed into Earth’s magnetic bubble, the world was treated to iridescent displays of the northern and southern lights. But our planet was not the only one in the line of solar fire. A few days after Earth’s light appeared, another series of explosions … Read more
Intensity map and geographic location of the 2023 Turkey earthquake. A black star indicates the epicenter of the earthquake (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes). Credit: Journal of Applied Geodesy (2024). DOI: 10.1515/jag-2024-0024 A recent study in Journal of Applied Geodesy suggests. Developing early warning systems for earthquakes can be very helpful in preventing death and destruction. One such proposed … Read more
Over the past 500 million years, vertebrates have evolved into a dizzying variety of forms, from hummingbirds to elephants, bullfrogs to hammerhead sharks, not to mention our unique species of great ape. But beneath all that diversity, vertebrates share some key features. We all have a spine made of vertebrae, for example, along with a … Read more
In recent weeks, the Sun has become so noisy that the Earth is constantly bombarded with radiation and particles emitted by the explosions of solar plasma. But Earth is not the only planet affected by solar storms. At only 1.5 times Earth’s distance from the Sun, Mars has also been buffeted by large outflows of … Read more
While standing on planet Earth, it’s easy to forget that we’re sitting on a rock hurtling through the Solar System on a path that might collide with other (smaller) space rocks, mostly because we can’t feel that motion. If you ever feel like putting yourself completely at the mercy of random space rocks, we recommend … Read more
This artist’s concept shows the nova system HM Sagittae (HM Sge), where a white dwarf star is pulling material from its red giant companion. This forms a hot, blazing disk around the dwarf, which can unpredictably undergo a spontaneous thermonuclear explosion as the hydrogen inflow from the red giant thickens and reaches a tipping point. … Read more
What is massless gravity? Both Newton’s revolutionary laws describing its universal effect and Einstein’s proposal of a deflated spacetime, we have thought of gravity as exclusively within the realm of matter. Now a wild new study suggests that gravity can exist without mass, conveniently eliminating the need for one of the most elusive substances in … Read more
Sign up for CNN’s Science of Miracles newsletter. Explore the universe with news of fascinating discoveries, scientific breakthroughs and more. CNN – An amateur paleontologist has discovered a new species of pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs around 100 million years ago. Kevin Petersen, an avocado farmer and curator of the Kronosaurus Korner … Read more
Space changes you, even during short trips off-planet. Four people who spent three days outside Earth in September 2021 experienced physical and mental changes that included modest declines in cognitive tests, heightened immune systems and genetic changes within their cells, scientists report in a suite of papers published Tuesday in the journal Nature and some. … Read more