A nuclear bomb could save Earth from a catastrophic asteroid impact, according to a first-of-its-kind lab study. The new experiment, conducted using the world’s most powerful laboratory radiation source, demonstrated that detonating a coordinated nuclear strike close to an asteroid would produce enough force to deflect it from a fatal collision with our planet. Yet … Read more
Plants can grow with much less light than previously thought, according to a new study on tiny water-based organisms called microalgae that has been published in Nature Communications. The German-led team of researchers lowered light sensors into Arctic water to a depth of 164 feet (50 metres) to test how low light levels must become … Read more
Scientists have revived a mysterious, 1,000-year-old seed discovered in the Judaean Desert — and the tree that has grown from it could belong to a lost lineage mentioned in the Bible, they say. It has taken researchers almost 14 years to grow a tree from the ancient seed, which archaeologists excavated from a cave in … Read more
Popular media, such as the 2000 film “Gladiator,” often depict Roman gladiators in gory battles that don’t end until at least one of the fighters is slain. But in real life, did gladiators really fight to the death? In fact, sometimes they did, but not always, experts told Live Science. Alfonso Manas, a researcher at … Read more
Milan’s marble facades and narrow, stone-paved streets look elegant and timeless. But all of that stone emits heat and does nothing to absorb rain, and temperatures and flooding in the posh Italian city are only predicted to increase in the coming decades. In Jakarta, black floodwaters already rush into homes every winter along the Indonesian … Read more
We have some incredibly powerful telescopes that have given us spectacular views of the cosmos and allowed us to look back to the early days of the universe. These observatories, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), are amazing feats of engineering that have required billions of dollars and decades of work. But what … Read more
Earth may have had a giant ring of space rocks surrounding it, similar to those around Saturn, which could have led to chaotic meteorite strikes on our planet’s surface, new research suggests. The hypothesized ring may have formed roughly 466 million years ago and was the remains of a gigantic asteroid tugged apart by Earth’s … Read more
Scientists have discovered that common AI models express a covert form of racism based on dialect — manifesting chiefly against speakers of African American English (AAE) In a new study published Aug. 28 in the journal Nature, scientists found evidence for the first time that common large language models including OpenAI’s GPT3.5 and GPT-4, as … Read more
Archaeologists in Norway have discovered a Viking Age treasure that had remained “untouched” for more than 1,000 years. The four silver bracelets had been buried nearly 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the ground on a mountainside in Årdal, a village in southwestern Norway, according to a translated statement from the University of Stavanger. “This is … Read more
Believe it or not, debris from Mars has frequently made its way to Earth after powerful impacts hit the Red Planet’s surface and launch it into space. There have been at least 10 of these meteorite-forming events in Mars’ recent history. When these massive impacts occur, meteorites can be flung away from the Red Planet … Read more
