Phenomenica

Tidal heating may leave some alien planets waterless

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:13:00 PST

Image credit: mnn.com Some exoplanets may experience powerful tidal forces, which could strip them of water completely, thus leaving behind hot, dry worlds like Venus, a new study has revealed. These findings might considerably affect searches for...

How planets outside our solar system evolved

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:40:00 PST

Using high-powered lasers, scientists have found that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly transforming to a more dense liquid with increasing pressure. The research by Lawrence Livermore National...

Venus could be shifting gears

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:39:00 PST

A spacecraft orbiting Venus has revealed that Earth’s cloud-covered neighbour is rotating a little slower than previously measured. Peering through the dense atmosphere in the infrared, the ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft found surface features were...

Why plants never get sunburnt

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:36:00 PST

Image credit: cooltropicalplants.com Have you ever wondered why plants never get sunburnt? This is because plants make "sunscreen" in their leaves, say researchers who claim to have finally solved the mystery after a 15-year research. Ultra-violet...

‘Iceland's Loch Ness monster’ caught on tape

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:33:00 PST

A cameraman has shot footage of what appears to be a giant serpentine creature weaving its way through the icy waters of lake Lagarfljot in east Iceland. While there have been several sightings of the Lagarfljotsormurinn or “Icelandic worm...

Double astro-treat for sky lovers this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:30:00 PST

Image credit: Upi Sky gazers are in for a double astro-treat this weekend as Mars, Saturn and a bright star can be easily viewed without optical aids from sunset to sunrise. The cosmic show will begin tomorrow when the moon snuggles up to Mars...

Mars Express spacecraft spots signs of ancient ocean

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:23:00 PST

Image credit: indiavision.com Presently, Martian surface is a barren, arid desert but the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft has provided strong evidence that an ocean may have covered parts of the red planet billions of years...

Milky Way’s black hole grazing on asteroids

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:19:00 PST

Image credit: colonial.net The giant black hole at the centre of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the mysterious X-ray flares detected over a period of several years, a new study has revealed. For...

Entire genome of Denisovan decoded from finger bone

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:16:00 PST

Image credit: exohuman.com German anthropologists have decoded the entire genome sequence of a Denisovan, representative of the extinct Asian group related to Neanderthals, from a finger bone fossil, a study reveals. The team from The Max Planck...

Next supercontinent Amasia ‘to form at North Pole'

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:13:00 PST

Image credit: news.discovery.com America and Eurasia will crash into each other over the North Pole in 50-200 million years time, scientists have claimed. According to scientists at Yale University, Africa and Australia will join the new...

Fruit fly genome ‘may become genetic Rosetta stone

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:08:00 PST

Image credit: apexpestcontrol.net Scientists have developed a new community resource that may help in unlocking the mystery behind the genetic basis of traits and diseases. The new study describes the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP),...

Why zebras evolved their distinctive black and white stripes

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:06:00 PST

Image credit: guidesandlodges.com Scientists claim to have finally solved the mystery of why zebras evolved their distinctive black and white stripes — to keep blood-sucking flies at bay. Researchers from Hungary and Sweden, who detailed their...

Sharks' remarkable skin boosts swimming

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:57:00 PST

Image credit: nationalgeographic.com Swimming comes effortlessly to sharks, thanks to their streamlined shapes and coating of razor sharp tooth-like scales, called denticles. Experiments with the intact shark skins accelerated swimming by nearly 13...

24 mn generations for mice to grow to elephant size

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:20:00 PST

Image credit: calbuzz.com It would take at least 24 million generations for a mouse-sized creature to evolve into something as big as an elephant. Conversely, it would require only 100,000 generations for very large creatures to regress into...

Alien life possible but not like that on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:10:00 PST

Image credit: bruceleeeowe An astronomer has said that while we could find life outside of Earth, it is unlikely that it would be intelligent or multi-cellular. Dr Robin Catchpole, who teaches at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, and was a...

Why aliens haven’t reached Earth yet

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Image credit: amazonaws.com If aliens exist, they should have reached our planet by now. According to a new study, calculations indicate that either we are alone in the galaxy, or ET is ignoring us. “We’re either alone, or they’re out there and...

Scientists puzzled by region outside solar system

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:57:00 PST

Image credit: crystalinks.com A glimpse beyond our solar system reveals the neighborhood just outside the sun's influence is different and stranger than expected, scientists reported Tuesday. One oddity is the amount of oxygen. There are more...

Second largest near-Earth asteroid passes by Earth

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:55:00 PST

Eros. Image credit: Wikipedia 34-km-wide Eros, the second largest near-Earth asteroid, had a fly by of Earth and can now be seen in the constellations Leo, Sextans and Hydra. Asteroid 433 Eros (1898 DQ), also known as Eros, came closer to Earth at...

How meteorites struck Moon

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:14:00 PST

Image credit: universetoday.com A wealth of evidence, provided by lunar rock samples, shows how meteorites struck the moon. The study, headed by microstructural geology experts Nick Timms and Steven Reddy, professor, Western Australian School of...

Solar storm sparks dazzling northern lights

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:10:00 PST

The aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, are seen near the city of Tromsoe, northern Norway, on Jan. 24. Image credit: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen/Scanpix Norway/AP A storm from the broiling sun turned the chilly northernmost skies of Earth into an...

How birds avoid hitting trees

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:59:00 PST

Image credit: leeds.ac.uk Birds don't have to bother about overcrowded roads, but they do stick to a speed limit to avoid hitting trees or other objects. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe their findings could...

Tiny alcohol amounts double worm's life

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:10:00 PST

C elegans. Image credit: neuinfo.org Tiny portions of ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, can more than double the lifespan of a tiny worm known as C elegans. The worm, found in soils, where they eat bacteria, is used...

UFOs seen over Britain?

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:34:00 PST

These two bright discs were seen over Chatham in Kent on January 6 Image credit: Barcroft Media Six suspected unidentified flying objects (UFOs) were reportedly captured on camera in two counties of Britain. The sightings were reported...

Mars rocks fell in Africa last July

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:27:00 PST

Image credit: AP Scientists are confirming a recent and rare invasion from Mars: meteorite chunks from the red planet that fell in Morocco last July. This is only the fifth time scientists have confirmed chemically Martian meteorites that people...

Insects watch skies to navigate

noreply@blogger.com (abby) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:16:00 PST

Image credit: globalanimal.org How do insects such as butterflies, locusts and fruit flies navigate thousands of miles so precisely with only the unchanging sky in the foreground? Researchers now have an answer. "If you go out in a field, lie on...