Dinosaur Species Reclassified

Paleontologists are beginning to re-analyze many dinosaurs and reclassify them as different growth stages of the same previously named species, a move that may eliminate as many as one third of all known dinosaur species.

Most Distant Star Explosion

NASA's Swift satellite has detected a violent gamma-ray burst, named GRB 090423, from the collapse of a massive star some 13 billion light-years away, making it the oldest and most distant object ever recorded.

Color on Saturn's Moons

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has returned images showing unexplained patches of color on Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione and Rhea, Saturn's five innermost icy moons.

32 New Extrasolar Planets

Astronomers from the European Southern Observatory have announced the discovery of 32 new extrasolar planets, bringing the total number of known planets existing outside our solar system to over 400.

Warm-Blooded Effects

A new study demonstrates that common elevated mammalian body temperatures (37°C in humans) hinders the growth of most fungal strains, lending a new theory for the rise of mammals as the dominant species after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Shape of Solar System

Instruments aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft have revealed the relative shape of the heliosphere to be almost spherical instead of the predicted comet-shaped as it moves through the interstellar medium, forcing revisions of decades-old theoretical models.

Edge of the Heliosphere

Data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has produced a sky map at the edge of our heliosphere, revealing a bright ribbon of detail or emissions not previously detected by either of the Voyager probes and not consistent with any current theory of this boundary with the local interstellar medium.

Human Brain and Language

During a rare brain surgery to relieve seizures, researchers used intra-cranial electrophysiology (ICE) to gain significant insight into Broca's area and how the brain processes grammar and produces words.

Ancient Indian Impact Crater

Scientists have found evidence of an impact crater in the Shiva basin off the western coast of India that is four times as large as that beneath the Yucatan Peninsula, leading to speculation that this may have been the asteroid impact leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

"Magnetricity" Observed

Scientists have proven the existence of atom-sized "magnetic charges" that behave and interact like electric charges, demonstrating a perfect symmetry between the forces of magnetism and electricity.

New Flying Dinosaur Found

Paleontologists in northeast China have discovered fossils of a new flying dinosaur, named Darwinopterus, possessing features of both primitive and advanced flying reptiles and that may fill in a gap between earlier and older pterosaurs.

Vegetarian Spider Found

A spider with a nearly completely herbivorous diet, the Bagheera kiplingi, has been discovered in the jungles of Central America and Mexico, making it unique among the known 40,000 carnivorous spider species.

Probe Crashes on Moon

NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) smashed a bus-sized spacecraft into a crater near the Moon's south pole in a planned experiment to examine the debris for traces of subsurface water.

Dinosaur Tracks in France

Paleontologists have discovered a trail of sauropod tracks in the Jura plateau of eastern France possibly extending hundreds of meters, the largest preserved dinosaur tracks in the world.

Large Ring Around Saturn

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered a large, faint ring of ice and dust surrounding Saturn millions of miles out from the planet and is believed to be the early stages of another ring formation.

Cache of Dinosaur Eggs

Geologists have discovered hundreds of fossilized dinosaur eggs clustered at a site in southern India that is believed to have been an annual nesting site for sauropods.

New Earliest Hominid Found

A new earliest human ancestor has been found in Ethiopia, a 4.4 million-year-old hominid fossil nicknamed "Ardi" (Ardipithecus ramidus) that is 1 million years older than "Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis), providing evidence humans and apes shared an even earlier common ancestor.