Ripples of Underground Magma

A new geologic study suggests waves of magma ripple and move under the Earth's surface over millions of years, whose fluid motion may account for prehistoric changes in sea level and movement of polar ice sheets due to convection currents in the mantle.

Ancient Rubber Makers

The Aztec, Olmec and Maya of ancient Mesoamerica produced various grades of stabilized rubber around 3000 years ago by using natural latex from rubber trees mixed with the juice of morning glory vines.

Lungs Grown and Transplanted

Researchers have taken diseased lungs from a rat and, with a process of chemical washing to reveal the organ's underlying scaffolding and then incubation in a biological slurry of lung cells, have successfully regrown healthy, functional lungs that were subsequently implanted back into the original rat.

Superstorm Seen on Exoplanet

By studying the spectral signatures of carbon monoxide between the day and night side of the gas giant exoplanet HD209458b, astronomers have for the first time detected a global superstorm on the planet with winds of up to 10,000 kph.

Evolution of Limb/Fin Gene

Researchers have identified two specific genes of zebrafish embryos that encodes for development of the fins, marking a significant evolutionary artifact as it is believed that the loss of this gene began the transition into limb development for higher animals.

Music from the Sun

Astronomers have discovered longitudinal vibrations within the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere that produce harmonious audible-wavelength sounds, providing a new insight into the physics of the solar corona.

Upright Walking in Humans

The discovery of new 3.6-million-year-old male Australopithecus afarensis fossil remains in Ethiopia supports the idea that upright walking in hominids, corresponding to the elongation of our legs, evolved even earlier than previously believed.

New Air Conditioning System

A new technology combining evaporative cooling membranes with liquid dessicant salt solutions (DEVap) produces commercial-grade air conditioning that uses 50% to 90% less energy than even the most advanced units available on the market today.

Extreme Gravity with Oxygen

For the first time, the extreme gravitational effects of a neutron star consuming a nearby white dwarf have been detected through the x-ray signature of elemental oxygen instead of the more common yet ambiguous iron.

Star Birth Witnessed

Astronomers have observed an object in the Perseus star-forming region that is in the earliest stages of star formation, having just begun pulling in matter from a surrounding cloud of gas and dust, and is believed to be the earliest protostar yet discovered.

Prehistoric Mammal Tooth Marks

Paleontologists have discovered a variety of dinosaur bones in Alberta, Canada, from the Late Cretaceous that have evidence of mammalian tooth marks, the earliest such gnawing evidence from the primitive mammals of that age.

Brain's Distorted Body Model

A hand study reveals the brain's representation and perception of various body parts is highly distorted from the actual proportions, most likely due to the differences in sensory information received from those parts.

Multiple Higgs Bosons

New data gathered by the DZero experiment at Fermilab suggests that the as-yet undiscovered Higgs boson, believed to be the quantum mechanism behind mass, may not be a single particle but as many as five differently charged particles.

Ancient Ocean on Mars

A new study analyzing water-related topography concludes that a vast sustained sea covered roughly a third of the surface of Mars about 3.5 billion years ago.

Earth and Moon Younger

A new study of the radioactive composition of tungsten isotopes in the Earth's mantle indicates the Earth and Moon formed up to 150 million years after the formation of the solar system, making them both younger than previously believed.

Plastic Antibodies Successful

Tests of a man-made plastic antibody, a custom-designed nanoparticle formed to latch onto a specific antigen and thus trigger the natural immunological response, have yielded significantly greater survival rates in laboratory animals injected with a toxin.

Prehistoric Mammal Hair

Two strands of hair from an unidentified mammal species have been discovered encased in a piece of 100-million-year-old amber, revealing that they are remarkably similar to the hairs of mammals today and have changed little over time.

Crocodiles Crossing Oceans

Using sonar transmitters and satellite tracking, scientists have discovered that the saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) of Asia and Australia ride currents like a surfer to cross large areas of open sea to reach distant and remote locations in the South Pacific.

Roman Gladiator Graveyard

Archaeologists have unearthed 80 skeletons in York in what they believe is a Roman gladiator graveyard dating from the first century AD, with the remains mostly robust, healthy young men who suffered violent injuries and decapitation yet were buried with respect.

Wet, Non-Acidic Mars

Lengthy analysis of data collected by the Martian rover Spirit in 2005 has revealed a previously wet and non-acidic environment on Mars, possibly hinting at an ancient environment favorable for life.

Humpback Whale Friendships

New research has shown that humpback whales form lasting relationships, contradicting the belief that baleen (filter-feeding) whales are less social than toothed cetaceans such as sperm whales.

Meteor Strike on Jupiter

Reported by an amateur astronomer in Australia, a meteor impact on the planet Jupiter was caught on film and believed to be the first evidence of such an event.

Arctic Ice at Low Point

Researchers examined the results from 300 past and ongoing studies to compile the first comprehensive history of Arctic ice, revealing that it is at its lowest point in recent geologic history dating back a few thousand years.

Paper Test for Blood Type

Researchers have developed a litmus-type paper "dipstick" indicator impregnated with blood antibodies that can accurately determine blood type at a cost of only a few cents.

Tau Neutrino Caught Changing

Researchers at Italy's OPERA experiment have observed a muon neutrino emitted from CERN 730 km away changing into a tau neutrino, providing crucial evidence for such neutrino transformations that has implications for both the Standard Model and theories of solar composition.