Isolated Humpback Whales

Researchers studying humpback whales that inhabit the Arabian Sea and northern Indian Ocean have found them to be the most genetically distinct whales in the world, suggesting this long-distance migrating population has remained isolated from other whales for 70,000 years.

Homo erectus Art on Seashell

A pattern recently discovered on a seashell originally discovered Java in the 1890s reveal 500,000-year-old deliberate engravings ascribed to Homo erectus, the first evidence of abstract thought from that extinct hominid species.

Two New Subatomic Particles

The "Beauty" experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHCb) has identified two never-before-seen baryonic particles named Xi_b′ and Xi_b*, each one consisting of a beauty (b), a strange (s) and a down (d) quark.

Ancient Gene-Hoarding Shrub

An ancient flowering, evergreen shrub (Amborella) that only grows on a single Pacific archipelago off the eastern coast of Australia has absorbed the entire mitochondrial genes of a moss, three green algae and several hundred genes from an unknown number of flowering plants for a bloated genome orders of magnitude larger than any other known plant.

Half of Stars Outside Galaxies

Analyzing a faint background glow detected by the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER), astronomers estimate that as many as half of all stars exist outside of galaxies, left adrift as a result of galactic collisions.

New Teotihuacan Chambers Found

Archaeologists have found three previously unknown chambers at the end of a tunnel discovered in 2003 under the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan, with the new rooms filled with thousands of artifacts such as small statues, rubber balls, gemstone objects and seashells.

Majorana Particle Signature

Researchers have seen the first evidence of a so-called Majorana particle, a theoretical particle that is simultaneously its own corresponding antiparticle, on a chain of iron atoms placed on the surface of a lead-based superconductor.

Lunar Plain Not Impact Crater

The latest analysis of the Oceanus Procellarum, the large, dark plain on the near side of the Moon, shows it is rimmed by structures that form straight lines and angles, implying formation due to tectonic activity and not as the result of an impact.

Octopus with Longest Gestation

Scientists have observed a deep-sea octopus (Graneledone boreopacifica) brooding a clutch of eggs at a site in the Pacific Ocean for roughly 53 months, longer by far than any other known species.

Human DNA Mostly "Junk"

A new study estimates that only 8.2% of human DNA is functional, performing or directing vital developmental activities, with the remainder of the molecule leftover evolutionary material described as "junk" that serves no known genetic purpose.

Vampire Bats Lose Bitter Taste

Once though essential to every animal species as a caution against ingesting toxins, three species of vampire bats have significantly fewer taste receptors for bitter compounds due to their evolutionary specialization for an all-blood diet.

Small Asteroids May Be Clusters

Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, researchers have found small asteroids that are up to 65% empty space and that many smaller bodies may be clusters of rubble or a dust cloud with a solid nucleus instead of solid rocky bodies.

Water Reservoir Inside Earth

A massive reservoir of water three times the volume of Earth's oceans has been discovered 700 km down inside the mantle locked within a blue rock called ringwoodite, with the liquid "sweating" out of the mineral due to the great pressures and temperatures.

Dark Side of the Moon Mystery

Astrophysicists have solved the Lunar Farside Highlands Problem, the question dating from 1959 as to why the far side of the Moon has no maria like the near side, the explanation being that the Moon was tidally locked with Earth's orbit soon after its formation resulting in a temperature gradient and thicker crust on the side facing away from Earth.