Planet's Giant Ring System

Astronomers have detected the first exoplanet (J1407b) with an extensive ring system similar to Saturn but about 200 times larger than those of our own ringed planet, possibly a young planetary system in an early transient phase of satellite formation.

Long-Necked Dinosaur Found

A previously unknown species of long-necked dinosaur (Qijianglong) has been discovered in China belonging to the group known as mamenchisaurids, characterized by extremely long and relatively lightweight necks measuring up to half their total body length.

"Vibrational" Chemical Bond

Chemists have confirmed the existence of a type of temporary "vibrational" chemical bond between atoms of bromine and muonium, a hydrogen isotope, initially proposed in 1989 with the tiny muonium atom rapidly moving between and holding together two heavier bromine atoms.

"Unbeatable" Poker Algorithm

Game theorists have developed a computer algorithm known as counterfactual regret minimization for the heads-up limit hold’em (HULHE) poker variant that is "virtually unbeatable," rendering this particular strategy so close to perfect as to consider the game solved.

Unknown Egyptian Queen

Archaeologists working in Abu-Sir southwest of Cairo have discovered the tomb of a previously unknown Egyptian queen, named Khentakawess III after wall inscriptions, believed to be the wife or mother of Pharaoh Neferefre who ruled about 4500 years ago.

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.