| Ant colony responds to predation simulation as a 'superorganism' Posted: 11 Nov 2015 02:07 PM PST Ants may respond to disturbances in their nest as one highly organized 'superorganism', according to a new study. |
| Ancient stars at the center of the galaxy contain 'fingerprints' from the early universe Posted: 11 Nov 2015 11:31 AM PST Astronomers have discovered some of the oldest stars in the galaxy, whose chemical composition and movements could tell us what the universe was like soon after the Big Bang. |
| Astronomers eager to get a whiff of newfound Venus-like planet Posted: 11 Nov 2015 11:31 AM PST The collection of rocky planets orbiting distant stars has just grown by one, and the latest discovery is the most intriguing one to date. The newfound world, although hot as an oven, is cool enough to potentially host an atmosphere. If it does, it's close enough (only 39 light-years away) that we could study that atmosphere in detail with the Hubble Space Telescope and future observatories like the Giant Magellan Telescope. |
| Asteroid ripped apart to form star's glowing ring system Posted: 11 Nov 2015 05:49 AM PST The sight of an asteroid being ripped apart by a dead star and forming a glowing debris ring has been captured in an image for the first time.Comprised of dust particles and debris, the rings are formed by the star's gravity tearing apart asteroids that came too close.Gas produced by collisions among the debris within the ring is illuminated by ultraviolet rays from the star, causing it to emit a dark red glow. |
| Taste perception is influenced by extreme noise conditions Posted: 10 Nov 2015 11:48 AM PST Scientists examined the influence of the extreme noise conditions encountered during flight on the five basic tastes. They found that noise condition had no influence on intensity ratings for salty, bitter, and sour tastes. However, taste intensity was suppressed for sweet solutions at all concentration levels, and enhanced for umami solutions at higher concentrations, in the air cabin noise condition. |
| Dust devils detected by seismometer could guide Mars mission Posted: 09 Nov 2015 10:54 AM PST Buried in the shallow soft mud of a dry California lake bed, a seismometer was able to detect the tiny tilts of the ground as it was pulled up by passing dust devils. The experiment is one of the first reports of a seismic signature from a dust devil. |
| Experiment records extreme quantum weirdness Posted: 09 Nov 2015 05:43 AM PST Researchers have reported the most extreme 'entanglement' between pairs of photons ever seen in the lab. |
