All About Everything

Here's How NASA Might Bring Home Pieces of Mars (In a Darth Vader Helmet)

WASHINGTON — Scientists studying Mars have wanted pieces of the Red Planet here on Earth for decades, and they are finally getting their shot at designing a mission to acquire such souvenirs. The Apollo program's legacy of carefully collected moon rocks ...

Mars Rover Curiosity Snaps Beautiful Selfie After Rare Chemistry Experiment

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover performed some rare science work recently, then took a bit of a break to take in the austere beauty of its surroundings. On Sept. 24, Curiosity conducted a "wet chemistry" experiment for just the second time ever during its seven ...

NASA reveals 'galaxy of horrors' exoplanet posters in time for Halloween

CNN

CNN

Welcome to the sinister side of space, where "no one can hear you scream," as the original "Alien" movie poster warned. Just in time for Halloween, NASA released two new posters on Tuesday showcasing exoplanets HD 189733 b and PSR B1257+12 c, ...

Dark energy: new experiment may solve one of the universe's greatest mysteries

As an astronomer, there is no better feeling than achieving "first light" with a new instrument or telescope. It is the culmination of years of preparations and construction of new hardware, which for the first time collects light particles from an astronomical object.

EarthSky

Putting the 'bang' in Big Bang

EarthSky

Physicists have pondered how the cold, uniform matter of the inflationary early universe became the ultrahot, complex mixture of matter, space and time that led to the universe we know. New work simulates a bridge between cosmic inflation and … everything ...

Researchers use light emitted from nanoparticles to control biological processes

The biological technique of 'optogenetics' uses light to control cells within living tissues that have been genetically modified to be light-sensitive. However, there is limited control of processes like this, as the light can activate several genes at once, and deeply ...

Re-cracking the genetic code

Crack open a biology textbook and you will find the table summarizing the standard genetic code. This refers to the set of rules by which the cell "decodes" the information contained in DNA and "translates" it into the amino acids that make up proteins.

Humanity's birthplace: why everyone alive today can call northern Botswana home

Where was the evolutionary birthplace of modern humans? The East African Great Rift Valley has long been the favoured contender—until today. Our new research has used DNA to trace humanity's earliest footsteps to a prehistoric wetland called ...

How This Decade of Archaeology Changed What We Know About Human Origins

Gizmodo

Gizmodo

Artist's reconstruction of A. anamensis, based on the discovery of a nearly complete skull and jawbone. Gif: Image by Matt Crow, courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Facial reconstruction by John Gurche made possible through generous ...

Ashes to concrete

Drexel researchers are recycling coal ash, a waste product from coal power plants, to make a porous, lightweight aggregate that can be used as a concrete additive to aid the hardening process. Credit: Drexel University. Coal ash is the less notorious ...