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Phys.org / Dark matter could explain the earliest supermassive black holes
A growing mystery in astronomy is the presence of gargantuan black holes—some weighing as much as a billion suns—existing less than a billion years after the Big Bang. According to the standard theory of black hole formation, ...
Phys.org / Beneath this cemetery, 5.5 million wild bees form a giant underground city vital to spring pollination
To save money, Rachel Fordyce parked her car for free at Ithaca's East Hill Plaza and walked through East Lawn Cemetery to her job as a technician in an entomology lab on Cornell's campus. One spring day in 2022, she walked ...
Phys.org / A monster black hole appeared first, then its galaxy began to grow around it
Using observations gathered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers have revealed that one supermassive black hole in the early universe must have formed before a galaxy developed around ...
Phys.org / Astronomers reveal always-changing multi-planet system
Astronomers at The University of New Mexico have published new research confirming three bodies orbiting the dynamic exoplanet system TOI-201. They include a super-Earth (TOI-201 d), a warm Jupiter (TOI-201 b), and a brown ...
Phys.org / See and hear galaxies evolve from the dawn of the universe
The most realistic picture yet of how galaxies formed and then evolved from the beginning of time has been revealed in a suite of new and unique audiovisual simulations. These data, accepted for publication in the Monthly ...
Phys.org / Space worms! A microscopic crew goes into orbit to support future moon missions
British scientists have launched a crew of microscopic worms to the International Space Station in a pioneering experiment that could help unlock the secrets of long-duration space travel—and support ambitions to reach the ...
Phys.org / Embryo fossil found in South Africa is world's oldest proof that mammal ancestors laid eggs
Between 280 and 200 million years ago, a group of animals evolved which would eventually give rise to mammals, including humans: the therapsids. They were first described more than 150 years ago, based on fossils from South ...
Phys.org / Blended satellite data reveal what drove methane's 2019–2024 rise worldwide
Because methane has around 80 times the warming potential of CO2 over a 20-year period, it has been a major focus for climate action groups. The Global Methane Pledge, launched at COP26 in November 2021, aims to cut human-caused ...
Phys.org / Nature might have a universal rhythm
Animal communication can look wildly different—flashing lights, chirping calls, croaking songs and elaborate dances. But new research from Northwestern University suggests many of these signals share a surprising feature: ...
Phys.org / African elephant genomes reveal a past of continental connectivity and a future of increasing isolation
In the largest genomic mapping of Africa's elephants to date, an international team of researchers shows that elephant history is defined by the ability to move across large distances and exchange genes throughout the African ...
Phys.org / Museum drawer fossil reveals 200-million-year-old crocodile relative with a powerful bite
The fossil record has given us another new prehistoric species, named Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa (from the Greek personification of the morning star—the planet Venus), a member of the group called Crocodylomorpha, which includes ...
Phys.org / 'Dancing jets' from black hole reveal an immense power equivalent to 10,000 suns
New Curtin University-led research has used a radio telescope that spans Earth to snap images that measure the immense power of jets from black holes, confirming scientists' theories of how black holes help shape the structure ...