Washington DC: Astronomers have revealed new evidence that there are not just one but four tiny planets circling around Barnard’s Star, the second-nearest star system to Earth. The four planets, each only about 20 to 30% the mass of Earth, are so close to their home star that they zip around the entire star in … Read more
Paris, France: Ice loss from the world’s glaciers has accelerated over the past decade, scientists said on Wednesday, warning that melting may be faster than previously expected in the coming years and drive sea levels higher. The world’s glaciers, which are important climate regulators and hold freshwater resources for billions, are rapidly melting as the … Read more
Scientists have revised the odds of asteroid 2024 YR4 colliding with Earth when it makes its closest pass on December 22, 2032. According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (Cneos) the chances of a strike by the space rock, which is roughly the size of a football field, have been calculated at 2.3 … Read more
Scientists have cast doubt on the reliability of America’s most celebrated rodent forecaster — whose apparent knack of predicting how long winter will last forms a hallowed tradition in the United States. Punxsutawney Phil, made famous by the 1993 film “Groundhog Day,” attracts thousands of onlookers every February 2 to the Pennsylvania town that he … Read more
New insights into the “dark universe,” which includes both dark matter and dark energy, have emerged from a new method of studying 3D maps of galaxies. Scientists have used sophisticated computer algorithms to analyse the relative positions of galaxies in a 3D framework, unveiling previously hidden information that could challenge or support the standard model … Read more
Artificial intelligence (AI) has achieved the significant capability of self-replication, leaving the scientific community worried that a red line had been crossed, according to a new study published in the preprint database arXiv. The study involving two prominent large language models (LLMs), one from Meta and another from Alibaba, showcased the ability to clone themselves … Read more
A new category of magnetism, identified as “altermagnetism,” has been discovered, potentially unlocking new advancements in superconducting materials and magnetic memory devices. This development, made by researchers using advanced imaging techniques, highlights how altermagnetism bridges the gap between two previously established types of magnetism. This breakthrough could lead to faster and more secure data storage … Read more
A groundbreaking study may have solved the 50-year-long mystery troubling scientists as to why one half of Mars is so drastically different from the other. The northern lowlands on the Martian surface are roughly 5-6 kilometres lower than the southern highlands, with the crust in the north being significantly thinner. Referred to as the ‘Martain … Read more