Jun 18th, 2021 - First published on Fri 18 Jun 2021 11.48 EDT Footprints of what could be the last dinosaurs to have walked in Britain have been found in Kent, researchers say. About 66m years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth and wiped out much of the Earth’s dinosaurs. But flooding rendered Britain’s dinosaurs extinct much earlier: about 110m years ago. Back then, Britain was more or less where north Morocco or the south of Spain is now, sea levels were rapidly rising and space for dinosaurs to inhabit was disappearing. But this sandy beach in southern England near the white cliffs of Dover was idyllic. ... [Read More]

Jun 18th, 2021 - Astronomers say a cold patch and a stellar burp are behind the star's strange dip in brightness. In December 2019, astronomers noticed a strange, dramatic dimming in the light from Betelgeuse , a bright red star in the Orion constellation. They puzzled over the phenomenon and wondered whether it was a sign that the star was about to go supernova. Several months later, they had narrowed the most likely explanations to two: a short-lived cold patch on the star's southern surface (akin to a sun spot), or a clump of dust making the star seem dimmer to observers on Earth. We now have our answer, ... [Read More]

Jun 18th, 2021 - Surgeons may soon be able to localize critical regions in tissues and organs during a surgical operation thanks to a new, patent-pending Purdue University biosensor that can be printed in 3D using an automated printing system. Chi Hwan Lee created the biosensor, which allows for simultaneous recording and imaging of tissues and organs during a surgical operation. Lee is the Leslie A. Geddes Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Lee also has a courtesy appointment in materials ... [Read More]

Jun 18th, 2021 - One of the key steps to mitigating climate change is to better understand the multitude of factors that affect our planet's temperature – and a new study reveals the important role that ocean microbes play in the process. Microbes are responsible for most of Earth's naturally produced methane, a key greenhouse gas that contributes to the warming of the atmosphere. But as well as producing it, microbes also consume it, keeping it trapped in the ocean. The new research highlights how microbes in carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite play a crucial role in helping to regulate Earth's ... [Read More]

Jun 18th, 2021 - It was a routine demolition to make way for a Brickell tower. Then these were dug up Artifacts were almost buried underneath another Brickell high-rise. But in April, an archaeological team overseeing a parking garage demolition dug up artifacts that could give a better picture of the Native Americans that once occupied the area. Among the findings: prehistoric bone artifacts, including points, pins, drilled shark teeth, as well as pumice, lithic weight and pottery shards, which consultants say likely belonged to the Tequesta tribe. The artifacts were found where the U.S. Custom House and ... [Read More]

Jun 18th, 2021 - Aksel L. Hallin, a physics professor at Queen's University and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, gives this description: NEUTRINO TRAILS. When a neutrino hits the heavy water in the detector's spherical vessel, a cone of light--here clearly visible in red--spreads out to sensors surrounding the device. The neutrinos detected in this event are probably muon-neutrinos, produced when cosmic rays strike the earth's atmosphere. A neutrino is a subatomic particle that is very similar to an electron, but has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero. Neutrinos are one of ... [Read More]

Jun 18th, 2021 - Florida’s weekly COVID update: 10,095 cases and 290 deaths reported The Florida Department of Health on Friday announced 10,095 new resident cases of COVID-19 and 290 deaths since June 11. The state has recorded a known total of at least 2,354,416 coronavirus cases and 38,299 deaths since the pandemic began last winter. These totals do not represent non-Florida resident cases and deaths — people who either contracted the disease or died from it while being in Florida — as the state stopped reporting those metrics in late May. At that time, there were 744 additional non-resident deaths ... [Read More]

Jun 18th, 2021 - Philosophers, artists, and scientists - and probably all the rest of us – have long obsessed over the key to human immortality. Now, a new study gives us evidence for our inevitable death. A study led by Fernando Colchero, University of Southern Denmark and Susan Alberts, Duke University, North Carolina, that included researchers from 42 institutions across 14 countries, provides new insights into the aging theory “the invariant rate of ageing hypothesis”, which states that every species has a relatively fixed rate of aging. “Human death is inevitable. No matter how many vitamins we ... [Read More]