The idea of storms on other worlds is not uncommon. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has tracked the aftermath of a massive storm on Saturn. Data reveal record-setting disturbances in the planet’s upper atmosphere long after the visible signs of the storm abated, in addition to an indication the storm was more forceful than scientists previously thought.…

The ancestors of modern bacteria were single-celled microorganisms that were the first forms of life to appear on Earth, about 4 billion years ago. For about 3 billion years, all organisms were microscopic, and bacteria and archaea were the dominant forms of life. Bacteria have a bad rap as agents of disease, but scientists are…

A salt marsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open salt water or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low…

The solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time. These particles can escape the Sun’s gravity because of their high kinetic…

Our world orbits one star. There are many multiple star systems and some binary stars have been found with planets. Now how about a star system with four suns and some planets? For the first time a planet has been found that orbits one pair of stars and has a second pair of stars revolving…

A rock is a rock. Unless it is Martian. The first Martian rock NASA’s Curiosity rover has reached out to touch presents a more varied composition than expected from previous missions. The rock also resembles some unusual rocks from Earth’s interior. The rover team used two instruments on Curiosity to study the chemical makeup of…

Carbon dioxide is a by product of animal metabolism and the activities of man such as combustion products. Where does or will it go? One of the places where it goes are the cold southern oceans of the world. A few regions around the world are key in overturning deep and shallow layers of the…

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. There are several possible methods to remove the oil from the environment. A new absorbent has been proposed which is a polyolefin-based petroleum superabsorbent called PETROGEL that not…

Kalomt’e K’Abel was one of the great warrior queens of the Maya and bore the title Kaloomte which is Supreme Warrior. She is mostly forgotten because Mayan history is not very well known and is even now well hid in jungles. Archaeologists in Guatemala have now discovered the tomb of Lady K’abel, a seventh-century Maya…

Researchers from the University of Alicante in Spain have analyzed ten brands of cigarettes and found that the concentrations of certain harmful and carcinogenic substances vary significantly from one brand to another. Until now legislation has not covered these other toxic compounds and have only established limits for nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide. Scientists have…