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Science (General/Chat)

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  • Scientists are baffled as a mysterious halo of red light appears over a small Italian town for the second time in 3 years

    11/28/2025 4:45:01 AM PST · by fruser1 · 12 replies
    UK Daily Mail ^ | 11/28/2025 | William Hunter
    An incredible image captures the bizarre UFO–like ring floating above Possagno, a tiny town in the foothills of the Italian Alps. The photograph was taken by photographer Valter Binotto, who watched as the glowing structure flashed in the sky at 10:45 local time on November 17. A photographer has captured a baffling image of a red UFO–like halo floating over the small Italian town of Possagno This ring is likely a structure known as an 'emission of light and very low–frequency perturbations due to electromagnetic pulse sources', or ELVEs for short. These are rings of red or green light created...
  • There’s more to cholesterol than simply “good” or “bad”: Standard health tests may miss those at most risk

    11/27/2025 4:14:18 PM PST · by SeekAndFind · 17 replies
    The Economist ^ | 11/27/2025
    Once upon a time, cholesterol was simple. This molecule, it was proclaimed, came in two varieties: an artery-clogging “bad” sort and an artery-clearing “good” one. The difference was not in the cholesterol molecules themselves, but rather in the way they are packaged up for transport in the bloodstream as nanoparticles called low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). The public-health message was clear: minimise the bad LDL-cholesterol by cutting down on fatty foods, red meat and dairy products. Increase the good HDL type by doing more exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables. Since a third of heart attacks and...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Portrait of NGC 1055

    11/27/2025 12:37:53 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 7 replies
    NASA ^ | 27 Nov, 2025 | Image Credit & Copyright: John Hayes
    Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of a small galaxy group a mere 60 million light-years away toward the aquatically intimidating constellation Cetus. Seen edge-on, the island universe spans over 100,000 light-years, a little larger than our own Milky Way galaxy. The colorful, spiky stars decorating this cosmic portrait of NGC 1055 are in the foreground, well within the Milky Way. But telltale pinkish star forming regions and young blue star clusters are scattered through winding dust lanes along the distant galaxy's thin disk. With a smattering of even more distant background galaxies, the deep...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Images not Posted during the Government Shutdown - All the Water on Europa

    11/27/2025 10:43:07 AM PST · by MtnClimber · 10 replies
    NASA ^ | 12 Oct, 2025 | Illustration Credit & Copyright: Kevin Hand (JPL/Caltech), Jack Cook (Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti
    Explanation: How much of Jupiter's moon Europa is made of water? No one is sure, but probably a lot. Based on the Galileo probe data acquired during its exploration of the Jovian system from 1995 to 2003, Europa possesses a deep, global ocean of liquid water beneath a layer of surface ice. The subsurface ocean plus ice layer could descend over 100 kilometers in average depth. Adopting a high-end estimate of 100 kilometers depth, if all the water on Europa were gathered into a ball, it would have a radius of over 800 kilometers. To scale, this intriguing illustration compares...
  • Easter Island mystery is SOLVED: Scientists finally pinpoint who built the iconic stone heads 900 years ago

    11/27/2025 2:58:31 AM PST · by Moltke · 29 replies
    UK Daily Mail ^ | 26 November 2025 | William Hunter
    One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Easter Island may finally be solved - as scientists pinpoint who built the iconic stone heads over 900 years ago. In the past, researchers assumed that the 12 to 80-ton statues would have required the combined efforts of hundreds of labourers to build and move. However, new archaeological evidence shows that the statues, known as moai, were not carved by a single powerful chiefdom. Instead, each moai was carved by a small clan or by an individual family, with as few as four to six people working on a single statue. Using a new...
  • Shark kills woman and seriously wounds another swimmer at Australian beach

    11/27/2025 2:56:23 AM PST · by Libloather · 8 replies
    A shark killed a woman and seriously wounded a man taking an early morning swim with her at a national park beach on Australia’s east coast Thursday, police said. Experts say a shark rarely attacks more than one person. The attack occurred at Crowdy Bay National Park, which is known for beach camping, fishing spots and hiking tracks 224 miles north of Sydney. Beaches in the area and to the north of the attack were closed to swimmers indefinitely, Police Chief Insp. Timothy Bayly said. Emergency services were called to Kylies Beach following reports that two people in their mid-20s...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Globular Cluster M15 Deep Field

    11/26/2025 1:06:40 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 10 replies
    NASA ^ | 26 Nov, 2025 | Image Credit & Copyright: Alvaro Ibanez Perez
    Explanation: Stars, like bees, swarm around the center of bright globular cluster M15. The central ball of over 100,000 stars is a relic from the early years of our Galaxy, and continues to orbit the Milky Way's center. M15, one of about 150 globular clusters remaining, is noted for being easily visible with only binoculars, having at its center one of the densest concentrations of stars known, and containing a high abundance of variable stars and pulsars. The featured image of M15 was taken by combining very long exposures -- 122 hours in all -- and so brings up faint...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Images not Posted during the Government Shutdown - Manicouagan Impact Crater from Space

    11/26/2025 10:22:47 AM PST · by MtnClimber · 6 replies
    NASA ^ | 11 Oct, 2025 | Image Credit: NASA, International Space Station Expedition 59
    Explanation: Orbiting 400 kilometers above Quebec, Canada, planet Earth, the International Space Station Expedition 59 crew captured this snapshot of the broad St. Lawrence River and curiously circular Lake Manicouagan on April 11, 2019. Right of center, the ring-shaped lake is a modern reservoir within the eroded remnant of an ancient 100 kilometer diameter impact crater. The ancient crater is very conspicuous from orbit, a visible reminder that Earth is vulnerable to rocks from space. Over 200 million years old, the Manicouagan crater was likely caused by the impact of a rocky body about 5 kilometers in diameter. Currently, there...
  • Ethiopian Volcano Erupts for First Time in 12,000 Years

    11/26/2025 7:09:27 AM PST · by Red Badger · 37 replies
    Breitbart ^ | November 25, 2025 | John Hayward
    The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia, located about 500 miles from the capital city of Addis Ababa, erupted on Sunday for the first time in about 12,000 years. The eruption was not too devastating as such events go, but it did release an enormous plume of ash, which rode the subtropical jet stream and quickly expanded to cover parts of Yemen, Oman, India, and Pakistan. Air India announced it canceled at least 11 flights on Tuesday due to concerns over the cloud. “The affected altitude is between 8.5 kilometers (5.2 miles) and 15 kilometers above the sea level,” said Mrutyunjay...
  • Most modern dogs have wolf DNA from relatively recent interbreeding. Here's which breeds are the most and least 'wolfish.'

    11/26/2025 6:17:00 AM PST · by Diana in Wisconsin · 50 replies
    Live Science ^ | November 26, 2025 | Skyler Ware
    Most modern dog breeds have small amounts of wolf ancestry from long after dogs were domesticated, according to a new study. The wolf DNA isn't left over from when dogs and wolves diverged; instead, it most likely came from interbreeding in the past few thousand years. That wolfish influence may be linked to certain characteristics, such as size and personality traits, in different dog breeds, researchers reported Nov. 24 in the journal PNAS. "Dogs are our buddies, but apparently wolves have been a big part of shaping them into the companions we know and love today," study co-author Logan Kistler,...
  • We Found a NEW STONE Near Stonehenge... And It Makes No Sense [15:58] | 215K subscribers | 63,178 views |

    11/26/2025 6:04:13 AM PST · by SunkenCiv · 19 replies
    YouTube ^ | November 23, 2025 | Paul Whitewick
    Welcome to this weeks video. So we found a BlueStone. Completely out of place from its original quarried location. Does it relate to Stonehenge, what is it doing here? We Found a NEW STONE Near Stonehenge... And It Makes No Sense | 15:58 Paul Whitewick | 215K subscribers | 63,178 views | November 23, 2025 Cholderton Estate
  • 'Like a sudden bomb': See photos from space of Ethiopian volcano erupting for first time in 12,000 years

    11/26/2025 5:08:49 AM PST · by Twotone · 31 replies
    Live Science ^ | November 25, 2025 | Skyler Ware
    A volcano in Ethiopia erupted for the first time in at least 12,000 years on Sunday, sending a cloud of ash and smoke northeast across the Red Sea. Hayli Gubbi, a volcano in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia, erupted at around 8:30 a.m. UTC (3:30 a.m. EST) on Nov. 23. By 8 p.m. UTC (3 p.m. EST), the explosive phase of the eruption had stopped, according to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in France. This is the first time Hayli Gubbi is known to have erupted in the Holocene — the present geological epoch that began at...
  • A Smart New Spin on Vinegar Could Help Stop Superbugs

    11/25/2025 12:52:42 PM PST · by nickcarraway · 11 replies
    Food and Wine ^ | November 21, 2025 | Stacey Leasca
    By blending vinegar’s active ingredient with cutting-edge nanoparticles, scientists created a solution that wiped out nearly all MRSA bacteria in lab tests—without damaging healthy cells.-Scientists in Norway and Australia have developed a “nano-boosted” vinegar solution that enhances acetic acid’s antibacterial properties using cobalt-doped carbon quantum dots. -In mouse studies, a single topical dose of the solution eliminated 99.995% of MRSA bacteria within 24 hours and completely cleared infections within a week. -The research could lead to new non-toxic treatments for wound infections and is a promising step in fighting antimicrobial resistance, which causes millions of deaths annually. Vinegar is undoubtedly...
  • New Evidence Points To Where Our Moon’s Parent Planet Came From

    11/25/2025 12:05:25 PM PST · by Red Badger · 31 replies
    Study Finds ^ | November 24, 2025 | Timo Hopp (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research)
    Artist’s impression of the collision between the early Earth and Theia. Since Theia originated in the inner Solar System, in this perspective the Sun can be seen in the background. (Credit: MPS / Mark A. Garlick) In A Nutshell * Inner Solar System origins: By measuring iron isotopes in Moon rocks and meteorites, researchers determined Theia probably formed closer to the Sun than Earth did, not in the distant outer Solar System. * Identical twins: Earth and the Moon have virtually identical chemical signatures, but both fall outside the range of any meteorites we’ve found—suggesting they incorporated exotic material from...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet Lemmon and the Milky Way

    11/25/2025 11:34:50 AM PST · by MtnClimber · 9 replies
    NASA ^ | 25 Nov, 2025 | Image Credit & Copyright: Lin Zixuan (Tsinghua U.)
    Explanation: What did Comet Lemmon look like when it was at its best? One example is pictured here, featuring three celestial spectacles all at different distances. The closest spectacle is the snowcapped Meili Mountains, part of the Himalayas in China. The middle marvel is Comet Lemmon near its picturesque best early this month, showing not only a white dust tail trailing off to the right but its blue solar wind-distorted ion tail trailing off to the left. Far in the distance on the left is the magnificent central plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, featuring dark dust, red nebula, and...
  • Dock Successful! Shenzhou 22 Docks to Space Station

    11/25/2025 10:20:50 AM PST · by sockmonkey · 6 replies
    Weibo ^ | 11-25-25 | CMSE via Manned Spaceflight Little Horn on Weibo
    After successfully entering orbit, the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft completed its status setup and successfully docked with the forward port of the Tianhe core module of the space station at 15:50 Beijing time on November 25, 2025. Following the docking, the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft will enter the combined docking section and will subsequently serve as the return spacecraft for the Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew.Currently, the Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew is in good condition in orbit and is completing all planned tasks. The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft will continue to remain in orbit to conduct relevant experiments.After the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft's return was delayed on November 5 due to...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Images not Posted during the Government Shutdown - 50 Light-years to 51 Pegasi

    11/25/2025 9:47:00 AM PST · by MtnClimber · 5 replies
    NASA ^ | 10 Oct, 2025 | Image Credit & Copyright: José Rodrigues
    Explanation: It's only 50 light-years to 51 Pegasi. That star's position is indicated in this snapshot from August 2025, taken on a night with mostly brighter stars visible above the dome at Observatoire de Haute-Provence in France. Thirty years ago, in October of 1995, astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced a profound discovery made at the observatory. Using a precise spectrograph, they had detected a planet orbiting 51 Peg, the first known exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star. Mayor and Queloz had used the spectrograph to measure changes in the star's radial velocity, a regular wobble caused by the gravitational...
  • Ethiopia Volcano Update; Major Explosive Eruption Begins at Hayli Gubbi

    11/23/2025 4:27:28 PM PST · by Fai Mao · 19 replies
    YouTube ^ | 11/23/2025 | Geology Hub
    A major explosive volcanic eruption unexpectedly began this morning at Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano, leading to the generation of an ash cloud the size of Portugal. Lengthy pyroclastic flows were generated, and heavy ashfall has occurred. Today's video discusses the ongoing eruption via the knowledge and analysis of a geologist.
  • A Major Explosive Volcanic Eruption Just Occurred in Africa; Geologist Analysis [4:51]

    11/24/2025 11:47:48 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 15 replies
    YouTube ^ | November 23, 2025 | GeologyHub
    A major explosive volcanic eruption unexpectedly began this morning at Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano, leading to the generation of an ash cloud the size of Portugal. Lengthy pyroclastic flows were generated, and heavy ashfall has occurred. Today's video discusses the ongoing eruption via the knowledge and analysis of a geologist. A Major Explosive Volcanic Eruption Just Occurred in Africa; Geologist Analysis | 4:51 GeologyHub | 382K subscribers | 242,738 views | November 23, 2025 0:00 Major Explosive Eruption 0:12 Hayli Gubbi Erupts 0:56 Volcanic Ash Advisory 2:34 Eruption Size 3:31 Erta Ale Link
  • Uncovering Britain's DEADLY Prehistoric Plague - New Evidence [14:51]

    11/24/2025 11:16:27 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 8 replies
    YouTube ^ | May 6, 2024 | Adam Morgan Ibbotson
    A study published in Nature Communications in May 2023 saw researchers reexamine bones from the Levens Park Ring Cairn. It was revealed that one of the four people buried within the cairn had been infected with the plague -- the earliest known instance in Britain (circa 2000 BC). Uncovering Britain's DEADLY Prehistoric Plague - New Evidence | 14:51 Adam Morgan Ibbotson | 21.6K subscribers | 80,717 views | May 6, 2024