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☆ Scientists map long-lost arm of the Nile that flowed past 31 pyramids
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The inhospitable location has long puzzled archaeologists, some of whom had found evidence that the Nile River once flowed near these pyramids in some capacity, facilitating the landmarks’ construction starting 4,700 years ago. “This is the first study to provide the first map of the long-lost ancient branch of the Nile River.”Ghoneim and her colleagues refer to this extinct branch of the Nile river as Ahramat, which is Arabic for pyramids. Ancient Egyptians likely used the now-extinct Ahramat Branch to build many pyramids. Eman Ghoneim et alThe ancient waterway would have been about 0.5 kilometers wide (about one-third of a mile) with a depth of at least 25 meters (82 feet) — similar to the contemporary Nile, Ghoneim said. Most likely, a period of drought and desertification swept sand into the region, silting up the river, Ghoneim said.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Ghoneim, ” Ghoneim, Nick Marriner, ” Marriner Organizations: CNN, University of North, University of North Carolina Wilmington’s, Branch, National Science Foundation, French National Centre for Scientific Research Locations: Giza, University of North Carolina, Ahramat, Egypt, Paris

☆ Stone Age humans once sheltered in lava tube caves
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Beginning in the Stone Age, Neolithic herders descended into and occupied these vast tunnels, known as lava tubes, archaeologists have discovered. Umm Jirsan spans nearly 1 mile (1.5 kilometers), with passages that are up to 39 feet (12 meters) tall and as much as 148 feet (45 meters) wide. The researchers enter Umm Jirsan, the longest lava tube system in the region. Animal carvingsIn another tunnel near Umm Jirsan, the researchers found 16 panels of engraved rock art. “Collectively, the archaeological findings at the site and in the surrounding landscape paint a picture of recurrent use of the Umm Jirsan Lava Tube over millennia,” Stewart said.

Persons: Jirsan, haven’t, Umm, ”, Mathew Stewart, ” Stewart, Umm Jirsan, Guillaume Charloux, Charloux, Stewart, “, —, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN —, Australian Research Centre, Griffith University, CNN, Umm, French National Centre for Scientific Research, ’, Saudi Geological Survey, Arabia, Scientific Locations: Medina, Saudi Arabia, Umm Jirsan, Australia, Arabia, Asia

☆ Flowers are evolving in ways that could spell further trouble for the planet’s pollinators
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ayurella Horn-Muller | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The pansies of the past self-fertilized less and attracted far more pollinators than those of the present, according to the study. The changes could constrain the plants’ ability to adapt to future environmental changes and have implications for “all of floral biodiversity” — potentially diminishing flowering plants’ genetic, species and ecosystem variation. “This may increase the pollinator decline and cause a vicious feedback cycle,” study coauthor Pierre-Olivier Cheptou told CNN. Meanwhile, the “resurrected” flowers’ surfaces were 10% bigger, produced 20% more nectar and were frequented by more bumblebees than their modern counterparts. “(The study) is a really important demonstration of the tight linkages between plant and pollinator communities,” LeBuhn said.

Persons: Samson Acoca, ”, Pierre, Olivier Cheptou, Viola arvensis, Pidolle, ” isn’t, Gretchen LeBuhn, LeBuhn, ” LeBuhn, don’t, “, Ayurella, Muller Organizations: CNN, University of Montpellier, French National Centre for Scientific Research, San Francisco State University, Climate Central Locations: France, Paris, heterozygosity, Axios, ”

☆ Remnants of life in ancient rocks reveal Earth had a rich ecosystem 3.4 billion years ago
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists have managed to extract evidence from an ancient fossil of early life on Earth. Studying these samples can reveal clues about life on Earth over 3.4 billion years ago. Life on Earth more than 3 billion years agoScientists think that life on Earth began around 4.3 billion years ago, but tracking down evidence dating back to that time is a difficult task. Still, by drilling straight into ancient rock, scientists have found peculiar, carbon-rich layers in several cores taken from around the world. And what they've found is that Earth was already teaming with life more than three billion years ago.

Persons: Frances Westall, Reinhardt, et, it's, Westall Organizations: Service, University of Göttingen, French National Centre for Scientific Research, New, Google, Research Locations: South Africa, Germany, Pilbara, Australia

☆ The James Webb Space Telescope found a molecular building block of life hiding in the Orion Nebula
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The James Webb Space Telescope detected a key carbon molecule in space for the first time ever. The methyl cation, or CH3 + , molecule was found in a young star system in the Orion Nebula. Scientists have theorized that methyl cation could lay the foundations for organic chemistry, and possibly life, across the universe. "We can only now prove its existence thanks to the awesome capabilities of the James Webb telescope. Webb's sensitivity to light helps it detect new moleculesAn artist's impression of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Persons: James Webb, —, Eric Teske, — Webb, Els Peeters, Webb, Marie, Aline Martin, wouldn't, Olivier Berné Organizations: Orion, Service, Western University, James Webb Space Telescope, NASA, Hubble, University of Paris, ESA, CSA, French National Centre for Scientific Research Locations: Toulouse

☆ Webb telescope detects crucial molecule in space for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Astronomers have detected a crucial carbon molecule in space for the first time using the James Webb Space Telescope. Methyl cation is considered a key component that helps form more complex carbon-based molecules. The space observatory detected methyl cation in a protoplanetary disk, called d203-506, swirling around a young red dwarf star. ESA/Webb/NASA/CSAWhile methyl cation doesn’t react efficiently with hydrogen, the most abundant molecule in the universe, it reacts well with a wide range of other molecules. But methyl cation wasn’t detected in space until now.

Persons: James Webb, Webb, ”, Marie, Aline Martin, Olivier Berné Organizations: CNN —, James Webb Space Telescope, Orion, NASA, ESA, Webb, Orion Nebula, University of Paris, Saclay’s, Molecular Sciences, Orsay, French National Centre for Scientific Research Locations: France, Toulouse

☆ Carnivorous Plants Use a Smelly Trick to Catch Their Prey
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Veronique Greenwood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pitcher plants supplement their diets with this one strange trick: eating flesh. Usually found growing in relatively poor soil, the plants sprout pitcher-shaped cups with pretty, frilly tops that obscure their true purpose: trapping hapless insects. Look inside the pitchers and you’ll find the half-digested bodies of the plants’ victims. While studies suggest that the plants’ colors and its nectar may attract prey, some scientists think pitchers’ scent may play a role as well. Humans tend to describe a pitcher plants’ scent as floral or herbal, said Laurence Gaume, a scientist the French National Centre for Scientific Research and an author of the new paper.

☆ Carnivorous plants may lure their insect prey with specialized scents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Sarracenia pitcher plants, found in bogs throughout eastern North America, look like trumpet-shaped flowers, often in purplish or reddish hues. Different kinds of Sarracenia pitcher plants tend to eat different kinds of insects — some species trap more ants, while others feast on bees and moths. But recently opened pitcher plants that don’t stink of rotting bug carcasses provide an opportunity to identify the scents, she explained. The biggest challenge with the study, honestly, is that they did it in France,” rather than in the Sarracenia pitcher plants’ native North American bogs. It’s important to study pitcher plants due to the unique role they play in their increasingly fragile ecosystems, he added.

☆ An unexpected force may be speeding up glacier melt across the globe: colorful algae blooms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Now he sees bright pink and red algae blooms every year. Dr. Matt DaveyScientists like Maréchal think these algae blooms are getting larger and more frequent as rising global temperatures melt glaciers worldwide. Glacier algae seems to be booming, but scientists have a lot to learnResearcher Matt Davey samples snow algae at Lagoon Island, Antarctica. Ice algae and snow algae are different types of microorganisms, and different fields of study, but they both affect glaciers. A strip of "blood snow" filled with red algae cuts across a dark bloom of purple algae in Greenland.

☆ Forget what you learned in school — the brain might not work in 'regions' after all
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

NetflixWhite matter ruling how we think and feelBrains are made up of two types of material: white matter and gray matter. The new model from Forkel and her colleagues changes that, giving white matter a much bigger role. One example of how white matter connects unexpected regions of the brain is the incredible injury of a railway worker 150 years ago. White matter may organize the regionsIt's also possible that it is the white matter that directs which region does what in the gray matter, rather than the other way around. This analysis suggests that these studies will have to be rethought to look at the brain as a whole.

☆ Side-by-side photos of the Orion Nebula show how powerful Webb's infrared cameras are. They spot star-forming clouds and gas cocoons Hubble can't see.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Astronomers released a new image of the Orion Nebula on Monday from the James Webb Space Telescope. "We are blown away by the breathtaking images of the Orion Nebula. The Orion Nebula is a massive star-forming region 1,350 light-years from Earth, making it the nearest stellar nursery to us. Webb spots previously hidden star-forming threadsHubble's image, left, and Webb's image, right of the Orion Nebula. The Orion Nebula is similar to the environment our solar system was born in, Habart added, so studying it could be key to understanding our solar system.

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