Lifeboat Foundation

All kinds of fascinating discoveries are likely lying in wait for us in the deep sea. Now scientists have pulled a new monster out of the waters off the coast of Indonesia. The creature is a new species of “supergiant” isopod, a huge marine relative of the common pillbug.

The discovery was made during the South Java Deep Sea Biodiversity Expedition 2018 (SJADES 2018). At depths between 950 and 1,260 m (3,115 and 4,135 ft), the team found two specimens of giant isopods that were soon determined to belong to a new species.

Named Bathynomus raksasa, the holotype, or physical specimen that serves as the basis for the description and name of the new species, is a male that was measured to be 36.3 cm (14.3 in) long, which puts it among the largest giant isopods ever found. The second specimen was a female measuring 29.8 cm (11.7 in). Along with being bigger on average, the team noted other differences when compared to the closest known species, Bathynomus giganteus, including smoother “skin” and different body proportions and shapes.

Steve Rowland, paleontologist and professor of Geology at UNLV, discusses the Ice Age fossils recently extracted from Carson City, at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum in Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020.

August 14, 2020 — 5:22 pm August 14, 2020 — 9:07 pm.

The Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong have been the targets of alleged Chinese state-backed hackers, it has emerged, just weeks before talks intended to improve relations between the two sides.

According to the U.S.-based cyber attack monitoring group Recorded Future, RedDelta, allegedly backed by the Chinese state, began attacking the Vatican in May ahead of upcoming talks in September to renew a landmark 2018 deal that helped thaw diplomatic relations.

Recorded Future said that the Hong Kong Study Mission to China — a key link between the Vatican and China — and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions also were targeted.

Great interview with Villanova University astronomer Ed Guinan, who explains today’s news of the latest paper on why Betelgeuse experienced such a deep dimming this past Fall and Winter. We cover a lot of territory from how Gene Roddenberry chose the name Guinan for the Whoopi Goldberg character on Star Trek’s Next Generation to the history behind the pole star’s mysterious brightening; to the Dog Star Sirius; to why life might still be possible around red dwarfs; to our Sun’s longterm future. Please listen!

In a stroke of serendipity during a wide-ranging podcast interview, Villanova University astronomer Edward Guinan explains the paper behind today’s news flap about the red supergiant star’s inexplicable dimming. The most recent explanation is that dust generated from cooling plasma spewed forth from the massive star’s interior caused Betelgeuse to appear more dim than usual. While Guinan acknowledges this scenario is a possibility, he remains skeptical. Please listen to this candid and entertaining episode!

Continue reading “Episode 11 --- Betelgeuse Dimming Mystery Might Be Solved, Says Edward Guinan” »

Aguas Zarcas, a space rock that crashed last year in a Costa Rican rainforest, has captivated researchers and collectors.

After recalling more than 100 hand sanitizers that contain methanol, the FDA introduces a new toxin (1-propanol) that can depress the central nervous system if wrongfully ingested.

Scientists at Stockholm University have discovered that water can exhibit a similar behavior to that of a liquid crystal when illuminated with laser light. This effect originates by the alignment of water molecules, which exhibit a mixture of low- and high-density domains that are more or less prone to alignment. The results, reported in Physics Review Letters, are based on a combination of experimental studies using X-ray lasers and molecular simulations.

Liquid crystals were considered a mere scientific curiosity when they were first discovered in 1888. Over 100 years later, they are one of the most widely used technologies, present in digital displays (LCDs) of watches, TVs and computer screens. Liquid crystals work by applying an electric field, which makes the neighboring molecules of a liquid align, in a way that resembles a crystal. Water too can be distorted towards a liquid crystal, when illuminated with laser light. It is known that the electric field of the laser can align the water molecules for less than a billionth of a second. Can this discovery have future technological applications?

An international team of researchers at the Physics Department of Stockholm University carried out experiments at Japan’s X-ray Free-electron laser SACLA and probed for the first time the dynamics of transiently oriented molecules using X-ray pulses. This technique, relies on aligning the molecules with a laser pulse (with wavelength λ = 800 nm) and probing the alignment with X-ray pulses, which allow to see in real time the changes in the structure on a molecular level. By varying the time between the laser and the X-ray pulses, the researchers were able to resolve the aligned state, which lives only for 160 fs.

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Scientists have discovered what they believe to be a new species of theropod dinosaur — making it a close relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex. A group of researchers said they recently uncovered rare bones in the U.K. that appear to be related to the iconic species.

Paleontologists at the University of Southampton said they recently analyzed four bones on the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of mainland England. The bones are from the neck, back and tail of the new dinosaur, named Vectaerovenator inopinatus.

Continue reading “New dinosaur closely related to the Tyrannosaurus rex discovered in England” »