The world’s deadliest mushroom has been invading California by cloning itself, new research finds. The poisonous “death cap” mushroom (Amanita phalloides) is an invasive fungus whose fatal amatoxin accounts for more than 90% of deaths from mushrooms worldwide, but how it spread from its European origins to colonize every continent except Antarctica has long been … Read more
The elusive “Planet Nine,” which may or may not lurk in the outer reaches of the solar system, could be surrounded by a small swarm of potential moons, a new study reveals. What’s more, these moons could be the key to finding the missing planet. Planet Nine, if it exists, lurks beyond the orbit of … Read more
Astronomers have discovered an entirely new ring system within the solar system, and it’s located at such a great distance from its dwarf planet parent that it should be impossible. The ring surrounds Quaoar, which is around half the size of Pluto and located beyond Neptune. It is only the third ring to be found … Read more
Ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves could help reveal the secrets at the dawn of time, just moments after the Big Bang, new research suggests. And physicists say they can learn more about these primeval gravitational waves using nuclear fusion reactors here on Earth. In a new study, physicists used equations that govern how … Read more
Archaeologists in Italy are uncovering a 1,600-year-old burial ground containing the remains of infants, children and sacrificed puppies. Some of the burials have unusual features — such as a child buried with a block in their mouth, which suggests that people were afraid that they could become “revenants” — corpses revived after death, archaeologists said. … Read more
Astronomers have finally weighed an isolated white dwarf, or the shriveled husk of a dead star, using a strange phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity decades ago. The findings confirm astronomers’ predictions about how massive white dwarfs can be, and may help explain the strange, ultra-dense matter that makes up these stellar leftovers. In … Read more
The Egyptian pyramids erupting from the sands at Giza are a testament to human ingenuity and engineering. Raised to mark the tombs of ancient pharaohs, these great structures have stood for thousands of years. But over the millennia, the pyramids have changed, largely due to construction workers’ repurposing of in-demand materials and looting. So what … Read more
For the first time, scientists have discovered a double-star system that is doomed to explode in a fiery “kilonova,” a precious-metal-creating blast caused by the merger of two stellar corpses. The kilonova — which will send gold, silver, platinum and other new heavy elements careening into space — won’t happen for millions of years. But … Read more
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery Reviewer: Scott Get It On Amazon About The Book On the 3rd Orbital Anniversary, a mining ship vanished, never to be heard from again. Twelve years later, Special Agent Evelyn Carlisle finds herself on the cusp of discovering what happened to it – if she can get the crew of the Galilean … Read more
The moon exerts a previously unknown tidal force on the “plasma ocean” surrounding Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating fluctuations that are similar to the tides in the oceans, a new study suggests. In the study, published Jan. 26 in the journal Nature Physics, scientists used more than 40 years of data collected by satellites to track … Read more
