The moon is shrinking — also, moonquakes are a thing

A new NASA report shakes up lunar geology.

Image source: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
  • The moon is indeed shrinking. It has been since it formed.
  • The shrinking is producing thousands of fault lines.
  • Archived seismometer data from Apollo missions show moonquakes.
Keep reading Show less
cosmos nature planets discovery universe moon moonquakes astronomy geology
Surprising Science

Found in New Mexico: A tiny cousin of the T-Rex

A high-schooler's dig experience writes a new chapter in T-Rex history.

Image source: Artist's conception by Andrey Atuchin/Virginia Tech
  • The bones he found in New Mexico remained unidentified for 20 years.
  • Suskityrannus hazelae turns out to be a diminutive predecessor to the "king lizard."
  • The tiny terror is the ultimate "citizen scientist" victory.
Keep reading Show less
aleontology animals discovery evolution t-rex tyrannosaurus rex
Surprising Science

Objective reality may not exist, European researchers say

A new experiment shows that two observers can experience divergent realities (if they go subatomic).

Photo credit: Georgia O'Callaghan via Getty Images
  • In 1961, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Eugene Wigner proposed a thought experiment by which the reality of two observers can diverge by measuring a single photon.
  • Researchers recently tested Wigner's thought experiment and concluded that realities can be made irreconcilable.
  • Do these results put the entire scientific method at risk? Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Keep reading Show less
nobel prize science senses big problems physics discovery
Surprising Science

Researchers announce molecular surgery — no cutting, no scarring

Doctors may be able to painlessly reshape cartilage with the technique.

Photo credit: SHAH MARAI / AFP / Getty Images
  • The application of electrical current can temporarily soften cartilage, allowing it to be manipulated before re-hardening.
  • The technique promises to eliminate cutting, scarring, pain, and recovery time.
  • So far it's been tested on just one bunny who now has one straight ear and one bent one.
Keep reading Show less
microbiology discovery molecular biology chemistry electricity health molecular surgery cartilage medical research
Technology & Innovation

A new theory explains Jupiter’s perplexing origin

A new computer model solves a pair of Jovian riddles.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill)
  • Astronomers have wondered how a gas giant like Jupiter could sit in the middle of our solar system's planets.
  • Also unexplained has been the pair of asteroid clusters in front of and behind Jupiter in its orbit.
  • Putting the two questions together revealed the answer to both.
Keep reading Show less
astronomy discovery nasa universe planets asteroid jupiter trojans space
Surprising Science