Milky Way black hole’s missing wind finally found after a half-century-long search

According to theoretical physics and a long-accepted understanding of galaxies’ evolution, as black holes consume materials, they should produce wind or jets. Even a small amount of gas falling into a black hole should generate enough energy to push material outwards. Without wind, Sgr A* would be a unique outlier.

Understanding Earth’s hidden east-west symmetry could improve climate models

Earth is divided into two halves: the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Both reflect equal amounts of sunlight (albedo) even though they have different landmasses and weather patterns, especially cloud distribution. Why this is so is an ongoing mystery waiting to be solved.

Bees can use tools to solve problems

Insects join list of species capable of solving simple ‘box-and-banana’ problem that demonstrates basic intelligence

Local ‘Little Red Dots’ stay eerily steady for up to 15 years, puzzling astronomers

Astronomers have spent over a decade tracking a unique type of compact dwarf galaxy, which continues to surprise everyone. Known as the “Little Red Dots” for their small, red appearance, these local galaxies look much like the distant galaxies recently observed by the JWST. However, there’s a big puzzle.

How the Internet Crosses Oceans Without You Noticing

The ocean floor is home to some of the strangest creatures on Earth. But it’s also where your strangest TikToks go to reach Alaska, Hawaii or the other side of the planet. Most of the world’s international online traffic travels through cables lying at the bottom of the ocean.

== last I looked no one was sure how strong it would be
A very strong El Niño is approaching. Here’s what we can expect

El Niño is a recurring climate event with impacts across the globe. It has three phases: one cold (known as La Niña), one neutral, and one warm (El Niño).

== lengthy, a touch repetitive
Rising emissions, depleting water and vanishing land: AI is threatening natural resources for billions, say scientists

Inference, not training, drives most of AI’s energy use. Once a model is deployed, billions of daily user interactions consume an estimated 80% to 90% of its total energy. ChatGPT alone is estimated to process around 2.5 billion prompts per day.

Solar sails edge closer to reality, but interstellar travel is another story

From planetary rovers and asteroid sample return missions to the recent Artemis II flight above the far side of the moon, we are seemingly good at doing space. But our achievements still do not match many of our space dreams, science fiction or otherwise.

How honeybees really crown their queens

For generations, scientists believed a queen honeybee was made almost entirely by diet: feed an ordinary larva enough royal jelly and a ruler emerges. But new research suggests queens are created through a more elaborate process.

Genetically modified hookworms produce and deliver therapeutics

Hookworms, intestinal parasites that infect hundreds of millions of people in under-resourced tropical regions around the globe, have evolved to survive inside the human gut for years, secreting molecules that enable coexistence with their hosts.

How a Richard Feynman formula could explain your dining habits in a new city

One of the dilemmas facing anyone in a new and unfamiliar city is where to dine out. You might consult guides, speak to locals, check reviews, and ultimately, try your luck. But if you’re there for a while, at some point you’re going to be asking yourself whether to visit new eateries or stick to the ones you’ve already tried and liked.

Cutting a photon in two creates an infinite swarm of particles

By definition, elementary particles can’t be broken into smaller pieces. But in a new theoretical study a team of physicists have revealed what would happen if you tried anyway for a single photon.

A calmer, happier you? One everyday escape may hold the key

Mental health is an urgent global issue—more than 1 billion people worldwide live with anxiety, depression or related conditions. Nature-based interventions (NBIs) have emerged as a promising strategy. NBIs are simply activities in natural settings meant to boost mental (and physical) well-being.

When Earth went dark after Chicxulub, tiny ocean dwellers held the secret to survival

When a 10-kilometer asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, the planet was plunged into darkness—and about 75% of species vanished, including marine life.

Universal aging clock predicts death risk across multiple mammalian species

Aging involves the gradual accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage over time in the body, which can cause a decline in the function of biological processes, including those involved in growth and repair.

A giant star may have destroyed itself in one of the universe’s rarest explosions

Astronomers may have discovered one of the clearest examples yet of a rare “pair-instability” supernova. It is a catastrophic explosion thought to completely destroy some of the most massive stars in the universe, leaving behind no remnant.

A kohl bottle from York may hint at an ancient Egyptian in Roman-Britain

Ancient Egyptians are often depicted wearing black eyeliner, known as kohl, which was stored in small containers. While kohl containers are typically found throughout Egypt and Sudan (Nubia), their presence beyond these areas is limited to only a handful of examples.

Inside Europe’s largest Copper Age tomb, children’s bones expose an ancient health crisis

Nearly 5,000 years ago, respiratory infections, possibly including tuberculosis, were ravaging the children buried at Camino del Molino (CMOL), Spain. The massive circular burial cave carved into rock is Europe’s largest Copper Age mass burial, containing over 1,300 individuals, and has been the subject of years of excavation and analysis.

NASA’s Mars MAVEN probe is dead

The last time the agency heard from the probe was in December.

Trump Administration to Dismantle Ocean Monitoring System

In a notice, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it had “initiated descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative” (OOI), a vast ocean observation network comprising more than 900 instruments that collect data on ocean health, including current patterns, climate variability and marine biodiversity.

Can two hours of strength training a week reduce the risk of dying early?

Data gathered from decades-long studies suggested that carrying out regular resistance or weight training over an extended period can significantly lower the chance of death from heart disease and stroke.

= expect they are to be found in most of south western BC Virus detected in invasive mosquitoes found in B.C.’s Sea-to-Sky region

2 different mosquito species tested positive for California serogroup virus, which can cause encephalitis

Last-of-its-kind tree clinging to cliffside finds new hope at botanic gardens

Dendroseris neriifolia, a critically endangered tree endemic to Chile’s Juan Fernández Islands and reduced to a single wild individual, faces imminent extinction due to habitat loss, invasive species, and low seed viability.

NVIDIA Unveils New ARM-Based AI/Graphics Superchip Coming to Windows PCs and Laptops

Nvidia’s CEO unveiled a new ARM-based “N1X processor made alongside Microsoft that “will be incorporated into a new RTX Spark superchip, debuting in the fall on a fresh line of Windows PCs.

== thought we had something on this before, but couldn’t find anything obvious in last 4 lists
New Desalination System Turns Seawater Into Drinking Water and Useful Salts - Including Lithium

The technology uses solar panels made of black metal etched with femtosecond lasers to make the surface super light-absorbing and superwicking—or extremely attractive to water. The panels have a laser-treated active region that pulls a thin layer of water across the surface, absorbs nearly all solar radiation, distills the water.

Mars Minerals Reveals an Ancient Ocean’s Potential For Life - and a Possible Way to Make Oxygen

Past research has indicated Mars’s largest northern basin, Utopia Planitia, was once the location of a large body of water, but details surrounding when this body of water may have existed have not been resolved. Researchers have now identified a ring of minerals in the region that have helped them string together a timeline of what happened there.

Why does stress let your brain learn but prevent you from thinking logically?

The human brain is an incredible processor that can take existing knowledge, such as old memories and experiences, and weave it with newly acquired information to help us draw conclusions and make decisions crucial to navigating our everyday lives.

‘Shoot for the moon?’ Aim a bit lower, researchers say

How ambitious should you be? Folk wisdom offers conflicting advice: “Shoot for the moon,” but also, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Tardigrades reveal extreme heat-blocking survival trick while in tun state

Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are tiny eight-legged animals that can survive in extreme environments, where humans and most other animals would die. This resistance to extreme conditions, including intense heat, very high or low temperatures, radiation and low oxygen levels is called “extremotolerance.”