Ryan Whalen

“It Does Not Fit Into Any of Our Existing Models”: The Longest Gamma-Ray Burst Ever Seen is Upending Our Ideas on High-Energy Cosmic Events

Ryan Whalen·December 10, 2025

The longest gamma-ray burst ever observed has UNC Chapel Hill astronomers questioning the very nature of these cosmic explosions.

“Cosmology as We Know It May Be Broken”: New Confirmation of the Hubble Tension Challenges Existing Models

Ryan Whalen·December 10, 2025

New measurements by astronomers have strengthened the Hubble tension, involving discrepancies between the expansion rate of the universe.

X-Ray Data Reveals Powerful ‘UFO’ Winds Generated in Record-Breaking Black Hole Event 

Ryan Whalen·December 10, 2025

Record-breaking ultrafast outflow (UFO) winds from a supermassive black hole flung matter across the universe close to the speed of light.

Is TRAPPIST-1e Really Habitable? New Study Suggests This Promising Candidate for Life May Be Something Else Entirely

Ryan Whalen·December 8, 2025

TRAPPIST-1e may be the long-sought-after habitable, Earth-like exoplanet astronomers have been looking for in the search for ET.

“We Need to Rethink What’s Possible:” This “Fire Amoeba” Proves Complex Life Can Survive New Extremes

Ryan Whalen·December 6, 2025

Scientists have discovered a “fire amoeba” capable of surviving temperatures typically impossible for complex life.

James Webb Space Telescope Discovery Reveals the Milky Way Has a Distant Twin That Shouldn’t Exist

Ryan Whalen·December 5, 2025

New James Webb Space Telescope observations have revealed a galaxy that shouldn’t exist, a complex spiral galaxy named Alaknanda.

A Razor Thin Spinning Filament of Galaxies and Dark Matter Provides New Insights Into Galactic Evolution

Ryan Whalen·December 5, 2025

A razor-thin cosmic filament is one of the largest rotating structures ever found, with implications for early galaxy formation.

The Oldest Known Eclipse Record is Shedding Light on Early Celestial Mysteries, Revealing the Location of a Misplaced Ancient Chinese City

Ryan Whalen·December 4, 2025

Using ancient Chinese eclipse records, scientists have calculated the Earth’s variable rotational speed back to the year 709 BCE.

Martian Colonies Could Be Built by Living Microbes That Produce Concrete Under Extreme Conditions, Scientists Say

Ryan Whalen·December 3, 2025

Future Mars astronauts may use microbial life to produce the building materials for a permanent human colony on the Red Planet.

A Mysterious Ring of Ancient Pits Near Stonehenge Provides New Clues About Life in Neolithic Britain

Ryan Whalen·December 3, 2025

Archaeologists say they have solved the riddle of a mysterious hidden ring of pits discovered near Stonehenge.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Hears the Crack of Martian Lightning, Providing the First Glimpse into the Red Planet’s Atmospheric Electricity

Ryan Whalen·December 2, 2025

New evidence of electrical phenomena in the Martian atmosphere could expand our understanding of the Red Planet's chemistry, climate, and habitability.

Scholars Investigated 13th-Century Texts for Clues to India’s Environmental Past—What They Found Was Unexpected

Ryan Whalen·December 1, 2025

India’s tales from long ago are helping scholars piece together the flora and foliage that once covered the country’s present-day savannas.

The Hidden Oceans of Saturn and Jupiter’s Icy Moons May Have Shaped Their Surface Features, Study Reveals

Ryan Whalen·November 29, 2025

New research now shows how icy moons hidden subsurface oceans may have driven their geological development.

“No One Has Really Gone Back and Looked at What the Bones Themselves Say”: New Research is Shedding Light on an Ancient Sea Monster

Ryan Whalen·November 29, 2025

Ohio’s ancient sea monster, the Dunkleosteus terrelli, stands revealed in new clarity after a recent study.

Psychologists Report that Just Seeing Batman is Enough to Drive Prosocial Behaviors

Ryan Whalen·November 28, 2025

Seeing Batman inspires us, say psychologists whose new research suggests that it increases people's propensity toward prosocial behaviors.

NASA’s Voyager 1 Probe Will Reach One ‘Light Day’ from Earth Next Year, Marking Humanity’s Deepest Foray into the Cosmos

Ryan Whalen·November 27, 2025

NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe will continue its almost half-century of service by delivering yet another milestone.

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope Detects Possible First Direct Evidence of Dark Matter

Ryan Whalen·November 26, 2025

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope may have detected the first direct evidence for dark matter, according to new research.

An Ancient Celtic Skull Discovered in Spain Reveals a Tale of Brutal Roman Intimidation Tactics

Ryan Whalen·November 26, 2025

Roman soldiers decapitated an enemy and placed his skull on the wall of their fort, to be found 2,000 years later by archaeologists.

Scientists Revisiting the ‘Faraday Effect’ Have Uncovered a Surprising Magnetic Interaction Between Light and Matter

Ryan Whalen·November 25, 2025

New research reveals light's magnetic field directly influences matter, causing scientists to rethink the 'Faraday Effect.'

X-Ray Imaging Uncovers Hidden Structures in Liquid-Metal-Grown Crystals

Ryan Whalen·November 25, 2025

The delicate internal structure of platinum crystals growing in liquid metal has been revealed, according to new research employing a powerful X-ray technique.

“There’s an Operating System that Exists, that Emerges in a Primordial State”: New Research Reveals Our Brain’s “Preset” Conditions

Ryan Whalen·November 24, 2025

New models show that our brains are "pre-wired," and that electrical activity begins even before any external experiences occur.

Scientists Reveal How Severely a Geomagnetic Superstorm Erodes Earth’s Protection from Dangerous Space Radiation

Ryan Whalen·November 22, 2025

Researchers have now measured how violent space weather events called geomagnetic superstorms disrupt the Earth’s protective plasmasphere.

James Webb Space Telescope Captures Stunning Images of “Repetitive, Predictable Structures” in a Rare Star System

Ryan Whalen·November 21, 2025

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first-ever image of four dust spirals surrounding the Wolf-Rayet stars in the Apep system.

The Origins of Theia, the Cosmic Impactor that Violently Birthed the Moon, Has Finally Been Revealed

Ryan Whalen·November 21, 2025

New research reveals that Theia, the colossal, Mars-sized impactor that collided with the Earth to birth our Moon, may have come from the direction of the Sun.

A Strange Rock Discovered on the Martian Surface May Be a Visitor From Outer Space

Ryan Whalen·November 20, 2025

3I/Atlas isn’t the only unusual space rock to be spotted recently, as NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover has spotted a possible meteorite.

Mysterious Magnetic Fossils Left Behind by An Unknown Ancient Creature Offer Clues to the Origins of Nature’s “Sixth Sense”

Ryan Whalen·November 19, 2025

Ninety-seven-million-year-old magnetic fossils, left behind in sea beds by an unknown creature, may have been a biological GPS.

Astronomers Have Observed the First Coronal Mass Ejection Outside Of Our Solar System, Spelling Bad News for Exoplanet Habitability

Ryan Whalen·November 16, 2025

For the first time, astronomers have spotted a coronal mass ejection exploding from a star other than our Sun.

Forget Drop Bears, Ancient Australia’s Real Life “Drop Croc” Ambushed Its Prey from Above

Ryan Whalen·November 15, 2025

Australia may be known for its tourist myth of the drop bear, but researchers have now uncovered the remains of a real-life “drop croc.”

Scientists Confirm Discovery of Massive Crater in China, Revealing Scale of Ancient Impacts Was “Far Greater than Previously Recorded”

Ryan Whalen·November 15, 2025

A recently discovered impact crater in China is among the best-preserved ever found, offering insight into how space rocks shaped our planet.

“Our Current Models Are Being Put to the Test”: Researchers Say Our Solar System is Moving Impossibly Fast

Ryan Whalen·November 14, 2025

Our solar system appears to be breaking the cosmic speed limit, casting fresh doubt on the Standard Model of Cosmology.

“Practical Large-Scale Quantum Computation” Could Be on the Horizon as Researchers Solve Problematic Error Rate

Ryan Whalen·November 14, 2025

The long-standing issue holding back quantum computing, its high propensity for errors, may finally be in the past.

“A New Window into the Hidden Architecture of Our Galaxy”: Astronomers Discover Lost Stars Concealed Among the ‘Seven Sisters’ of the Pleiades

Ryan Whalen·November 13, 2025

The “Seven Sisters” of the Pleiades are among the most visible stars from Earth, but new research says the cluster is larger than suspected.

“Alarm Bells Went Off”: New Research Takes a Critical Look at the Landmark UFO Cult Study ‘When Prophecy Fails’

Ryan Whalen·November 13, 2025

New research reexamines 'When Prophecy Fails,' the classic study of an American UFO cult, raising new questions about the work's claims.

Musically Inspired Time-Rondeau Crystal Breakthrough Promises Quantum Technology That Stores Data Within Time Itself

Ryan Whalen·November 12, 2025

Researchers at UC Berkeley have observed a time-rondeau crystal, where long-term temporal order coexists with short-term disorder.

“Tectonics, Climate, and Life Co-Evolved Through Deep Time”: How a Supercontinent Breakup Produced All Complex Life on Earth

Ryan Whalen·November 12, 2025

All complex life on Earth may be the result of plate tectonics tearing apart the ancient supercontinent Nuna 1.5 billion years ago.

Satellite Communications Breakthrough Could Pave the Way Toward ‘Quantum Energy’

Ryan Whalen·November 11, 2025

Researchers say once-impossible Earth-to-space quantum light transmissions are now a reality, paving the way toward ultra-secure satellite communications.

Scientists Discover Extremophiles Thriving in Blue ‘Volcanic Goo’ Deep in the Ocean

Ryan Whalen·November 11, 2025

New research reveals that in some of the most inhospitable parts of the ocean depths, a blue volcanic mud contains evidence of extremophiles.

This Unexpectedly Massive Ancient Mayan Settlement May Have Been a “Cosmogram” Map of the Universe

Ryan Whalen·November 8, 2025

An ancient Mayan monument found at Mexico’s Aguada Fénix site in 2020 has now been revealed by archaeologists as a cosmogram.

Fortune Favors the Aggressor: Research Says World Superpowers are Vulnerable to Cyber Warfare Attacks from Smaller Nations

Ryan Whalen·November 7, 2025

In the wake of increasing state-directed cyberattacks, researchers have developed a model of cyber warfare that yields surprising conclusions.

“Magic-Angle” Graphene Superconductor Research May Herald “The Holy Grail of the Entire Field”

Ryan Whalen·November 7, 2025

With a “magic-angle,” MIT researchers have discovered a new path to possible room temperature superconductivity.

Could Dark Matter Be Under the Influence of a Mysterious “Fifth Force”?

Ryan Whalen·November 6, 2025

New research finally answers whether hypothetical dark matter follows the same behavior as regular matter, a long-standing mystery.

5,000-Year-Old Discovery at Canaanite Cult Site Dubbed “One of Very Few Known from Such an Ancient Period”

Ryan Whalen·November 6, 2025

Artifacts uncovered near the Tel Megiddo archaeological site in Israel reveal an ancient Canaanite cult and its worship practices.

“Monster of the Earth”: Archaeologists Uncover Ceremonial Marker Revealing Royal Power at Maya Site

Ryan Whalen·November 5, 2025

Archaeologists have made a discovery offering new insights into the political power and religious symbolism of the Maya Late Classic period.

Colossal Biosciences Advances Its De-Extinction Efforts with Acquisition of Cloning Company Viagen

Ryan Whalen·November 4, 2025

Colossal Biosciences has expanded its efforts to save animals currently on the brink with its acquisition of the cloning company Viagen.

New Physics May Be Needed”: How a Gamma-Ray-Tracing Plasma Fireball Experiment at CERN Put Cracks in the Standard Model

Ryan Whalen·November 4, 2025

Researchers at CERN may be on the verge of explaining the universe’s missing gamma rays and hidden magnetic fields.

Scientists Map the Colors of Life to Hunt for Potential Biosignatures on Alien Worlds

Ryan Whalen·November 3, 2025

In the search for alien life, one Cornell researcher says color may be a telltale sign of biosignatures on far-off exoplanets.

Breakthrough Model Helps Scientists Identify Quantum ‘Doorway’ Needed for Electron Emission

Ryan Whalen·November 1, 2025

Researchers from TU Wien have calculated the precise mechanisms of electron emission through a quantum door.

Major Paleontology Shake-Up Reveals ‘Teenage T. rex’ Wasn’t a Teen at All, Flipping “Decades of T. rex Research on Its Head”

Ryan Whalen·October 31, 2025

A major shake-up in dinosaur paleontology reveals that what scientists have long called "Tyrannosaurus" is actually two species.

New Evidence Reveals Early Dark Energy May Have Had a Surprising Effect on Cosmic Expansion

Ryan Whalen·October 31, 2025

Very early dark energy (vEDE) may have accelerated the universe’s expansion just 380,000 years after the Big Bang, new research suggests.

Warwick Researcher Revives Century-Old Math to Help Model Dangerous Nanoparticles

Ryan Whalen·October 30, 2025

A University of Warwick researcher has developed a model for the movement of dangerous, irregularly shaped nanoparticles.