Cosmic Ray Discovery Suggests Extraterrestrial Life May Exist in “More Places Than We Ever Imagined”
Cosmic rays may be enough to nourish exterrestrial life residing underground in our solar system offering to broaden the search.
Ryan Whalen
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.
Meet Aeneas, the AI Archaeologist That Can Date and Decode Ancient Latin Inscriptions—But Don’t Fire Historians Yet
A new AI model, Aeneas, can not only estimate origins and dates for ancient Latin texts, but accurately restore lost words say developers.
A Radical New Theory Has Scientists Rethinking the Origins of the Universe
A radical new model of the universe redefines the first few moments of existence, reducing reliance on theoretical concepts.
“I’m Stunned and Flabbergasted”: Scientists Were “Blown Away” By a Rare Fossil Discovery Challenging Past Thinking on Pre-Dinosaur Evolution
A newly discovered prehistoric reptile, Mirasaura grauvogeli, was found to have unusual structures similar to feathers.
NASA’s “Hail Mary” Moment: Incredible Deep Space Surgery Saves JunoCam from Jupiter’s Fierce Radiation Fields
NASA successfully completed a rescue mission to save the JunoCam camera on the Juno spacecraft, only recently revealed.
“It was Literally Hiding in Plain Sight”: Fossil Forgotten in a Harvard Museum Reveals Secrets of Early Evolution
When a string of misidentifications ended, a fossil sat in a drawer at Harvard for a century until its significance was recently discovered.
Lunar Landings Leave a Mark—Engineers Solve a Decades-Old Mystery, Enabling Safer Touchdowns on the Moon
Researchers have identified the phenomenon behind dust streaks from lunar landings, offering insights crucial for safely operating future Moon bases.
Astronomers Reveal Betelgeuse Has an Elusive Stellar Companion Linked to Star’s Curious Brightness Cycle
Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star closest to Earth, has finally been proven to have a companion star in observations from NASA scientists.
Look: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Just Had Its Closest-Ever Encounter with the Sun, and Has Historic Pictures to Prove It
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has proven to be an essential tool in understanding space weather, a major potential hazard to life on Earth.
“A Transformative Leap in Brain Imaging”: Innovative MRI System May Produce First Full Brain Connection Map
A new brain imaging system, Connectome 2.0, is far outperforming traditional MRIs in imaging microscopic brain structure disruptions.
“Everything is Unusual About This Galaxy”: James Webb Space Telescope Uncovers Strangely Shaped ‘Infinity Galaxy’
The Infinity Galaxy is a recent discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope’s COSMOS-Web survey, found in archival data.
Shrouded in Mystery, Ancient Rock Carvings Offer New Insights into Egypt’s Enigmatic First Dynasty
A piece of ancient Egyptian petroglyph dating back to the First Dynasty offers new insights into the origins of the state.
“It Could Tell Us the Story of Many Other Solar Systems”: Doomed Exoplanet May Change Our Understanding of Planetary Evolution
On a collision course with its star, the Jupiter-like exoplanet TOI-2109b has astronomers keenly observing its unusual orbital decay.
Chang’e-6 Returns First Samples from Far Side of the Moon, Revealing Deep Lunar Secrets
Earth’s Moon always presents us on the surface with the same face, yet its mysterious far side features many significant differences.
Gravitational Waves Unveil Record-Breaking Black Hole Merger, Challenging Existing Models
The most massive gravitationally detected black hole merger to date has been observed by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration.
Astronomers Detect a Mysterious Giant and “Hidden Substructures” Lurking in the Haze Around a Young Star
Shrouded by a swirl of gas and dust, a gas giant, roughly three to ten times the size of Jupiter, was found in a new exoplanet discovery.
New Simulations Reveal Dozens of Hidden Galaxies Orbiting the Milky Way
There may be many more satellite galaxies in the Milky Way than have been observed, according to new Durham University simulations.
A Forgotten Martian Landscape May Hold the Key to Ancient Water on the Red Planet
New evidence for past water on Mars was revealed in research identifying over 15,000 kilometers of dry riverbeds on the Martian surface.
Have Astronomers Found Signs of Life in Venus’s Atmosphere? UK-led VERVE Mission Aims to Investigate
The VERVE mission seeks to investigate the presence of bacterial life floating in the heavy cloud cover on Venus up close.
Scientists Are Engineering “Moon Rice” for Space Missions That Could Also Feed Earth’s Harshest Habitats
Moon habitation and missions to Mars face resupply challenges, which the Italian Moon-Rice project aims to solve with a bioengineered crop.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Just Solved a Key Mystery Behind the Sun’s Superheated Corona
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has collected data that evidences the theoretical “helicity barrier,” where turbulent dissipation behaves strangely.
“Can They Really Do That?” Discovery of New Light-Sensitive “Cryorhodopsin” Proteins Could Revolutionize Neuroscience
A protein called cryorhodopsin, a molecule found in the coldest environments on Earth, may hold the key to manipulating human brain activity.
‘CosmoCube’ Spacecraft Plans to Listen for Whispers from the Cosmic Dark Ages on the Far Side of the Moon
A proposed satellite mission aims to orbit the far side of the Moon to detect faint radio signals from the universe’s cosmic Dark Ages.
“Something Unknown Is at Work” Behind NASA’s DART Planetary Defense Mission—and Astronomers Are Worried
Planetary defense scientists say NASA’s DART asteroid redirection mission sent space rocks hurtling on unexpected trajectories.
“E-MERLIN is Showing What’s Possible”: UK Telescope Array Captures a Rare Look at Protoplanetary “Pebbles”
New observations from England’s e-MERLIN interferometer telescope array display cosmic pebbles that will one day grow into entire exoplanets.
Theoretical “Dark Dwarfs” Lurking Near the Galactic Center Could Help Reveal Dark Matter’s Secrets
Dark dwarfs, stars composed of dark matter, may be the optimal objects in which to finally discover physical dark matter in the real world.
NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Begins Its Groundbreaking Mission to Share All-Sky Mapping Data with the Public
NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has settled into low-Earth orbit, providing a wellspring of publicly available space data.
Discovery of Wooden Pleistocene Tools Demonstrates Earliest Recorded Complex Technology in East Asia
Pleistocene tools uncovered from the Gantangqing site in China are the oldest complex wooden technology ever discovered in East Asia.
Groundbreaking New AI Trained on Psychology Studies Can Predict Human Behavior with Stunning Accuracy
The new Centaur artificial intelligence (AI) demonstrates an ability to predict human behavior, with an accuracy exceeding any other model.
“There is a Warning Here”: Permian-Triassic Extinction Reveals the Devastation of a Climate Tipping Point
An ancient climate tipping point is revealed in new fossils dating back to Earth’s most severe extinction event, called the “Great Dying.”
Researchers Have Cracked the 4,500-Year-Old Genome of a Mummy From Egypt’s First Pyramid Age
An Egyptian genome has finally been unraveled, thanks to a sample from an at least 4,500 year-old mummy dating back to the pyramids.
“I Literally Screamed with Joy”: In a Rare Stellar Discovery, Kilonova Project Citizen Scientists Have Made a Breakthrough
Citizen scientists working with the Kilonova Project made their first confirmed discovery of a rare exploding star, enabling rapid follow-up observations by astronomers.
Is Cosmic Expansion Losing Steam? Scientists Say Dark Energy’s Grip May Be Weakening
Scientists say the dark energy in our universe may be losing its power over time, leading to a slowdown in universal expansion.
A Mysterious Eruption Caused an Extreme Climate Event in 1831. Now Scientists Have Traced It to a Former Secret Soviet Island Base
In 1831, a mystery eruption occurred, causing a 1°C drop in global temperatures only recently identified in a paper by scientists.
Controversial ‘Synthetic Human Genome Project’ Spurs Debate Over Ethics of Building Human DNA from Scratch
The Synthetic Human Genome Project is working to build synthetic human DNA but who is asking how this science will impact society?
NASA’s Mars Orbiter Debuts Rolling Maneuvers, Proving You Can Teach an Old Spacecraft New Tricks
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is still doing fresh things, even after close to two decades of service, shown by a new roll maneuver.
Honda Enters the Space Race as New Challenger to SpaceX With Its Successful Reusable Rocket Test
Japan’s Honda is giving American SpaceX new competition in the reusable rocket field with its recent successful test on June 17 in Hokkaido.
Rethinking the Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Scientists Urge Broader Search as Exoplanet Discoveries Multiply
New research says that the search for extraterrestrial life may be too narrow, as life could thrive in conditions far different from Earth's.
4.16-Billion-Year-Old Rocks Offer Scientists a Rare Glimpse of Earth’s Earliest Years
Rocks dating back to the Earth’s Hadean Eon have finally had their antiquity confirmed as stretching back at least 4.16 billion years.
Archaeologists Throw Cold Water on Media Claims of Neolithic Irish God-Kings
Reports of Neolithic Irish god-kings are lacking in evidence, say researchers questioning earlier assertions.
Is Earth Forming a New Ocean? Scientists Report Odd Pulses Coming From Deep Below the African Continent
Tectonic pulses beneath Africa are splitting the continent apart to produce a new ocean, according to University of Southampton scientists.
“You Need H2O and Not Just for Drinking”: Research Suggests an Icy Location for First Crewed Mars Landing
With crewed missions to the Red Planet becoming a realistic possibility for the 2030s, researchers have begun the search for an ideal Mars landing site.
Construction on Mars: NASA Suggests a Synthetic Lichen to Autonomously Convert Regolith into Building Material
On a future crewed Mars mission, explorers may grow their own building materials directly on the Red Planet.
In the Search for Alien Signals, the SETI Institute is Partnering with SpaceX to Mitigate Satellite Interference
Starlink satellites can interfere with the signals the SETI monitors, but a new collaboration aims to halt the potential contamination.
NASA Study Links Earth’s Magnetic Field to Atmospheric Oxygen Over 540 Million Years
New NASA research demonstrates that 540 million years of Earth’s magnetic field changes have corresponded to surface habitability.
ESA Launches Plans for Triple-Spacecraft Mission Using Laser Antenna to “Surf Gravitational Waves”
The European Space Agency’s Laser Interferometer Antenna will be the first space-based observatory designed to study gravitational waves.
Astronomers Say This Ancient Radio Signal Could Reveal New Clues About Mysterious “Cosmic Dawn”
An ancient radio signal generated a soon after the Big Bang, may be the key to understanding the Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization.
X-Ray Telescopes Reveal 23-Million-Light-Year Filament That May Help Solve “Missing Matter” Mystery
A potential solution to the decades-long “missing matter” problem has been uncovered in astronomers' recent analysis of X-ray data.
The Sculptor Galaxy is Detailed in Unprecedented Imagery Combining Over 100 Telescope Observations
The entire Sculptor Galaxy is displayed in thousands of colors observed by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.
“Crazy Experiment” Yields Mice With Human Cells in Multiple Organs
Human-mouse chimeras have been created in recent American research, producing mouse intestines, livers, and even brains with human cells.