Astronomers marvel at ‘perfect explosion,’ a spherical cosmic fireball
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Astronomers have observed what might be the “perfect explosion,” a colossal and utterly spherical blast triggered by the merger of two very dense stellar…
Warm water melts weak spots on Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier’
By Cassandra Garrison MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Scientists studying Antarctica’s vast Thwaites Glacier – nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier – say warm water is seeping into its weak spots, worsening melting…
Call of the wild? Hungarian research explores why your dog is prone to howling
By Krisztina Fenyo BUDAPEST (Reuters) – When Hungarian animal behaviourist Fanni Lehoczki noticed the frequent howls of her Siberian husky “Bizsu” didn’t always provoke other dogs into a wolf-like response,…
‘Whodunit’ mystery arises over trove of prehistoric Kenyan stone tools
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have a mystery on their hands after the discovery of 330 stone tools about 2.9 million years old at a site in Kenya,…
Astronomers astonished by ring around frigid distant world Quaoar
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The small distant world called Quaoar, named after a god of creation in Native American mythology, is producing some surprises for astronomers as it…
Israeli scientists develop sniffing robot with locust antennae
By Rami Amichay TEL AVIV, Israel (Reuters) – A new sniffing robot equipped with a biological sensor that uses the antennae of locusts could help advance disease diagnosis and improve…
Iran behind hack of French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Microsoft says
By Zeba Siddiqui SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – An Iranian government-backed hacking team allegedly stole and leaked private customer data belonging to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, security researchers at Microsoft…
China’s 2022 smartphone shipments the lowest in 10 years
By Josh Horwitz SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China‘s smartphone sales fell 13% year-on-year in 2022, the largest plunge for the sector in a decade as consumers spent cautiously, market research firm…
As ‘skyglow’ grows, study documents glaring global light pollution
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Light pollution caused by the incessant nighttime glow of electric lights appears to be intensifying, according to research using observations from tens of thousands…
Move over Ben Franklin: Laser lightning rod electrifies scientists
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When Benjamin Franklin fashioned the first lightning rod in the 1750s following his famous experiment flying a kite with a key attached during a…