Researchers from Aarhus University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have found that small bats can rival lions in hunting efficiency, and sometimes even surpass them. To observe how fringe-lipped bats (Trachops cirrhosus), tiny meat-eaters native to Panama’s forests, hunt in their natural environment, scientists fitted 20 individuals with miniature “backpacks.” These biologging devices…
The area of space controlled by Earth’s magnetic field is called the magnetosphere. Within this vast magnetic bubble, scientists have observed an electric field that stretches from the morning side of Earth to the evening side. This large-scale electric force is a major influence on geomagnetic disturbances, including the storms that can disrupt satellites and…
When electricity moves through wires, some of its energy is lost along the way. That loss, however, might not be inevitable. Researchers at Penn State have developed a new way to identify materials known as superconductors — substances that can carry electric current with zero resistance, meaning no energy is wasted during transmission. The Challenge…
Each fall, the Taurid meteor shower brightens the night sky from late October through early November. Known as the “Halloween fireballs,” the meteors are named for the constellation Taurus (the bull), where they appear to originate. The best views come from dark-sky areas far from city lights. In New Mexico, where wide open landscapes and…
Rebecca Morelle,Science Editor and Alison Francis,Senior Science Journalist Chris Damant/Bernwood Ecology About half of all churches in England have bats in them It’s a job that can only be done under the cover of darkness. As night falls, the bat hunters make their way amongst the gravestones of Guestwick Church in Norfolk. The creaking door…
The South Pole Telescope, which CMB-S4 would have used to measure variations in the temperature and polarisation of microwave light across most of the sky. Brad Benson, University of Chicago, Fermilab Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken opens with “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,/ And sorry I could not travel both”. These…
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as seen by the Gemini South telescope in Chile International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist; J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (Intl Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab) The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is, once again, doing something strange. This interloper from another star is currently concealed…
Rachel Hagan and Mark Poynting,Climate Reporter Strong winds and wild waves in Kingston, Jamaica A very powerful hurricane has made landfall in Jamaica and is the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean island in modern history. Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 4 storm, first hit the island’s southern coast with maximum sustained winds of 295km/h…
Mark PoyntingClimate reporter, BBC News Getty Images World leaders will soon gather for their annual meeting on how to tackle climate change. COP30 is taking place ten years after the Paris climate agreement, in which countries pledged to try to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C. What is COP30 and what does it…
Artist’s impression of a pack of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex Anthony Hutchings A dinosaur fossil thought to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex is in fact a fully grown carnivore of a different species, according to researchers who believe they have finally settled a long-running and fierce debate in palaeontology. The dispute stems from…
