Capuchins can use stone tools to access food Roland Seitre/NaturePL Critically endangered golden-bellied capuchins (Sapajus xanthosternos) are more widespread than researchers previously thought, and stone tools might be the secret to their success. Although golden-bellied capuchins are usually found in the humid Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, Waldney Martins at the State University of Montes…
Artist’s illustration of the large-scale structure of the universe Science Photo Library/Alamy Astronomers have found the largest known structure in the universe. It is 1.4 billion light years across and contains nearly 70 galactic superclusters. It is also hundreds of thousands of times more massive than a single galaxy, such as the Milky Way. Hans…
The closest ever Einstein ring, picked up by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope ESA Astronomers have identified the closest ever Einstein ring, a rare phenomenon where light from a further-off galaxy is bent by the gravity of a galaxy closer to Earth. The ring was previously thought to be one galaxy and was…
Mice that have been modified to give them a “mammoth-like” coat Colossal There are an estimated 1.5 million genetic differences between woolly mammoths and Asian elephants. Colossal Biosciences, the company aiming to resurrect the extinct species through genetic engineering, has now made mice with “mammoth-like” fur, each with up to five genetic changes. There is,…
Illustration of the volcanic exoplanet L 98-59 b NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center An alien world with a seemingly sulphur-filled atmosphere may be the most volcanic planet astronomers have ever spotted. We have never directly detected volcanic activity outside our solar system, in part because current telescopes aren’t powerful enough to take images of exoplanets’…
A Greenland shark photographed near the seabed dotted zebra/Alamy A genomic study may have revealed how Greenland sharks live for centuries and yet rarely get cancer. These sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) are slow-moving dwellers of the deep that can reach more than 6 metres long and weigh over a tonne. We know little about their lives…
Male chimpanzees sometimes make sexual contact in stressful times Jake Brooker/ Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust Some chimpanzees seem to use sexual behaviour like genital rubbing to manage stressful situations, which shows they aren’t as different from hypersexual bonobos – our other closest living ape relatives – or, indeed, people as we thought. Jake Brooker at…
A coot’s nest filled with plastic rubbish in Amsterdam AUKE-FLORIAN HIEMSTRA Covid-19 face masks, a chocolate wrapper from 1994 and a 30-year-old polystyrene burger box – the nests of Amsterdam’s Eurasian coots chart changes to consumer society through plastic waste. Usually, Eurasian coots (Fulica atra) build their waterside nests from scratch each year using natural,…
Artist’s impression of an asteroid nearing the moon NASA/JPL-Caltech Asteroid 2024 YR4 is on a potential crash course with Earth, but there’s a very slight chance the moon could take the hit. Based on current observations, there is a 2.1 per cent chance that the asteroid – about as long as the Leaning Tower of…
The Space Launch System at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2022 NASA/Joel Kowsky NASA’s enormous rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), seems to be in danger. It has been controversial for decades thanks to its high cost and many delays, but now there are hints that it may finally be on the chopping block….
