science
The one film to watch before seeing Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day
With Steven Spielberg’s new extraterrestrial film Disclosure Day just out, it’s the ideal time to watch Close Encounter of the Third Kind – perhaps the perfect UFO film, says film columnist Bethan Ackerley Source link
Striking photos show how sands are encroaching on oases in the Sahara
A photo essay from Tommy Trenchard explores efforts to protect the fragile ecosystems of oases in Chad Source link
Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’
Researchers diving 7 kilometres deep in a crewed submersible have discovered a vast collection of whale bones, including fossils up to 5 million years old and species new to science Source link
Frozen squirrel scat preserves ancient DNA from hundreds of species
A complex ecosystem of woolly mammoths, bison, horses and big cats has been elucidated by studying the faeces of small rodents that probably ate the bigger animals Source link
Dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site stayed hot for millions of years
Drill cores at the impact site of the Chicxulub asteroid show evidence that, alongside widespread destruction, the collision created a vast underground ecosystem filled with hot water that sheltered microbial life Source link
Wildlife thrives in solar farm built on restored peatland
A diverse range of bird species has been recorded at a solar park on rewetted peatland in Germany, suggesting that combining energy generation with habitat restoration could benefit biodiversity, the climate and the economy Source link
You could get some of the benefits of sleep without having to nod off
Mice seemed to reap some of the benefits of sleep by having their brain activity stimulated while they were awake, and the researchers plan to test the approach on people Source link
A chromosome from a frozen rat has been resurrected inside mice
Mice that contain cells with an added rat chromosome have been created by scientists. The next step is to try this with frozen elephant tissue – and if that works, the team will try it with frozen mammoths Source link
Becoming a parent may make you love your partner less
Parents report loving their partners less within the first year of having a child, but that doesn’t mean the feeling is permanent or inevitable Source link
Atom-based quantum computers are catching up in the race to usefulness
A quantum computer made from extremely cold atoms can correct its own errors during long computations, an important prerequisite for becoming truly useful Source link