مقالات علمية

The partial solar eclipse on April 30, 2022, was only seen by a lucky few. However, the total lunar eclipse on the night of May 15, 2022, will be visible to about 2.7 billion people on Earth's night side. This includes the residents of North America, Africa, South America, and Central and Western Europe....

Taylor Swift has received numerous music awards and even an Emmy. Now, the popular American singer-songwriter can add an unusual achievement to her growing list of accolades — a new millipede species named after her. The Nannaria swiftae (N. swiftae) is one of 17 new twisted-claw millipede species recently identified by Dr. Derek Hennen and his team at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia....

Ants are truly fascinating creatures. The industrious insects can lift up to 50 times their own body weight, morph into rafts to protect themselves from floods, predict earthquakes, and even repair their damaged homes. Now, researchers have found that the amazing insects may even be able to help detect cancer in humans....

Stargazers will enjoy two spectacular celestial events on April 30, 2022 — the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus and this year's first solar eclipse. The former will be visible worldwide. But the opportunity to observe the moon "bite" a chunk of the Sun in person, will only be available to a lucky few in parts of South America, Antarctica, and some Southern Ocean areas. The rest of us will have to watch the natural phenomenon online....

Stargazers, get ready! Starting April 23, 2022, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter will form a straight line behind the crescent Moon. The perfect alignment will provide earthlings a relatively rare opportunity to see multiple planets in the sky with the naked eye. Experts say the celestial treat can be best observed by gazing southeast — in the direction of the sunrise — about an hour before the Sun comes out....

Your silent, expressionless pet goldfish may appear oblivious to you and its surroundings. But the aquatic vertebrates are smarter than they seem. Previous studies have shown that fish are quick learners, can retain information for up to five months, and even recognize their owner from a group of humans....

The Southern Tropical Andes, which comprises areas of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, is one of the world's most biodiverse regions — especially when it comes to amphibians. The area is home to about 980 amphibian species, including over half of the 150-known glass frog species. Now, two new members of the tiny frogs have joined this ever-growing list....

A massive plume of dust and sand from the Sahara Desert engulfed parts of Europe in mid-March. Storm Celia blew into Spain on March 14, 2022, turning the skies into an eerie rusty orange and covering the ground and vehicles with fine sand particles. The thick dust layer lingered for several days, causing officials to issue extremely poor air quality ratings in the capital city of Madrid and across large parts of Spain's southeast coast....

Mention rainbows, and the image that comes to mind is that of a beautiful translucent arc of bright colors bending towards the horizon. But in a recent image captured by Italian astrophotographer Marcella Giulia Pace and shared by NASA on March 11, 2022, the rainbow is turned around — making it appear like it is smiling! Magical as it sounds, the reason for the stunning phenomenon, called a circumzenithal arc, is rooted in science....

A new material created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers is being hailed as revolutionary. 2DPA-1 is as light as plastic and two times stronger than steel. Unlike currently available polymers, it can conduct electricity and block gas. The scientists believe 2DPA-1 can help lower our carbon footprint and perhaps even reduce the rampant use of disposable plastics....

A holiday associated with a math constant may not seem very exciting. But Pi ("π") Day, observed annually in the US on March 14 (3/14), is an exception. That's because the celebrations may start with math activities centered around pi — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, widely recognized as 3.14. But they inevitably end with a slice or two of delicious pie!...

When a group of Rye Junior High School students in New Hampshire set sail a roughly five-foot-long boat into the Atlantic in October 2020, they were not sure what to expect. While some were optimistic it would wash ashore in Europe, many believed the tiny vessel, called Rye Riptides, would get destroyed along the way. On February 1, 2022, the skeptics were proved wrong when the partially dismantled boat washed ashore 8,300 miles away on a small island near Dyrnes, Norway....

February 13, 2022, marked the 25th anniversary of the Great LEGO Spill — the worst toy-related environmental disaster of all time. On this fateful day in 1997, the Tokio Express was battered by a massive, 28-foot rogue wave off the United Kingdom's southwestern coast. The force tilted the cargo ship — en route from Rotterdam to New York — by 60 degrees, causing it to drop 62 containers into the sea. One was filled with about 5 million colorful LEGO bricks!...

The Weddell Sea, an extension of the Southern Ocean off the coast of Antarctica, is known for its abundant wildlife. The 1,242-mile (2,000-km) bay's nutrient-rich waters are home to large populations of seals, penguins, and baleen whales. Now, researchers have uncovered a trove of 60 million icefish nests sprawled across 93 square miles (240 square kilometers) of the seafloor. The nurseries — each guarded by a ghoulish-looking adult — constitute the fish's largest-known breeding colony....

Chimaeras, or ghost sharks, have been around for millions of years. However, the elusive fish, which live at depths of up to 6,000 feet, are largely unknown to science. The lack of crucial information — like how long they live or how often they reproduce — makes it challenging to monitor and protect the 52 known ghost shark species. Now, a rare newborn chimaera, discovered off the coast of New Zealand, may help scientists better understand the mysterious deep-water creatures....

Biofluorescence refers to an organism's ability to absorb ultraviolet light (UV) and emit it as a colorful glow. The skill has been documented in fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and even microscopic tardigrades. However, glow-in-the-dark mammals are still new to science. They currently include just a handful of nocturnal animals such as flying squirrels, opossums, and platypuses. The latest to hop on to this elite list is a jumping rodent called the springhare....

Ants are known to undergo extreme measures to save their own. Past studies have shown the industrious insects carrying wounded comrades back to the nest to heal and even exploding and sacrificing themselves to save their colonies from predators. Now, a team of young researchers in Panama has found an empathetic ant species that rapidly repair any damage to its host tree....

The annual Best Illusion of the Year Contest encourages scientists and artists to showcase their ingenuity by creating clever optical illusions. Now celebrating its seventeenth year, the fun contest is the brainchild of the Neural Correlate Society, a nonprofit that promotes scientific research on how the brain functions. Here are 2021's top three winners, selected by fans from the ten finalists in an online vote on December 15, 2021....

Black History Month, celebrated every February, commemorates the many, often overlooked, contributions African Americans have made to society. American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson came up with the idea in 1926 as a way to share his love for Black history with students. Today, African American History Month, as it is also called, is one of the most celebrated cultural heritage months on the American calendar....

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai — an underwater volcano located 40 miles (65km) north of Nuku'alofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga — has erupted a couple of times over the past few decades. However, its January 15, 2022, explosion was like none other seen on Earth in over 30 years. The spectacular 13-mile-wide eruption, with a sonic boom heard 6,000 miles away in Alaska, spewed large plumes of ash and gases as high as 19 miles. The massive waves that followed triggered tsunami warnings in Peru, New Zealand, Japan, and the US West Coast....

Researchers have long suspected that Mars was once home to several rivers, lakes, and perhaps even oceans. But while they have been able to detect ice, and some salty lakes, in the planet's polar regions, finding water in other areas has proved elusive. Now, scientists have finally found evidence of a large water reservoir just a few feet below the surface of the Red Planet's Valles Marineris canyon system....

The season's first winter storm — which brought significant snowfall to the Washington, DC, area on January 3, 2022 — could not have come at a better time for the residents of the Smithsonian's National Zoo. With the park closed to visitors due to the inclement weather, the animals were able to welcome the New Year with several snow days all to themselves....

The name millipede, which translates to a "thousand feet," is a bit of a misnomer. Many species of the arthropods have fewer than 100 legs, and even the record holder — the Illacme plenipes — boasts a "mere" 750 legs. Now, a team led by Virginia Tech entomologist Paul Marek has finally found the world's first "true" millipede — one with over 1,300 legs!...

To a casual observer, the artwork in the image above may appear to be the scribbles of a toddler or — as is the case here — orangutans. However, a new study by French scientists has found that the seemingly random patterns showcase the primate artists' distinct style and ability, and possibly even state of mind....