Zelenskiy Seeks More Europe Support as Funding Worries Mount
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with European leaders to press for continued support against Russia’s invasion, amid concerns
1970-01-01 08:00
Scientists weren't expecting what they found when they opened up the Bennu asteroid capsule
In late September, scientists at NASA and around the world eagerly awaited the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx capsule containing a sample of the asteroid Bennu. The capsule safely landed on Earth on Sunday 24 September in a Utah desert containing a sample of the asteroid Bennu – categorised as one of the two “most hazardous known asteroids”. When the capsule was first opened, it sparked audible gasps from scientists. Since its arrival, NASA has kept its cards fairly close to its chest but a new blog post from the space agency suggests that progress is going slowly for the “best reason” as there is more sample material than they had anticipated. They explained: “The abundance of material found when the science canister lid was removed earlier this week has meant that the process of disassembling the TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head – which holds the bulk of material from the asteroid – is off to a methodical start.” The OSIRIS-REx’s mission took 7 years to complete, with the sample currently being analysed by NASA taken three years ago before making its way down to Earth. Imagery from the moment the sample was taken confirmed to scientists that there would be asteroid material where they found it, but the quantity of dark particles were far more than they had anticipated. “The very best ‘problem’ to have is that there is so much material, it’s taking longer than we expected to collect it,” said deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead Christopher Snead of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “There’s a lot of abundant material outside the TAGSAM head that’s interesting in its own right. It’s really spectacular to have all that material there.” In the coming weeks, experts will continue to work through the particles and begin the complex process of carefully disassembling the TAGSAM to reach the bulk of the Bennu sample inside. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
New York subway shooter expected to be sentenced today
The man who set off a smoke bomb and opened fire on a crowded New York City subway train last year, shooting 10 people, is expected to learn his sentence Thursday.
1970-01-01 08:00
Updated MLB Playoff Bracket after 2023 Wild Card series
Each MLB Wild Card series needed just two games. Here's how things stand after the first round.
1970-01-01 08:00
Hyundai, Kia to adopt Tesla EV-charging standard from 2024 in US
SEOUL (Reuters) -Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp said on Thursday that they had decided to adopt Tesla Inc's electric vehicle
1970-01-01 08:00
Brooklyn subway shooter who wounded 10 faces sentencing on terrorism charges
The man who set off smoke bombs on a crowded New York subway train before shooting 10 people
1970-01-01 08:00
More than 1,350 lines of inquiry into Creeslough blast
Gardaí say they are continuing to investigate the fatal explosion one year on.
1970-01-01 08:00
Lucid launches cheaper Air Pure electric sedan to revive demand
(Reuters) -Luxury electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group on Thursday launched a cheaper, rear-wheel drive version of the Air Pure sedan starting
1970-01-01 08:00
Eric Trump Thinks Donald Trump Should Have a Bigger Gavel When He's Speaker of the House
VIDEO: Eric Trump thinks his dad having a big gavel would be awesome.
1970-01-01 08:00
Monstrous 'zombie worms' devour alligator in jaw-dropping experiment
A warning to readers who don’t have a fear of the deep ocean: this story might soon change that. Back in 2019, a group of researchers who wanted to stir excitement down in the murky recesses of the sea conducted a unique experiment. The team, from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), dropped three dead alligators 6,560 feet (2,000 metres) down into the Gulf of Mexico to see how deep-dwelling creatures would react to an uncommon food source. Initially, the scientists thought that the tough hide of the reptiles would put scavengers off, because it would make it hard for them to reach the more desirable soft flesh. However, this swiftly proved to be far from the case. Within a day, nine large isopods (Bathynomus giganteus) were observed feasting on the first carcass, eventually penetrating its hide and eating their meal from the inside out – imagine a crew of foot-long, pink woodlice crawling all over a gator and you get the picture. The second croc, dropped around 100km away, was almost totally devoured in just 51 days – leaving behind nothing more than its skull, spine, and the rope and weight that were used to anchor it to the sea floor. The scant leftovers became a source of great excitement to the researchers when they noticed it had been targeted by a brand new species of bone-eating worm. They concluded that it appeared to be a member of the Osedax family – commonly known as "zombie worms" because they suck away at, and live off, the bones of the dead – which had never been seen around Mexico before. Testing revealed that its nearest identifiable relatives are native to Antarctica and California, therefore making it an “undescribed species”. The investigators wrote in a paper about their discovery, which was published in the journal PLOS, that the creature “will be named in due course”. So, what happened to the third alligator? Well, that part is a mystery, because within eight days of its drop-off at its 1,996-metre-deep observation spot, it had disappeared. The researchers noted that although the body had vanished, the 20.4kg anchor, shackle and rope used to weigh the animal down were found 8.3 metres away – suggesting they had been “dragged” there. The experts concluded that a “large scavenger” had most likely snapped up the reptile. And given the depth at which it had been left, and the “implied body size necessary to both consume a moderately-sized alligator and move a large weight” it was probably a large shark. Clearly, whatever the beast was, it didn’t feel like sharing its dinner with a bunch of greedy worms. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Drew Barrymore and Kelly Clarkson set return dates for shows following WGA strike
Drew Barrymore and Kelly Clarkson have announced return dates for their daytime shows now that writers have tentatively reached a new contract agreement.
1970-01-01 08:00
Tropical Storm Philippe will deliver another wet, miserable weekend to the Northeast
Tropical Storm Philippe is on track to deliver a dreary weekend to the Northeast, including a slug of tropical moisture which is raising the risk of flooding rainfall in an area that has been soaked repeatedly in recent weeks.
1970-01-01 08:00
