Giant octopuses, up to 62 feet (19 meters) long, were among the top marine predators about 100 million years ago, according to a new study that discovered rare fossils hidden in solid rock. An extremely well-preserved specimen of the octopus’s powerful jaw shows signs of severe wear and tear from crushing hard prey such as … Read more
Northrop Grumman said it will apply artificial intelligence to significantly accelerate spacecraft development. The company says that integrating AI into the engineering process will shorten design cycles from years to hours. This approach combines mission expertise with advanced AI technology to improve speed and accuracy. It is intended to enable more complex and mission-critical space … Read more
A new scientific paper is adding new fuel to one of space science’s most stubborn fantasies: a “warp drive” that could make distant stars feel like forever away. The research proposes a new way to create so-called warp bubbles, distorted regions of space-time that carry spacecraft, without the ships themselves breaking the cosmic speed limits. … Read more
Scientists using dark energy spectroscopy instruments have completed a five-year survey of the sky, mapping the universe beyond their original goals and asking new questions about the forces driving the expansion of the universe. dark energy spectrometer known as Digihas completed its first five years of research, providing the most detailed three-dimensional map of the … Read more
Multnomah County executive turnover has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years as the government brought in consultants to find job candidates amid a wave of retirements and other departures. The county had more leadership turnover and paid more to hiring consultants than neighboring Clackamas and Washington counties. A Multnomah County spokesperson … Read more
In E. J. Swift’s novel When There Are Wolves Again, the Chernobyl disaster and its legacy are translated into a near future where natural habitats are diminished and unstable. This work of ecofiction deftly explores the question of possible paths forward for the return of animals to areas of reduced natural habitat. In the real … Read more
LONGMEADOW — Signs encouraging participation in citizen science are posted on wooden posts along the path at the Fannie Stebbins Memorial Wildlife Refuge. Take a photo of the field with your smartphone from the smartphone holder on the post. Email the photo to the provided email address and voila! — Added a bit of data … Read more
Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. A diagram showing two black holes starting to collide. |Credit: MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, Getty Images Astronomers may have discovered a pair of extreme light-spewing black holes spiraling toward a giant collision. Its effects may be felt in … Read more
At first glance, the universe seems simple: stars, gas, dust, and gravity holding it all together. Then, when you look more carefully, you realize that nothing could be further from the truth. For decades, standard imagery has told us that most of what is out there is not what we can see. It is a … Read more