Heavens

The Andes have been a mountain chain for much longer than previously thought, new research from the University of Bristol, UK suggests.

The Andes were formed by tectonic activity whereby earth is uplifted as one plate (oceanic crust) subducts under another plate (continental crust). To get such a high mountain chain in a subduction zone setting is unusual which adds to the importance of trying to figure out when and how it happened. However, the timing of when the Andean mountain chain uplift occurred has been a topic of some controversy over the past ten years.

As world leaders gather in Paris at the end of the month for the COP 21 climate summit, new research from scientists reveals the destructive impact the warming global ocean can have on society.

A study by a team of U.S. and Australian researchers shows that long-term warming of the Indian and Pacific oceans played an important role in increasing the risk of the kind of devastating floods that struck Australia in 2010/2011. The study was published in Geophysical Research Letters.

For the first time, low cost production of a completely rare-earth free FeNi magnet with simple industrial technologyHard magnetic phase formed in natural meteorite achieved in significantly reduced time (from billions of years to maximum ten days)Issues related to rare-earth supply in production of high quality magnets potentially resolved, paving the way for industrial superiority in the production of future magnets

Just counting the number of galaxies in a patch of sky provides a way to test astronomers' theories of galaxy formation and evolution. However, such a simple task becomes increasingly hard as astronomers attempt to count the more distant and fainter galaxies. It is further complicated by the fact that the brightest and easiest galaxies to observe -- the most massive galaxies in the Universe -- are rarer the further astronomers peer into the Universe's past, whilst the more numerous less bright galaxies are even more difficult to find.

The most Earth-like planet could have been made uninhabitable by vast quantities of radiation, new research led by the University of Warwick research has found.

The atmosphere of the planet, Kepler-438b, is thought to have been stripped away as a result of radiation emitted from a superflaring Red Dwarf star, Kepler-438.

Regularly occurring every few hundred days, the superflares are approximately ten times more powerful than those ever recorded on the Sun and equivalent to the same energy as 100 billion megatons of TNT.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida State University high-performance computing researcher has predicted a physical effect that would help physicists and astronomers provide fresh evidence of the correctness of Einstein's general theory of relativity.

Bin Chen, who works at the university's Research Computing Center, describes the yet-to-be-observed effect in the paper "Probing the Gravitational Faraday Rotation Using Quasar X-ray Microlensing," published today in the journal Scientific Reports.

The tropical low pressure area previously known as System 95W consolidated and was classified as a Tropical Depression 27W on Nov. 17, 2015. The Suomi NPP satellite captured a view of the strengthening storm as warnings were posted in Micronesia.

The tropical low pressure area previously known as System 95W consolidated and was classified as a Tropical Depression 27W on Nov. 17, 2015. The Suomi NPP satellite captured a view of the strengthening storm as warnings were posted in Micronesia.

During the past week extreme rainfall from two slow moving tropical low pressure areas caused severe flooding in southeastern India. One of the lows, designated System 97B continued to linger along the southeastern Indian coast on November 17. As System 97B and another low pressure area dropped heavy rainfall, NASA and partners around the world gathered data using an array of satellites.

The flooding has caused as many as 70 reported deaths. The city of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu were hit exceptionally hard, as 59 people were reported killed there.

To work with computational models is to work in a world of unknowns: Models that simulate complex physical processes -- from Earth's changing climate to the performance of hypersonic combustion engines -- are staggeringly complex, sometimes incorporating hundreds of parameters, each of which describes a piece of the larger process.

A plethora of images from live-bearing brittle stars allows a 3D look inside these unique starfish relatives and an insider's view of their soon-to-be offspring

LAS VEGAS - Nov. 16, 2015 - Researchers say medicated eye drops may be the key to fighting rapidly worsening eyesight in children with myopia. Results from a five-year clinical trial show that drops of low-dose atropine significantly slowed the progression of nearsightedness in children with fewer side effects than higher dosages. The research is being presented today at AAO 2015, the 119th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The findings suggest that this medication could potentially be an effective treatment in the fight against the global surge in nearsightedness.

New research reveals that two different evolutionary shifts toward camouflage investment occurred in the the charismatic horned praying mantises. The most recent shift in increased accumulation of numerous cryptic features occurred only after the re-evolution of important leg lobes that help disguise the appearance of the mantis from predators.

This second evolution of camouflage investment followed a similar pathway to the first and suggests that cryptic features may originate through conserved developmental mechanisms.

An international team of researchers, led by Queen's University Belfast, has devised a high-precision method of examining magnetic fields in the Sun's atmosphere, representing a significant leap forward in the investigation of solar flares and potentially catastrophic 'space weather'.

New Haven, Conn. - Astronomers at Yale and Harvard have found a galaxy with a heartbeat -- and they've taken its pulse.

It is the first time scientists have measured the effect that pulsating, older red stars have on the light of their surrounding galaxy. The findings are published in the Nov. 16 online edition of the journal Nature.