Weird news stories

In search for alien life, purple may be the new green
22nd April 2024 news.cornell.edu | Earth, Humans, Weird

From house plants and gardens to fields and forests, green is the color we most associate with surface life on Earth…But an Earth-like planet orbiting another star might look very different, potentially covered by bacteria that receive little or no visible light or oxygen…Instead of green, many such bacteria on Earth contain purple pigments…Cornell scientists report in new research.

Ancient human evolution is “unparalleled” in nature
18th April 2024 cosmosmagazine.com | Ancient, Humans, Weird

New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution examines the rate at which new species of hominin emerged over 5 million years. This speciation in our lineage, they found, is unlike almost anything else.

The Moon Turned Inside Out Billions of Years Ago, Scientists Reveal
8th April 2024 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Space, Weird

The Moon is a great whackin’ oddball in the sky, and scientists may have just figured out part of the reason why. Its surface is chemically asymmetrical, and new evidence suggests that’s because the Moon’s mantle flipped topsy-turvy upside-down when the Moon was only young. What was on top of Earth’s satellite went underneath; what was below came out into the light.

The new science of death: ‘There’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense’
2nd April 2024 | theguardian.com | Humans, Weird

New research into the dying brain suggests the line between life and death may be less distinct than previously thought.

Cern: Scientists search for mysterious ghost particles
26th March 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Humans, Misc., Weird

Some physicists have long suspected that mysterious ‘ghost’ particles in the world around us could greatly advance our understanding of the true nature of the Universe.

12,000-Year-Old Preserved Human Brains Defy Soft Tissue Decay Assumptions
20th March 2024 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans, Weird

A new study has cataloged human brains that have been found on the archaeological record around the world and discovered that this remarkable organ resists decomposition far more than we thought – even when the rest of the body’s soft tissues have completely melted away.

‘They are very well aware of their agency’: Elephant calf burial ritual discovered in India
6th March 2024 | livescience.com | Animal Life, Weird

Asian elephants bury their calves with their legs poking out of the ground, researchers have observed. The calves were 1 year old or less and were transported to premade burials of sorts — irrigation drains on tea estates in India — by herd members, before being placed in holes and covered in soil. See the study here.

‘Mathematically perfect’ star system being investigated for potential alien technology
29th February 2024 | livescience.com | Humans, Space, Weird

Late last year, astronomers discovered a fascinating star system only 100 light-years away from us. Its six sub-Neptune planets circle very close to their host star in mathematically perfect orbits, piquing the interest of scientists searching for alien technology or technosignatures, which they argue would offer compelling evidence of advanced life beyond Earth.

Bizarre ‘Russian doll stars’ predicted with Einstein’s general relativity equations
26th February 2024 | livescience.com | Space, Weird

A new solution to Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity suggests hypothetical gravitational stars that look like black holes could be nested within one another.

Why is a mushroom growing on a frog? Scientists don’t know, but it sure looks weird
21st February 2024 | livescience.com | Animal Life, Weird

First ever documented evidence of a fungus, suspected to be a Mycena species, growing on the body of a seemingly healthy frog

Ancient Fossil That Baffled Scientists For Decades Finally Reveals Its True Identity
18th February 2024 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Weird

It’s called Tridentinosaurus antiquus, excavated in 1931, and considered a truly remarkable find. Dating to 280 million years ago, before the dinosaurs, it was thought to represent one of the oldest lizard fossils ever found…Well, now we know why we’ve never found another fossil like it: that soft tissue, according to a new, painstaking analysis, is not soft tissue at all. It’s paint. The research has been published in Palaeontology.

Sound makes soil fungi bloom & could restore damaged ecosystems
31st January 2024 newatlas.com | Animal Life, Earth, Weird

A study has found that playing a soundscape to a common, plant-promoting fungus found in soil caused it to grow more rapidly than fungi that weren’t exposed to sound. The novel ‘eco-acoustic’ approach has the potential to restore damaged ecosystems.

Image from: Plogeo (Wiki Commons)

 

 

Mysterious virus-like ‘Obelisks’ found in the human gut and mouth
31st January 2024 | livescience.com | Humans, Weird

Scientists have uncovered a never-before-seen class of virus-like entities hiding in the human gut and mouth, and these “viroids” may influence the gene activity within the human microbiome, Science reported.

Astronomers spotted something perplexing near the beginning of time
18th January 2024 | vox.com | Ancient, Space, Tech, Weird

Monsters lurk in the background of James Webb Space Telescope images. Scientists are scrambling to make sense of them.

Oldest Known Spiral Galaxy Seen With Pond-Like Ripples in Astronomical First
7th January 2024 | sciencealert.com | Space, Weird

Astronomers have detected pond-like ripples across the gaseous disk of an ancient galaxy. What caused the ripples, and what do they tell us about the distant galaxy’s formation and evolution? And whatever happened, how has it affected the galaxy and its main job: forming stars? See the research here.

Is oxygen the cosmic key to alien technology?
5th January 2024 | eurekalert.org | Humans, Space, Tech, Weird

In a new study published in Nature Astronomy, University of Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank explores the links between atmospheric oxygen and detecting extraterrestrial technology on distant planets.

News stories the paranormal, supernatural, and bizarre, including cryptozoology, UFOs, and other unexplained phenomenon.