Scientists

Tonga Volcano Blasted Particles and Water High into Atmosphere

Scientists used satellite equipment to measure the plume created by the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano. The blast, or eruption, of the volcano happened in January in the South Pacific near the island nation of Tonga.

The 10-minute eruption caused a series of large ocean waves, known as a tsunami, to hit areas around the world. The huge plume the volcano created included smoke, gas and water vapor.

Hundreds of scientists say coronavirus is airborne - New York Times

The WHO has said the coronavirus disease spreads primarily from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, which are expelled when a person with Covid-19 coughs, sneezes or speaks.

In an open letter to the agency, which the researchers plan to publish in a scientific journal next week, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined the evidence showing smaller particles can infect people, the newspaper reported.

Scientists discover ‘glowing’ sea turtle off Solomon Islands

The hawksbill sea turtle, spotted off the Solomon Islands, is the first reptile seen to exhibit biofluorescence.

The creature was spotted in July by marine biologist David Gruber, who was on a nightdive hoping to capture footage of biofluorescent sharks and coral reefs. 

Gruber, based at City University in New York, described the endangered turtle as looking like 'a big spaceship gliding into view', National Geographic reported. 

A new member of the human family?

It is one of the greatest fossil discoveries of our time, a trove of bones hidden deep inside a cave, outside Johannesburg in South Africa.

The team of scientists - from the Rising Star expedition - who made the discovery say the remains are that of 'Homo Naledi'. A new species of our human ancestor.

Homo Naledi is small-brained and primitive - yet revolutionary and complex in behaviour.

Its place in time is uncertain.

It may have lived as far back as three-million-years ago ... or could have roamed the earth as recently as 100,000 years ago.

Scientists find evidence of prehistoric massacre in Europe

Archaeologists who painstakingly examined the bones of some 26 men, women and children buried in the Stone Age grave site at Schoeneck-Kilianstaedten, near Frankfurt, say they found blunt force marks to the head, arrow wounds and deliberate efforts to smash at least half of the victims' shins — either to stop them from running away or as a grim message to survivors.

Conditions on Pluto: Incredibly hazy with flowing ice

The team responsible for the New Horizons flyby of Pluto last week released new pictures Friday of the previously unexplored world.

Scientists say layers of haze stretch 100 miles (160 kilometers) into the atmosphere, much higher than anticipated. All this haze is believed to account for Pluto's reddish color.

As for the incredible ice flows, they appear to be relatively recent: just a few tens of millions of years.