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In A.D. 79, a massive volcano in southern Italy suddenly, explosively awoke, leading to one of the ancient world’s deadliest natural disasters. Ash and gas from the eruption killed at least 1,500 people in the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Now, a new analysis suggests that powerful earthquakes concurrent with the eruption may have … Read more

The star marking true north is a good deal heavier than we thought. The North Star is 5.1 times as massive as the sun, astronomers report in work submitted July 12 to arXiv.org. That value, calculated from the motion of a much fainter star that orbits the luminary, is nearly 50 percent heavier than a … Read more

Alzheimer’s disease is hard to diagnose. But proteins in the blood might provide clarity. A series of recent findings, presented at the annual Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia and in research papers, raise the possibility of a simple blood draw to help doctors figure out if a person’s cognitive problems are caused by Alzheimer’s … Read more

Something strange is happening at Earth’s center. Decades of earthquake data show that Earth’s inner core has been rotating slower than its mantle and surface since around 2010, researchers report June 12 in Nature. The study appears to confirm a controversial finding from last year that the inner core may have reversed its rotation relative … Read more

In planet formation, as in poker, you have to play the hand you’re dealt. If an Earthlike planet is the goal, the best starting hand might contain three to eight times all the water in Earth’s oceans. “There’s kind of a sweet spot,” says Keavin Moore, a planetary scientist at McGill University in Montreal. Less … Read more

An ancient Egyptian mummy, dubbed the “Screaming Woman” for what appears to be an open-mouthed look of pain or fear, might have had that expression fixed in place by a rare muscle reaction when she died. Sudden muscular stiffening associated with violent deaths under extreme physical and emotional stress, known as cadaveric spasm, could explain … Read more

Black holes can’t be formed from pure light. Quantum physics would curb their creation under any foreseeable conditions, a new study suggests. Typically, matter is responsible for black holes. They’re often formed when a star’s core implodes at the end of its life. But matter isn’t necessarily required to form a black hole. According to … Read more

Jupiter’s signature feature — its Great Red Spot — might not be the same dark spot seen on the giant planet more than three centuries ago. From 1665 to 1713, astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini and others observed a dark oval — nicknamed the Permanent Spot — on Jupiter at the same latitude where the Great … Read more

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tightened rabies regulations for dogs coming into the country. The new regulations, which went into effect August 1, come as the temporary suspension of importing dogs from high-risk rabies areas — instituted by the CDC in 2021 — is lifted. “What it boils down to is that … Read more

Stonehenge had a hard Scottish heart, a new study suggests. The ancient site’s central stone, a large slab known as the Altar Stone, consists of rock transported at least 750 kilometers from northeastern Scotland to southern England, say geoscientist Anthony Clarke of Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and colleagues. An analysis of the age and … Read more