The Archaeopteryx that wasn't
Paleontologists at LMU correct a case of misinterpretation: The first fossil "Archaeopteryx" to be discovered is actually a predatory dinosaur belonging to the anchiornithid family, which was previously known only from finds made in China.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-archaeopteryx-wasnt.html
Bronze Age artifacts used meteoric iron
You may already be surprised to hear there are iron objects dating back to the Bronze Age, but their meteorite origin is even more astonishing. Though meteorites had already been recognized as one source of this metal, the scientific community couldn't determine whether they accounted for most or simply a few Bronze Age iron artifacts. Albert Jambon, as part of his work at the Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (CNRS / UPMC / IRD / Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle),1 has demonstrated that iron used during the Bronze Age is always meteoric and he explained how this practice was abandoned during the Iron Age. His work is published in the December 2017 issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-bronze-age-artifacts-meteoric-iron.html
Expert offers overview of net neutrality debate
The internet is about to change dramatically. Unless it isn't.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-expert-overview-net-neutrality-debate.html
Grasshopper problem yields insight into quantum theory
(Phys.org)—Like many mathematical puzzles, the grasshopper problem is simple to state but difficult to solve: A grasshopper lands at a random point on a lawn of area 1, then jumps once, a fixed distance, in a random direction. What shape should the lawn be in order to maximize the chance that the grasshopper stays on the lawn after jumping?
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-grasshopper-problem-yields-insight-quantum.html
Life could be likelier on icy planets than rocky ones
In the hunt for extra-terrestrial life, scientists tend to take what is known as the "low-hanging fruit approach." This consists of looking for conditions similar to what we experience here on Earth, which include at oxygen, organic molecules, and plenty of liquid water. Interestingly enough, some of the places where these ingredients are present in abundance include the interiors of icy moons like Europa, Ganymede, Enceladus and Titan.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-life-likelier-icy-planets-rocky.html
Calcium compound breaks 'like repels like' rule
(Phys.org)—A combined team of chemists from the University of Bath in the U.K. and Université Toulouse III–Paul Sabatier, UMR in France has found an instance of a calcium compound breaking the 'like repels like' chemistry rule. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how they accidentally came upon the reaction while studying reactions between calcium hydride and terminal alkenes. Robert Emmet Mulvey with the University of Strathclyde in the U.K. offers a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-calcium-compound-repels.html
Study shows genetic differences between uptown and downtown rats living in Manhattan
(Phys.org)—A small team of researchers from Fordham University and Providence College, both in the U.S., has found that there are small but discernible genetic differences between rats living uptown versus downtown on the island of Manhattan. In their paper published in the journal Molecular Ecology, the group describes trapping rats from one end of the island to the other, conducting genetic tests on them and outlining what they found.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-genetic-differences-uptown-downtown-rats.html
How identity data is turning toxic for big companies
Google might be in trouble for collecting the personal data of its users, but many companies have a growing incentive to rid their hands of the data that users entrust them with. This is because of growing costs of holding onto it.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-identity-toxic-big-companies.html
With the right tools, we can mine cities
From 1900 to 2010, the amount of materials accumulated in buildings and infrastructure across the world increased 23-fold. We are depleting our resources at unprecedented rates. Instead of extracting dwindling raw materials from nature at ever-increasing cost, the time has come to start re-using materials from buildings and infrastructure in our cities.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-tools-cities.html
The way we were—climate and human evolution
It has been an extraordinary year of explorations and discoveries at the Earth Institute. During the month of December, as 2017 draws to a close, we will be sharing stories that highlight some of the outstanding work of our researchers.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-wereclimate-human-evolution.html
Metal asteroid Psyche is all set for an early visit from NASA
Three times further away from the sun than the Earth lies an enormous lump of metal. Around 252km in diameter, the metallic "M-class" asteroid 16 Psyche is the target of NASA's next mission to the belt of giant rocks that encircles the inner solar system. And the space agency now plans to visit it much sooner than originally planned.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-metal-asteroid-psyche-early-nasa.html
Source: https://phys.org/