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Exoplanet’s day lasts only 8 hours
The length of an exoplanet's day has been measured for first time.
Planet Beta Pictoris b, 63 light-years away, is 16 times larger and 3,000 times more massive than the Earth, yet a day on the planet only lasts 8 hours.
April 30, 2014
A circuit board modeled on the human brain
New microchips based on the human brain are 9,000 times faster and use significantly less power than a typical PC.
April 30, 2014
Growing lettuce in space
A new space-faring lettuce is taking root on the International Space Station. Its name is "Outregeous."
April 28, 2014
Sun’s fourth-closest neighbor is cold and frosty
Astronomers have discovered a dim, star-like body that surprisingly is as frosty as Earth's North Pole. This "brown dwarf" is only 7.2 light years away, making it one of the sun's nearest neighbors.
April 28, 2014
How sea level influenced evolution in the Galapagos
The Galapagos Islands, whose separateness was so pivotal to Charles Darwin's contributions to the theory of evolution, are not separate at all when sea level is low.
April 26, 2014
Mountaineers leave Everest, as Sherpas say they won’t climb
Mountaineers began leaving Mt. Everest yesterday, as Sherpas refuse to climb again this year, out of respect for 16 who died in last week's deadly avalanche.
April 25, 2014
First sex-determing genes appeared 180 million years ago
The Y chromosome, which distinguishes males from females at the genetic level, appeared some 180 million years ago, according to a new study published in Nature.
April 24, 2014
Is spacetime like a liquid?
A very slippery superfluid, that’s what spacetime could be like, say physicists.
April 24, 2014
A dance of supermassive black holes
This is the first time a pair of orbiting, supermassive black holes has been found in an ordinary galaxy.
April 22, 2014
MESSENGER completes 3,000th orbit of Mercury, sets mark for closest approach
MESSENGER has been getting closer to Mercury since March. It's now closer to the planet than any spacecraft has been before.
April 21, 2014
