Dec 20th, 2024 - Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a massive, dormant black hole from just 800 million years after the Big Bang. The early universe was supposed to follow a script: small galaxies, small black holes, steady growth. But as the cosmos often does, it's thrown us a curveball. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers discovered a massive black hole dating only 800 million years after the Big Bang in the galaxy GN-1001830. The black hole itself is almost 400 million times the mass of our Sun—and there's another twist. This black hole is ... [Read More]

Dec 20th, 2024 - Invasive "murder hornets" have been completely eradicated in the U.S., officials have announced, after there were no confirmed sightings of the giant wasps in the last three years. Northern giant hornets ( Vespa mandarinia ), nicknamed " murder hornets ," are the world's largest wasps with a fearsome reputation, posing a threat to U.S. wildlife and human health. Native to Asia, the hornets arrived in North America in 2019, and authorities have been trying to eradicate them ever since. On Wednesday (Dec. 18), the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the United States ... [Read More]

Dec 20th, 2024 - Sloths weren't always slow-moving, furry tree-dwellers. Their prehistoric ancestors were huge - up to 4 tons - and when startled, they brandished immense claws.   For a long time, scientists believed the first humans to arrive in the Americas soon killed off these giant ground sloths through hunting, along with many other massive animals like mastodons , saber-toothed cats and dire wolves that once roamed North and South America. But new research from several sites is starting to suggest that people came to the Americas earlier - perhaps far earlier - than once thought. These findings ... [Read More]

Dec 20th, 2024 - Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more . A small silver amulet discovered by in Germany could transform our understanding of how Christianity spread under the Roman Empire, experts have said. The tiny artefact, which measures about 1.4 inches (3.6 centimeters) long, was unearthed in a 3rd-century Roman grave just outside Frankfurt back in 2018. Archaeologists discovered it on the skeleton of a man buried in a cemetery in the Roman city of Nida, one of the largest and most important sites ... [Read More]

Dec 20th, 2024 - FRIDAY, Dec. 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Just over 300 people have been sickened in norovirus outbreaks on three different cruise ships in December, new government data show. This is the only month this year in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported three confirmed norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships. In all, 301 passengers and crew members fell ill during the December outbreaks, health officials said. "Norovirus can be especially challenging to control on cruise ships because of the close living quarters, shared dining areas and rapid turnover of ... [Read More]

Dec 20th, 2024 - Updated on: December 20, 2024 at 4:02 AM PST Updated on: December 20, 2024 at 4:02 AM PST The best HDMI splitters you can buy: Expert recommended We tested and researched the best HDMI splitters that provide a convenient and efficient way to distribute HDMI signals to multiple displays. These are our favorites. Why you can trust ZDNET 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Years of Experience 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Product Reviewers 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 Sqft of Lab Space Learn Our Process ZDNET's reviewers spend weeks to months testing each laptop on ... [Read More]

Dec 20th, 2024 - West coast states are spending millions to protect their inland waterways from invasive crabs. In some places, otters are just eating them. SAN FRANCISCO – A California ecosystem has gotten a big boost from an adorable, fluffy and hungry friend. At Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve , a newly-reinvigorated population of native southern sea otters has eaten so many invasive European green crabs that researchers say the otters have locally solved a problem that has plagued the West Coast for years. States are spending millions to protect their inland waterways from the ... [Read More]

Dec 20th, 2024 - A new study of more than 26,000 white dwarf stars has finally confirmed a subtle, long-predicted phenomenon: hotter white dwarfs are slightly larger than cooler ones, even when they share the same mass.  The research, led by experts at Johns Hopkins University , verifies a key aspect of how these incredibly dense stellar remnants behave under extreme gravity.  Dead stars and the search for dark matter  The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal , lays important groundwork for using white dwarfs as astrophysical laboratories to probe fundamental physics and search for ... [Read More]