Webb Telescope Discovered An Exoplanet

Aside from providing a trove of information about the early universe, the James Webb Space Telescope, since its 2021 launch, has obtained valuable data on various already-known planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets. Now, for the first time, Webb has discovered an exoplanet not previously known.

Webb has directly imaged a young gas giant planet roughly the size of Saturn, our solar system's second-largest planet, orbiting a star smaller than the sun located about 110 light-years from Earth in the constellation Antlia, researchers said. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

Most of the roughly 5,900 exoplanets discovered since the 1990s have been detected using indirect methods, such as through observation of the slight dimming of a star's light when a planet passes in front of it, called the transit method. Less than 2% of them have been directly imaged, as Webb did with the newly identified planet.

While this planet is large when considered in the context of our solar system, it is actually the least massive one ever discovered through direct imaging - 10 times less massive than the previous record holder. This speaks to the sensitivity of Webb's instruments.

This discovery was achieved using a French-produced coronagraph, a device that blocks out the bright light from a star, installed on Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument, or MIRI.

"Webb opens a new window - in terms of mass and the distance of a planet to the star - of exoplanets that had not been accessible to observations so far. This is important to explore the diversity of exoplanetary systems and understand how they form and evolve," said astronomer Anne-Marie Lagrange of the French research agency CNRS and LIRA/Observatoire de Paris, lead author of the study published last 25 June in the journal Nature.

The planet orbits its host star, called TWA 7, at a distance about 52 times greater than Earth's orbital distance from the sun. To put that in perspective, our solar system's outermost planet Neptune orbits about 30 times further from the sun than Earth. The transit method of discovering exoplanets is particularly useful for spotting those orbiting close to their host star rather than much further out like the newly identified one.

"Indirect methods provide incredible information for planets close to their stars. Imaging is needed to robustly detect and characterize planets further away, typically 10 times the Earth- to-sun distance," Lagrange said.

The birth of a planetary system begins with a large cloud of gas and dust - called a molecular cloud - that collapses under its own gravity to form a central star. Leftover material spinning around the star in what is called a protoplanetary disk forms planets.

The star and the planet in this research are practically newborns - about 6 million years old, compared to the age of the sun and our solar system of roughly 4.5 billion years.

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"God-Kings" May Have Ruled Stone Age Ireland

In 2020, archaeologists in Ireland first announced a startling find at Newgrange, a giant Neolithic burial chamber 30 miles north of Dublin. Genetic analysis of the 5,000-year-old human skull fragments indicated that the man was the product of an incestuous relationship, either between siblings or a parent and their own child.

Experts offered a headline-grabbing theory: Neolithic Ireland was ruled by incestuous royal dynasties, or potentially even "god-kings" similar to those documented in ancient Egyptian and Incan empires. Dating back roughly 500 years before both Stonehenge and the Giza pyramids), the UNESCO World Heritage Site contains the remains of numerous Stone Age individuals.

Combined with evidence of genetic relations in other passage tombs on the island, according to another team led by researchers at the University College Dublin, the Newgrange god-king hypothesis doesn’t hold up to closer scrutiny. Their argument is laid out in a study published on 22 June in the journal Antiquity.

Constructed around 3100 BCE, Newgrange includes a massive burial mound built from an estimated 196,000 tons of layered earth and stone. The site has featured prominently in Irish culture for millennia, with folklore eventually ascribing the chambers as home to the region’s chief god Dagda and his son Aengus.

Antiquarians first rediscovered Newgrange in 1699 CE, but the most thorough excavation work at the site began in 1962. Experts have continued exploring the Stone Age trove—including the controversial skull fragment known as NG10.

Dating between 3340 and 3020 BCE, NG10 potentially offered, "far-reaching consequences for our understanding of prehistoric population movement and the structure of that ancient society," according to the 2020 study’s accompanying report in Nature.

"Socially sanctioned matings of this nature are very rare, and are documented almost exclusively among politico-religious elites—specifically within polygynous and patrilineal royal families that are headed by god-kings," the authors noted at the time.

Archeologist Jessica Smyth disagrees. As one of the latest study’s co-authors and an associate professor at University College Dublin, Smyth has serious doubts about NG10’s royal pedigree.

"People were definitely being selected for burial in passage tombs—the whole community does not end up in these monuments," Smyth explained in a statement. "However, we don’t know the reasons behind this selection, and why they were thought to be special."

Smyth and her colleagues argue that many of the site’s other skeletal remains simply don’t support the idea of pervasive incest among those buried at Newgrange. Instead, they say the genetic clustering found amid bones in specific passage tombs more typically reflects distant biological relations such as second cousins and even great-great-great-grand parents. With this knowledge, Smyth and co-authors believe the burials weren’t solely determined by lineage or royal dynasty, but potentially along more communal, egalitarian lines.

"We now have some really great examples of monuments elsewhere in Europe that contain people with very close biological ties—parents, children, grandparents, etc.," said Smyth. "This sort of [ancient DNA] evidence is much closer to the idea of a lineage or dynasty. [But] we do not see this evidence in Irish passage tombs."

What’s more, a deceased person’s remains were treated differently during Neolithic Ireland than they are today.

"Unlike today, bodies don’t tend to be buried 'whole' or 'intact' in this time period. Before they end up in megalithic monuments, bodies are broken down, sometimes cremated and even circulated around their communities," added Smyth.

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INFINITY Science Hopes To Tickle Your Curiosity

Whenever you are visiting Mississippi this summer, one place you can check out is the INFINITY Science Center on the coast.

"INFINITY is a place where you can come and sort of unleash your curiosity. It’s a place where you can explore this planet and how it works and all the processes that enable life on it. And it’s also a place where you can think about going beyond this planet and going out into space," said John Wilson, the director of the center in Hancock County.

The INFINITY Science Center is the officials NASA Visitor’s Center for the Stennis Space Center. One of the most impressive things there is the first stage of an actual Saturn V rocket, which was the launch vehicle that lifted the Apollo missions off the Earth. There is also a full-scale model of the Lunar Lander.

There’s a lot of space devoted to Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, who is from Biloxi.

"We have his actual flight suit on display. My brother and I were actually outside doing chores my dad had us do. And I’ll never forget my brother looked up and said, ‘Just think. There’s a guy from Biloxi up there right now,'" said Wilson.

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50-Year Old Moon Samples Still Reveal New Discoveries

Amazingly, the samples of material from the moon retrieved by the Apollo missions are still providing new insights more than 50 years later, in this case how tiny glass beads that litter the lunar surface are telling us about the explosive volcanic plumes that formed them 3.3 to 3.6 billion years ago.

"We've had these samples for 50 years, but we now have the technology to fully understand them," said Ryan Ogliore, a physics professor at Washington University in St Louis, in a statement. "Many of these instruments would have been unimaginable when the beads were first collected."

The tiny beads, less than a millimeter in size, are embedded in lunar rocks and mixed into the lunar regolith. They come in two varieties, orange and black, and were produced when drops of lava in plumes that violently erupted out of volcanoes cooled quickly in the cold vacuum on the lunar surface. Around 3.5 billion years ago, the moon was drastically volcanically active, forming the dark patches of the lunar maria that today form the "face" of the "Man in the Moon."

"The beads are tiny, pristine capsules of the lunar interior," said Ogliore. "They're some of the most amazing extraterrestrial samples we have."

Ogliore was part of a team led by Thomas Williams, Stephen Parman and Alberto Saal of Brown University in Rhode Island, who deployed a variety of modern microscopic analysis techniques on the beads to learn more about the volcanic conditions in which the beads formed.

The main instrument used was a NanoSIMS 50 ion microprobe at Washington University, which can perform spectrometry at the atomic scale, identifying elements and isotopes, and probing nano-scale structure.

To avoid the subject material being exposed to Earth's atmosphere and reacting with its oxygen, the ion beam cored into the samples, extracting the beads from within them, and then taking care that the material was protected from our atmosphere. The samples were then subjected to a number of analysis techniques, including atom probe tomography, scanning-electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

"Even with the advanced techniques we used, these were very difficult measurements to make," said Ogliore.

The measurements told the team about the pressure, temperature and chemistry of the environment that the beads formed in. Indeed, their very existence is proof that the moon had explosive eruptions, "something like the fire fountains that you can see in Hawaii today," said Ogliore.

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Why Are Humpback Whales Making Bubbles?

Reseachers arre baffled on why humpback whales produce bubbles that create a spectacle that often draws tourists from around the world.

Now, a new study published in Marine Mammal Science explores rare instances when humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae) create dramatic, doughnut-shaped vortex bubbles that look like a rolling underwater smoke ring.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, and their colleagues at other institutions—including the SETI Institute, which is known for focusing on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) but is also interested in nonhuman intelligences on Earth —were looking for examples of whales’ general bubble behavior when they uncovered a striking video taken by videographer Dan Knaub in 1988. In the footage, a humpback called "Thorn" blows 19 bubble structures—including 11 rings—over a 10-minute period.

"We were just gobsmacked—like, 'What the hell is going on?'" says Fred Sharpe, a whale biologist at U.C. Davis. "For a team that’s interested in assisting astrobiologists parse unusual signals coming from deep space, it just fell real neatly into our paradigm.... It’s so bizarre."

Sharpe and his colleagues soon found more examples on social media and from other researchers. Study co-author Jodi Frediani, a wildlife photographer who is also at U.C. Davis, even noticed a telltale circle in a photograph a friend showed during a presentation about humpback whales. With this phenomenon on her mind, she says, "I went, 'Gee, there's a bubble ring!'"

For the study, the team recorded 12 events across the North and South Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans in which 11 individual humpbacks were seen blowing bubble rings. The researchers described 39 rings in total. "It’s not a lot in the world of whales but enough—and in multiple oceans," Frediani says.

"It’s a really fun paper," says Syracuse University biologist Susan E. Parks, who studies bubble-net feeding in humpbacks and wasn’t involved in the new study.

"It reads like a detective story that’s trying to piece together information about something that’s not widely studied and happens rarely." Parks hasn’t observed any bubble rings herself—as far as she knows, she says, "I may have seen them before and never really thought anything of them."

Despite compiling so many examples of the rings, Sharpe still doesn’t know what to think about their purpose. "My guess is that this is what it’s going to feel like when we first make contact with aliens," he says.

The researchers speculate that the behavior could be playful. One whale would blow a bubble ring and then swim through it or "do a spy hop right through the middle of it," Frediani says—when performing such a spy hop, the whale would peep its head vertically above the surface, right through the bubble ring. Or perhaps the animals’ behavior could respresent curiosity toward humans: of the 12 recorded events, nine involved whales that approached the human observers more closely before they blew rings.

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Battle Of Blood River: Between Zulu And Voortrekkers

In the early 1800s the British colonized the Cape, sending Boer farmers in South Africa looking for areas outside of British rule. These people became known as Voortrekkers (Afrikaans: "Early Migrants"). The Voortrekker migration initially faced little resistance and eventually reached Natal, an area primarily occupied by the Zulu people.

Conflict between the Voortrekkers and the Zulu began with negotiations over the proposed purchase of land in Natal. In November 1837 the Voortrekkers met with Dingane, the king of the Zulu.

Dingane reportedly granted the Voortrekkers land between the Tugela River and the Mzimvubu River in the south, on the condition that they retrieve cattle stolen by the rebel chief Sikyonela. Piet Retief, leader of the Voortrekkers, agreed to this, and he and his men completed the task that was asked of them. They also took additional horses, cattle, and guns from Sikyonela and his people to supplement the Voortrekkers’ supplies.

Dingane then demanded that Retief deliver this additional booty to him, and Retief responded with a letter that invoked a previous Voortrekker military success over the Ndebele. Dingane interpreted this thinly veiled threat as evidence of a Voortrekker plot against him.

When the Voortrekkers arrived with the cattle and horses they had retrieved, Dingane pretended to welcome them with open arms. He is said to have granted a treaty for the land but planned to kill the Boers before they could settle there. Dingane invited Retief and his men to a farewell celebration that would take place the next day, asking them to leave their weapons behind as a sign of respect.

Ignoring the warnings of fellow Voortrekkers who suspected that treachery was afoot, Retief arrived the next day with approximately 69 followers to partake in celebrations.

After traditional dances and celebrations, Dingane commanded his people to kill the Voortrekkers. Chaos commenced, and all the Voortrekkers present were killed, including Retief. Dingane then moved against the rest of the Voortrekker population, which had encroached into Zulu territory.

With approximately 15,000 men, he marched to the foot of the Drakensberg mountains, where the Voortrekkers had built their laagers (encampments). The Zulu wiped these camps out swiftly, killing a number of women and children in the process.

Andries Pretorius took command of the Voortrekker forces and led them into Zululand on the offensive. Knowing that they were outnumbered, the Voortrekkers abandoned their plan of a direct assault on the Zulu capital.

When news arrived that the Zulu were approaching, the Voortrekkers took a position near the Ncome River. The site was strategically advantageous, as it was protected by a ravine to the south. On 15 December 1838, the Zulu attempted to cross the Ncome, but only half of the 15,000 men were able to, perhaps because of misty weather conditions.

The Voortrekkers were able to check the charging Zulu forces with their guns and cannons. After running out of ammunition, Pretorius sent 300 men on horseback to split the remaining Zulu army. The Zulu retreated at nightfall. Seeing that the Ncome River was red with the blood of fallen Zulu warriors, the Boers gave it the Afrikaans name Bloedrivier (Blood River).

Pretorius and the Voortrekkers arrived at Mgungundlovu on December 20, 1838, only to discover that it had been destroyed. Near the capital, on KwaMatiwane hill, the Voortrekker troops found the remains of Retief and his men.

Dingane fled to Swaziland, only to be killed by local chiefs. The Voortrekkers, intent on keeping their vow, built a church in Pietermaritzburg (named after their two fallen leaders, Retief and Gerrit Maritz).

December 16 was celebrated as "Dingane’s Day" until 1910, when it was renamed "Day of the Vow." After the end of apartheid in 1994, December 16 was renamed the "Day of Reconciliation" and is meant to foster a sense of national unity and racial harmony.

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The Longest Day In 2025 Is Coming

Everything is getting heated across the country. Politics, sports, business, tech and entertainment are becoming hot topics and summer has not even officially begun.

The summer solstice will occur on Friday, 20 June, and it will be both the longest day and shortest night of 2025 in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The summer solstice also marks the start of the Pagan holiday, Litha, also known as Midsummer, according to the Boston Public Library. The holiday celebrates the beginning of summer and is celebrated with hilltop bonfires and dancing.

With the summer solstice near, here is everything people need to know about the grand occasion.

The summer solstice marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere will greet winter with its winter solstice.

"The Northern Hemisphere's tilt toward the Sun is greatest on this day," according to NASA. "This means the Sun travels its longest, highest arc across the sky all year for those north of the equator."

During the summer solstice, the tilt brings the Earth's northernmost point closer to the sun, resulting in more sunlight. The solstice itself only lasts moments, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The date of the summer solstice can fall at any point between 20 June and 22 June, depending on the year, according to the NWS.

In 2024, the solstice fell on Thursday, 20 June.

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Science Showed That There Were No Black Vikings

The Vikings, originating from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, are widely known for their extensive voyages across the sea from the late 8th to the early 11th centuries. Their expeditions took them across diverse landscapes, from the remote shores of North America to the Mediterranean.

As skilled sailors, traders, and raiders, the Vikings developed an intricate network of routes. This network was more than a means for raiding distant territories; it facilitated the exchange of goods, cultures, and ideas, linking them with diverse peoples and civilizations, each with its own unique traits and appearances.

The expeditions brought them into contact with many cultures, such as the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and notably, Miklagard—or Constantinople as it is known today. While in the Iberian Peninsula and Italy, the Vikings engaged in both plunder and trade, but it was in Miklagard that the Vikings’ role expanded beyond that of mere traders and raiders to include mercenaries.

Despite these connections in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, there is a clear distinction between these people and the Sub-Saharan Africans. The darker skin tones were beyond the Vikings’ geographical and cultural reach during this era. And even if there were blacks sold as slaves in Miklagard, there is no evidence that the Vikings bought, hired, or befriended them to be part of their society.

Recent advancements in genetic testing, including those accessible through home gene testing kits, have revolutionized our understanding of historical populations, offering direct insights into the ethnic compositions of our ancestors.

Specifically, studies employing modern genetic testing and osteological analysis have provided crucial evidence regarding the ethnic makeup of Viking populations. Contrary to the speculative narratives of "black Vikings," these scientific inquiries have found no evidence of Sub-Saharan African ancestry among the Vikings.

This absence of Sub-Saharan African genes in Viking populations not only corroborates historical narratives and linguistic analyses but also challenges modern misconceptions about the racial diversity of these ancient societies.

The integration of home gene testing technologies into the public domain has given people widespread access to genetic information, allowing individuals to explore their own ancestral backgrounds and contributing to a broader understanding of our collective past.

Exploring our genetic roots really shows the difference between what’s often believed and what science actually tells us. It proves how crucial it is to rely on real evidence when we talk about history.

Despite the widespread fascination with Vikings and their extensive voyages, archaeological evidence has yet to substantiate the presence of Sub-Saharan Africans within Norse societies during the Viking Age. Excavations of Viking burial sites, settlements, and places of gathering across Scandinavia and their known areas of activity have provided invaluable insights into the lives, cultures, and movements of these peoples. These findings include a wealth of artifacts such as weapons, jewelry, ships, and tools that reflect the aesthetic values, technological capabilities, and social structures of Viking societies.

Notably, the analysis of these materials has not revealed artifacts that can be directly linked to Sub-Saharan African origins or influences. Unlike in the Mediterranean, where archaeological finds sometimes reflect a confluence of cultures due to trade and conquest, Viking artifacts maintain a distinct Norse character without indications of African integration.

The evidence clearly shows that the myth of black Vikings does not match with the findings from history, archaeology, or genetics, showing that such ideas are newer interpretations with no backing from historical documents. The assertion that Vikings were black is often brought up to push current agendas, aiming to undermine the accomplishments of Nordic cultures.

However, it is critical to base our understanding of Viking society on accurate historical and scientific findings to ensure that our view of the Viking Age is grounded in reality. The Vikings were not black, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.

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Scientists Surprised By Results of Experiment on Ultrahot Plasma

A team of U.S. scientists has made a surprising discovery that could help bring fusion energy, a long-hoped-for clean energy source, closer to reality.

In a recent experiment at the University of Rochester, researchers were stunned to find that heat in an ultrahot plasma didn't flow between materials the way they thought it would. At a scorching 180,000 degrees, heat seemed to get stuck between tungsten metal and a plastic coating, leaving that material surprisingly cool, as reported by Interesting Engineering.

"When we looked at the data, we were totally shocked because the heat was not flowing between these materials," said physicist Thomas White, who led the project alongside his former student, Cameron Allen.

The pair had set out to test heat transfer in materials subjected to ultrahigh temperatures but instead uncovered a new mystery.

This marks the first time scientists have directly observed this type of heat blockage in what's called high-energy-density plasma, the kind of matter found inside stars and advanced fusion reactors.

The culprit is interfacial thermal resistance, which acts like a wall that reflects electrons carrying heat instead of letting them pass through. In easier terms, it's like trying to pass a hot potato through a windowpane, and the energy just bounces back.

Understanding that quirky behavior could help scientists design smarter systems that better manage extreme heat.

Fusion energy, the same process that powers the sun, involves fusing atoms to release energy. If we can master it here on Earth, it could offer nearly limitless power without the dirty energy that comes from burning gas, coal, or oil. That would mean cleaner air, fewer health risks, and the potential for lower utility bills, especially in cities and communities where energy costs hit the hardest.

This discovery could ripple into how we design hypersonic aircraft, develop advanced medical devices, and make computer chips more efficient. It could improve everyday tech, health care, and even transportation systems.

"High-energy laser labs provide an essential tool," Jeremiah Williams from the National Science Foundation said, per Interesting Engineering.

According to the Rochester team, this unexpected heat behavior could help researchers build better, more cost-effective solutions for clean energy and beyond. Fusion's potential also supports the global shift toward diversifying clean energy.

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A Less Expensive Solar Panel With One Major Drawback

A team of engineers at Cornell University may have just cracked one of solar energy's toughest challenges: making affordable solar panels that can stand up to heat, moisture, and long-term sunlight without breaking down.

Their innovation centers on perovskite, a flexible, crystal-like material that absorbs sunlight exceptionally well. Compared to traditional silicon panels, perovskite is easier and less expensive to manufacture.

But there's been one big drawback, per Tech Xplore: They degrade quickly under heat, moisture, or prolonged sunlight exposure.

That's where Cornell's breakthrough stands out. Researchers developed a solar cell structure that sandwiches a protective 2D perovskite layer over a 3D one, forming a weather-resistant shell.

They used a more stable molecule called formamidinium in the outer layer, which holds up far better than previous materials. To make it work, the engineers relied on lattice matching, a method of aligning the molecular structures of both layers to ensure a snug fit.

The result was a solar panel that survived 50 days of high heat and intense light and retained 95 percent of its performance, per Tech Xplore.

Even better, the panel achieved a 25.3 percent conversion efficiency rate, rivaling some of the most advanced solar tech on the market while keeping costs low.

The research, published in the journal Joule, builds on years of work to overcome the durability issues of perovskite solar cells.

According to Tech Xplore, previous attempts to stabilize these materials often failed because of poor structural compatibility. By focusing on molecular harmony, the Cornell team may have found the key to unlocking real-world use.

"This was really inspiring for me — not just the scientific aspect, but also the technological relevance," said Shripathi Ramakrishnan, the study's lead author and a doctoral candidate at Cornell, per Tech Xplore.

For homeowners, this breakthrough could lead to solar panels that last longer, require fewer repairs, and withstand extreme weather, all of which could translate to significant savings on utility bills.

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Waters Below Offshore Wind Farms Is Teeming With Wildlife

New research indicates that offshore wind farms may be a suitable habitat for ocean wildlife, according to a study published by Phys.org.

Seawater samples collected by scientists from Wageningen University & Research near four wind farms in the Dutch North Sea showed signs of multiple shark and ray species: thornback rays, basking sharks, spotted rays, starry smooth-hounds, and blonde rays.

A contributing factor to the abundance of fauna at wind farms may be the local ban on trawling. These are in place because trawling would damage undersea cables connected to the wind farms. The ban has the added benefit of leaving sea floor ecosystems undisturbed and ripe for natural predation.

Researchers were particularly excited by being able to gauge animal populations solely through DNA traces found in the water. This eliminated the need to spot live specimens or engage in more invasive tracking.

As a part of a larger project, the group is continuing to study the effects of undersea power cables on wildlife and whether their electromagnetic fields affect animal navigation skills.

Wind power is a key energy source for a more sustainable future. It can help displace reliance on coal and gas power, which produce significant atmospheric pollution.

That pollution can heat and acidify oceans, causing damage to ecosystems, and can accelerate the melting of polar ice caps, which raises sea levels. The extra heat in the atmosphere also exacerbates destructive weather patterns.

Being able to support biodiversity alongside green energy is a great bonus.

A major project in the U.S. aims to similarly protect animal habitat and provide space for large-scale wind power. However, the researchers were highly tentative about whether their work proved anything conclusive about wildlife at wind farms.

"We're trying to understand whether these animals are actually using the wind farms as habitat, or whether they're being displaced by them," said lead author Annemiek Hermans.

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Hidden Leaks In Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Hydrogen fuel cells are often called the clean energy solution of tomorrow — powering everything from cars to homes with just hydrogen and oxygen while leaving behind only water.

However, a new study has revealed a surprising flaw that could be slowing down that future: a hidden energy leak that kicks in when things heat up.

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) took a closer look at a popular fuel cell material called barium zirconate. It's commonly used in high-temperature fuel cells, which convert hydrogen into electricity with little to no pollution. These types of fuel cells are exciting because they can outperform traditional gas-powered engines — but only if they run efficiently.

Here's the catch: The scientists found that when the fuel cells heat up past 600 Kelvin (about 620 degrees Fahrenheit), they start leaking energy. And not just a little. Their simulations showed that high temperatures cause tiny vibrations inside the material's atomic structure — and those vibrations push electrons out of place.

When electrons wander off, they leave behind "holes," which act like little energy drains inside the system.

In fact, when the team accounted for these temperature effects, it found four times as many of these energy-wasting holes compared to what traditional models predicted. "Traditionally, models don't fully account for temperature-induced vibrations," said Shenli Zhang, LLNL physicist and first author of the study. "But our calculations show that this effect is far from negligible."

This breakthrough, published in the PRX Energy journal, helps explain why fuel cells don't always live up to their full potential. But more importantly, it offers a roadmap for how to fix it.

The researchers created a new simulation protocol that lets them calculate exactly how much energy is lost at different temperatures — and which materials might hold up better. That could be a game-changer as we race to build cleaner, more affordable energy systems. Hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to replace dirtier technologies in transportation, power generation, and even home energy systems.

But every bit of lost energy means more cost, more fuel used, and less efficiency overall. Plugging these leaks could lead to better-performing fuel cells that save money and reduce pollution at the same time.

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Turkmenistan Reduces Fire Of "Gateway To Hell"

Turkmenistan authorities reported on 4 June that it had significantly reduced a gas fire that has been raging for half a century at a site dubbed the "Gateway to Hell".

The fire has been burning in the Karakum desert since 1971, when Soviet scientists accidentally drilled into an underground pocket of gas and then decided to ignite it.

The blaze has been spewing out massive quantities of methane, a gas that contributes to climate change, ever since.

Officials said the fire - which has become the reclusive country's top tourist attraction - had been reduced three-fold, without specifying the time frame.

"Whereas before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name 'Gateway to Hell', today only a faint source of combustion remains," said Irina Luryeva, a director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz.

Numerous wells have been drilled around the fire to capture methane, she said at an environmental conference in the capital Ashgabat.

Turkmenistan -- one of the world's most closed countries -- is estimated to have the world's fourth largest gas reserves.

It is the world's biggest emitter of methane through gas leaks, according to the International Energy Agency -- a claim denied by the authorities.

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Is This The Calm Before The Storm?

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) was monitoring a tropical wave in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean almost two weeks before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. It never became organized enough to worry about, but despite a quiet May, indications are that this could be an active hurricane season.

There were no named storms in the Northern Hemisphere through the middle of May this year. Over the past 75 Atlantic hurricane seasons, there have only been five other years that did not produce a named storm through May 15. That doesn't mean we can let our guard down, as most forecasters are predicting an active hurricane season for 2025. Hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and ends on November 30.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting above-average hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year. There is a 60 percent chance of an above-normal season, a 30 percent chance of a near-normal season, and only a 10percent chance of a below-normal season, according to the NOAA. Colorado State University has issued a similar forecast, calling for 17 named storms compared to the average of 14.4 during the period from 1991 to 2020.

A NHC tropical weather outlook noted the wave that developed in the middle of May. The product is posted on the NHC's website to help identify and monitor potential systems that could intensify.

"The tropical weather outlook provides forecasts on areas of disturbed weather that could develop into tropical cyclones," said Larry Kelly, a hurricane specialist with the NHC, per the News-Press.

"It highlights the location, movement, and development potential of these systems over the next two to seven days. This information is important for early preparation and awareness during hurricane season so you can be prepared for the hazards that systems can bring, including storm surge, flooding, strong winds, tornadoes, and hazardous marine and beach conditions."

Any hurricanes that develop this season have the potential to be supercharged by our overheating planet. Hurricane Helene, the most deadly hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005, got an energy boost from superheated oceans last year. The unusually warm seas that spawned this historic hurricane were 200 times more likely because of our warming world.

Melting glaciers and ice sheets are raising sea levels. Rising sea levels have compelled coastal communities to restore sand dunes and beaches as a natural defense against storm surges. Higher seas mean more destructive storms as storm surges penetrate farther inland along coastlines.

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Mystery Space Object Flashing Signals At Earth Every 44 Minutes

There is some serious X-Files truth out there. Even Astronomers confirmed that they’re stunned by an unidentified object flashing strange signals from deep space.

The object, named ASKAP J1832-0911, was detected by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and NASA’S Chandra X-ray observatory — the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope.

"It is unlike anything we have seen before," Andy Wang, an astronomer at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, declared in a statement published this week.

ASKAP J1832-0911 emits pulses of radio waves and X-rays for two minutes every 44 minutes, according to the experts, who documented their findings in Nature journal.

ASKAP J1832-0911 has been classified as a "long-period transient" or "LPT" — a cosmic body that emits radio pulses separated by a few minutes or a few hours.

Wang and his team theorize that the object could be a dead star, but they don’t know why it "switches on" and "switches off" at "long, regular and unusual intervals," Space.com reports.

"ASKAP J1831-0911 could be a magnetar (the core of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields), or it could be a pair of stars in a binary system where one of the two is a highly magnetised white dwarf (a low-mass star at the end of its evolution)," Wang wrote.

"However, even those theories do not fully explain what we are observing," he added. "This discovery could indicate a new type of physics or new models of stellar evolution."

Wang and his team hope to detect similar another using radio waves and the Chandra X-ray observatory, saying a subsequent discovery will help them learn more about the nature of such LPTs.

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Is This The Largest Gold Mine In The World?

A deposit of gold ore reportedly discovered in China isn’t just giant. It’s supergiant. So much so, in fact, that Chinese experts claim it could be the largest deposit of any precious metal—not just gold ore—in existence today.

How big is the "supergiant" deposit located under the Wangu gold field in the Hunan province? Experts estimate it at 1,100 tons.

According to Chinese state media, a team of geologists detected over 40 gold veins of roughly 330 tons of gold ore dipping 6,600 feet deep under Pingjiang County’s Wangu gold field. But 3D modeling blows that number out of the water, showing there could be as much as 1,100 tons as deep as 9,800 feet. If the models are accurate, the deposit in its entirely could be worth roughly US$ 83 billion.

Adding some more heft to the already weighty (literally) find was the report that the new discovery features 138 grams of gold per metric ton of ore, a valuable rate not often found in gold mining.

"Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold," said Chen Rulin, an ore-prospecting expert at China’s Hunan Province’s Geological Bureau, according to Chinese state media.

If the 1,100-ton figure holds up, that makes this new find the largest gold mine in the world, even outpacing South Africa’s South Deep gold mine with its 1,025 tons of gold, according to Mining Technology. Mines in Indonesia, Russia, New Guinea, and Chile round out the top-five gold mines in the world. The Carlin Trend and Cortez gold mines, both in Nevada, are ranked sixth and 10th worldwide.

Historically, the world has mined 233,000 tons of gold, all of it still around in some form, and two-thirds of that mining has occurred since 1950.

Already the world’s top gold producer with about 10 percent of global production, China is heavily dependent on the metal, using about three times more gold than it mines annually. A rate that high requires the country to purchase so much gold from other countries that it’s also the world’s top importer of the valuable metal.

This new discovery has put the world’s gold markets on notice, enough so that the price of gold rose to US$ 2,700 per ounce, according to CCN.com.

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A Three Thousand Year-Old Mayan Structure Features Canals

Archaeologists just discovered the remains of a nearly 3,000-year-old Mayan complex in Guatemala, revealing sanctuaries, pyramids and a unique canal system that could shed further light on the ancient civilization, the country’s culture minister said recently.

The complex was discovered across three sites — Los Abuelos, Petnal and Cambrayal — near the significant Mayan site of Uaxactún in the Petén region of northern Guatemala, the ministry said in a statement.

The Mayan civilization arose around 2,000 BC and reached its height between 400 and 900 AD, predominantly in modern-day Mexico and Guatemala. During its height, people built temples, roads, pyramids and other monuments, and developed complex systems of writing, mathematics and astronomy.

Los Abuelos, which means "The Grandparents" in Spanish, lies around 13 miles (21 kilometers) from Uaxactún and gets its name from two human-like rock figures found at the site, believed to represent an "ancestral couple," the ministry said.

These figures, along with several sacred sanctuaries, suggest it was an important site for Mayan rituals, said Luis Rodrigo Carrillo, Guatemala’s vice minister of culture and sports, in a press briefing announcing the findings.

"Located here is one of the most important ritual centers in the region, with notable sanctuaries, helping to reassess our understanding of Mayan history," the ministry said in a video announcing the discovery.

East of Los Abuelos lies Petnal, which features a 33-meter-high (108-foot) pyramid. At its peak are two preserved rooms adorned with murals depicting various symbolic representations, Carrillo said.

In Cambrayal, around three miles (4.8 kilometers) from Los Abuelos, scientists also identified “unique” water canals inside a palace, marking a notable discovery, the ministry said.

"These sites form a previously unknown urban triangle whose existence we were unaware of until now. These new archeological discoveries constitute a testament of Mayan culture’s greatness, which today we are making known to the whole world," the ministry said.

The discoveries were made by Guatemalan and Slovak archaeologists, alongside international experts, as part of the Uaxactún Regional Archaeological Project (PARU) and with backing from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, officials said.

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