A recent proposal by NASA researchers suggests that flying spacecraft in a tetrahedral formation using interferometers could uncover new physics within our solar system.

‘These deviations are hypothesized to manifest as nonzero elements in the gravity gradient tensor (GGT), fundamentally akin to a solution of the Poisson equation. Due to their minuscule nature, detecting these deviations demands precision far surpassing current capabilities—by at least five orders of magnitude. At such a heightened level of accuracy, numerous well-known effects will introduce significant noise,’ explained the lead researcher, Slava G. Turyshev.

This innovative approach aims to explore potential deviations from general relativity that could indicate the presence of new physics phenomena.

Read the article at ScienceAlert here.

A Monash University-led study has marked significant progress in gravitational wave research, providing new insights into the universe’s fundamental physics and paving the way for future explorations in particle physics.

“The work, highlighted in an international review, delves into first-order phase transitions in the early universe, with researchers reviewing the process from particle physics models to observable gravitational waves, crucial for understanding cosmic mysteries, including dark matter and matter-antimatter asymmetry,” said Ph.D. candidate Lachlan Morris and Professor Csaba Balazs.

Their findings, which detail the journey from particle physics models to the prediction of gravitational wave spectra, herald a new era in gravitational wave astronomy with potential to uncover phenomena beyond the standard model.

Read the article at Phys.org here.

Researchers have discovered stone tools in Ukraine dating back over 1 million years, potentially the oldest evidence of early human presence in Europe. “The chipped stones, deliberately fashioned from volcanic rock, were excavated from a quarry in Korolevo in the 1970s,” according to the study published in Nature. These tools, possibly made by Homo erectus, highlight early humans’ adaptability and spread across diverse environments from Africa to Europe.

This significant find underlines the human capability to colonize varied climates, from the warmth of Iberia to the seasonal cold of Ukraine.

Read the full article on Phys.org.

A recent archaeological discovery in the Andes Mountains of northern Peru has unveiled a stone circle predating the great pyramids of Egypt, believed to have been constructed around 4,750 years ago.

“This plaza is significant because it is a very early example of public, monumental, and megalithic architecture. There are a few slightly earlier examples in the Andes—and many more recent—but this is the earliest and only example like this from the Cajamarca region of northern Peru,” Toohey told Newsweek.

The monument was built using large, free-standing and vertically placed megalithic stones. This construction method has never been reported before in the Andes and is distinct from other monumental plazas in the region, the researchers said.

The circular plaza’s purpose remains a mystery, but its scale and form suggest a ceremonial function, possibly marking a transition to settled life and food production in the region.

Read the article at Newsweek.

Astronomers have identified a star system, 100 light-years away, with six planets in mathematically perfect orbits around an orange star, sparking interest in the search for alien technosignatures as potential evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life.

“HD 110067 is viewed edge on from Earth, so we are seeing the six planets in the plane of their system — a view that gives us an excellent chance of picking up such a signal if there exists one,” said study co-author Steve Croft, highlighting the unique observational vantage point.

Despite thorough searches, no definitive technosignatures have been detected yet, but the quest continues to understand the system better and explore its potential for hosting advanced life forms.

Read the full article at Space.com.

A team from the Aranzadi Science Society discovered an ancient bronze hand with the word “sorioneke” or “sorioneku” inscribed on it, closely resembling the modern Basque word for “good fortune,” during excavations at the Iron Age site of Irulegi in northern Spain. The hand, dated to about 2,100 years ago, bears the longest known text in a Vasconic language, suggesting a link between the ancient language spoken at Irulegi and today’s Basque language.

Read the article here.

A groundbreaking study proposes that the enigmatic dark matter, making up most of the universe’s mass, could mirror the physical interactions of normal matter, albeit governed by a distinct set of rules.

The researchers posited that for every physical interaction in normal matter, there’s a mirror of it in the world of dark matter. This would be a new kind of symmetry in nature, connecting the normal and dark matter worlds, the researchers said.

This symmetry could elucidate why dark and regular matter have comparable abundances, opening doors to potentially testing this theory through future cosmological observations.

Read the article at LiveScience here.

A team of scientists has discovered that Neanderthals created stone tools using a multi-component adhesive, marking the earliest evidence of such complex adhesives in Europe and suggesting a higher level of cognition and cultural development among these ancient humans than previously recognized.

“Compound adhesives are considered to be among the first expressions of the modern cognitive processes that are still active today…what our study shows is that early Homo sapiens in Africa and Neanderthals in Europe had similar thought patterns.”

Read the article here.

A 10,000 year old wall submerged off Germany’s Baltic coast may be the oldest known megastructure built by humans in Europe.

In total, the wall’s stones are thought to weigh more than 142 tons and stretches for almost a kilometer.

Closer inspection of the structure, named the Blinkerwall, revealed about 1,400 smaller stones that appear to have been positioned to connect nearly 300 larger boulders, many of which were too heavy for groups of humans to have moved.

The submerged wall, described as a “thrilling discovery”, is covered by 21 metres of water, but researchers believe it was constructed by hunter-gatherers on land next to a lake or marsh more than 10,000 years ago.

Read the article at the Guardian here.

Simulations show that a star passing by the Solar System could have introduced enough disruption to planetary orbits to nudge Earth slightly off course.

A grazing encounter between the Solar System and a passing star could once have changed Earth’s orbit enough to wreak havoc on the climate, new research has found.

Around 56 million years ago, at the boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene, Earth’s temperature warmed by up to 8 °C (14.4 °F).

Read the article here.

The Debrief is reporting that an international team of researchers has revealed the existence of a previously unrecognized variety of virus-like agents that reside within the human body.

Identified with the aid of special techniques that study microbe gene expression, known as metatranscriptomic data, the new class of life form has been dubbed “Obelisks,” according to new research led by biologist Ivan Zheludev of Stanford University.

According to newly published research detailing the discovery, Obelisks possess several unique characteristics that set them aside from other biological agents, which include secondary rod-like structures and open reading frames capable of facilitating a superfamily of proteins for which the researchers have assigned an equally intriguing name: “Oblins.”

Read the story here.

Analysis of 1.75 billion-year-old microfossils in Australia provides the earliest evidence of photosynthesis. This finding pushes back the known origin of oxygenic photosynthesis and suggests the process evolved much earlier than previously thought.

Read the article here.

The Alena Tensor is a mathematical object allowing the smooth adjustment of space-time curvature, effectively creating a “space-time slider.” The implications of this suggest the universe may be a constantly waving field, with space-time serving as a tool for perception.

Read the article here.

A new study by two Harvard psychologists shows perception of time affects how quickly wounds are healed by the body.

It supports the hypothesis that “the effect of time on physical healing is directly affected by one’s psychological experience of time.”

Read the paper here.

NASA’s Perseverance rover, situated on “Airey Hill,” is exploring signs of past water activity, with a particular focus on an intriguing rocky outcropping that may be an ancient lava flow. Scientists hope to return a sample to Earth for detailed analysis, aiming to determine when water flowed into Jezero about 3.5 billion years ago.

See the full resolution photo here.

A new article in Smithsonian Magazine details how archaeologists will use AI to decipher ancient Egyptian graffiti.

A team has been working since 2016 to create a 3D model of the Temple of Isis that will allow researchers to explore, in intimate detail, the devotions of people…who lived and died millennia ago.

Read the article here.

Early hominins crafted spherules found at a site that was dated to over 1.4 million years ago according to a study published in Royal Society Open Science.

Read the study here.

Scientists have found a new type of brain cell that is a hybrid of neurons and glial cells.

The study was published the science journal Nature and can be found here.

Red disks depicted in cave art from 42,000 years ago “might be potentially related to geomagnetic excursions.” Seems like possible evidence of a magnetic pole flip or geomagnetic deterioration.

Read the paper here.