By Heidi Harley

science / science - 5 years ago

In a surprise, first alien moon discovered is big and gaseous

Astronomers have pinpointed what appears to be the first moon detected outside our solar system, a large gaseous world the size of Neptune that is unlike any other known moon and orbits a gas planet much more massive than Jupiter. "It's big and weird by solar system standards," Columbia University...

science / science - 5 years ago

Bezos' space company designing large lunar lander

The lander is part of Blue Origin's broader mission of enabling a future in which millions of people live and work in space, the company said. "The next logical step in this path is a return to the Moon," Blue Origin said in a statement. "To do this we need reusable access to the lunar surface and...

science / science - 5 years ago

'Darwin in a test tube': Trio wins Nobel for harnessing evolution

US scientists Frances Arnold and George Smith and British researcher Gregory Winter won the Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday for applying the principles of evolution to develop proteins used in everything from new biofuels to to the world's best-selling drug. Arnold, just the fifth woman to clinc...

science / science - 5 years ago

How Arctic lakes accelerate permafrost carbon losses

This is a& re-post from Carbon Brief.& & Dr Ingmar Nitze& is a postdoctoral researcher at the& Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research& (AWI);& Dr Guido Grosse& is head of the Permafrost Research Section at AWI and professor of permafrost in the Earth system at the& U...