origins | Common News Update

Sep232023 by adminNo Comments

Osiris-Rex: Asteroid Bennu ‘is a journey back to our origins’

Science

NASABy Jonathan AmosScience correspondent in Dugway, UtahNasa's Osiris-Rex capsule will come screaming into Earth's atmosphere on Sunday at more than 15 times the speed of a rifle bullet.It will make a fireball in the sky as it does so, but a heat shield and parachutes will slow the descent and bring it into a gentle touchdown in Utah's West Desert.The capsule carries a precious cargo - a handful of dust grabbed from asteroid Bennu, a mountain-sized space rock that promises to inform the most profound of questions: Where do we come from? "When we get the 250g (9oz) of asteroid Bennu back on Earth, we'll be looking at material that existed before our planet, maybe even some grains that existed before our Solar System," says Prof Dante Lauretta, the principal investigator on the mission. "We...

Mar22021 by adminNo Comments

Human origins: ‘Little Foot’ fossil’s big journey out of Africa

Science

A priceless fossil was briefly brought to a UK research centre in complete secrecy two years ago, in an operation that had more than a touch of the spy novel about it. The specimen was transported across South Africa with an armed guard, treated like an incognito VIP on an international flight, and then whisked slickly to the Diamond X-ray Light Source just south of Oxford.It was at the British research facility that scientists were able to see some microscopic details in the ancient remains that could help unravel key clues to the origins of modern humans.Details of the operation have been made public only now, as the first results from the X-ray investigations have been shared with the wider research community."It was immensely nerve-wracking," palaeoanthropologist Dominic Stratford reca...

Jan252021 by adminNo Comments

New skull reveals evolutionary origins of tube-crested dinosaur’s unusual airways

Science

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- It's been almost a century since paleontologists last unearthed a skull belonging to the tube-crested dinosaur Parasaurolophus. But thanks to a newly excavated fossil, scientists have gained fresh insights into the evolutionary origins of the species' unusual tube-shaped nasal passage. Advertisement Originally recovered from the badlands of northwestern New Mexico in 2017, the newly analyzed skull -- described Monday in the journal PeerJ -- suggests the crests of Parasaurolophus dinosaurs formed much the same as those of other crested species, such as duckbilled dinosaurs. Though the tube-like crest of Parasaurolophus dinosaurs looks like something out of Star Wars, they worked more or less like a really big breathing apparatus. "Imagine your nose growing up your face, t...

Jul142020 by adminNo Comments

Olivier Giroud reveals funny origins of ‘writing’ celebration after scoring winning goal against Norwich

Sports

Olivier Giroud puzzled most Chelsea fans with his celebration against Norwich on Tuesday night. The 33-year-old headed home what turned out to be the winning goal at the end of a tense first half of the Blues’ 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Getty Images - Getty Giroud mimed writing something as his celebration After initially embracing his teammates, the 33-year-old pulled away from the group. He turned towards the players behind Frank Lampard’s bench and mimed as if he was writing something down. It turns out the gesture was meant for one man in particular. “It’s just, err, I play scrabble with N’Golo Kante, that’s it,” he told Sky post-match. Giroud’s goal ensured that Frank Lampard’s side bounced back with a win, after their humbling defeat to Sheff...

Dec62019 by adminNo Comments

US meteorite adds to origins mystery

Science

In January 2018, a falling meteorite created a bright fireball that arced over the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, followed by loud sonic booms. The visitor not only dropped a slew of meteorites over the snow-covered ground, it also provided information about its extra-terrestrial source. Although tens of thousands of meteorites have been recovered by humans, scientists have only been able to trace the orbits of a small number. Most of these have been calculated in the last decade. Scientists can use information about how the meteorite burned through Earth's atmosphere to calculate how the rocky object moved through space before it transformed into a fireball. Researchers cannot trace the specific path of an object back through...