Twin spacecraft mission reveals there might be a ‘hot’ side of the moon

The moon’s nearside (that is, the side facing Earth) is dark-colored and dominated by ancient lava flows, whereas the farside is more rugged—and NASA researchers now suggest it’s due to a wonky lunar interior. Using data from twin spacecraft named Ebb and Flow, they found a 2–3% difference in the moon mantle’s ability to deform on each side. They say this data could be explained by the nearest hemisphere’s insides being up to 170°C hotter than the farside.

The detection of differences between the moon’s interior in the near and far hemispheres is reported in Nature this week.

The findings, based on gravitational field data from the NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, indica...

Shandong researchers suggest that edible and medicinal fungi contain bioactive components with therapeutic potential for central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Findings offer evidence for the potential of these fungi to serve as novel pharmaceuticals or functional foods in the treatment of CNS diseases.

Central nervous system (CNS) diseases involve complex pathophysiology, gradual symptom onset, and significant challenges in therapeutic evaluation...

People store large quantities of data in their electronic devices and transfer some of this data to others, whether for professional or personal reasons. Data compression methods are thus of the utmost importance, as they can boost the efficiency of devices and communications, making users less reliant on cloud data services and external storage devices.

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Vast, quasi-circular features on Venus’s surface may reveal that the planet has ongoing tectonics, according to new research based on data gathered more than 30 years ago by NASA’s Magellan mission.

On Earth, the planet’s surface is continually renewed by the constant shifting and recycling of massive sections of crust, called tectonic plates, that float atop a viscous interior. Venus doesn’t have tectonic plates, but its surface is still being deformed by molten material from below.

Seeking to better understand the underlying processes driving these deformations, the researchers studied a type of feature called a corona.

Ranging in size from dozens to hundreds of miles across, a corona is most often thought to be the location where a plume of hot, buoyant material from the p...