Curiosity Mastcam image of the Old Soaker rock slab taken on Sol 1555. The red-toned bed is covered by ridges that are the remnants of sediment that filled cracks that formed in drying lake in Gale Crater some ~3.5 billion years ago. The slab is about 80 cm across. Credit: Image courtesy NASA

As Curiosity rover marches across Mars, the red planet’s watery past comes into clearer focus. In early 2017 scientists announced the discovery of possible desiccation cracks in Gale Crater, which was filled by lakes 3.5 billion years ago. Now, a new study has confirmed that these features are indeed desiccation cracks, and reveals fresh details about Mars’ ancient climate.

“We are now confident that these are mudcracks,” explains lead author Nathaniel Stein, a geologist at the California Institute of...

As soon as the calcium level exceeds a particular threshold over a longer period of time, an implant inserted under the skin triggers the production of melanin. This causes a mole to form. (Simulated montage) Credit: ETH Zurich

Researchers have developed an early warning system for the 4 most common types of cancer. Should a tumor develop, a visible mole will appear on the skin. Alongside cardiovascular disease, cancer has become the top cause of death in industrialised countries. Many of those affected are diagnosed only after the tumour has developed extensively. This often reduces the chance of recovery significantly: the cure rate for prostate cancer is 32% and only 11% for colon cancer...

This shows the reaction mechanism for converting hydrogen fluoride (HF) impurity from the electrolyte into lithium fluoride (LiF) in the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) with release of hydrogen gas (H2). The SEI layer is shown on a substrate of gold (Au) atoms, which serves as a simplified model system. Scientists determined this mechanism using advanced computational methods (density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations). Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

An international team makes breakthrough in understanding the chemistry of the microscopically thin layer that forms between the liquid electrolyte and solid electrode in lithium-ion batteries. The results are being used in improving the layer and better predicting battery lifetime...

NGC 6240 as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have completed an unprecedented “dissection” of twin galaxies in the final stages of merging. The new study, led by CU Boulder research associate Francisco Müller-Sánchez, explores a galaxy called NGC 6240. While most galaxies in the universe hold only one supermassive black hole at their center, NGC 6240 contains two – and they’re circling each other in the last steps before crashing together.

The research reveals how gases ejected by those spiraling black holes, in combination with gases ejected by stars in the galaxy, may have beg...