Best of week 34 / 2024

Why isn't Colorado's snowpack ending up in the Colorado River? Research suggests it might be the lack of spring rainfall

The Colorado River and its tributaries provide water for hydropower, irrigation and drinking water in seven U.S. states and Mexico. Much of this water comes from the snowpack that builds up over the winter and then melts each spring. Every year in early April, water managers use the snowpack to predict how much water will be available for the upcoming year.

Singing from memory unlocks a surprisingly common musical superpower

Psychologists from UC Santa Cruz wanted to study "earworms," the types of songs that get stuck in your head and play automatically on a loop. So they asked people to sing out any earworms they were experiencing and record them on their phones when prompted at random times throughout the day.

Earth hit by 'severe' solar storm

The Earth was hit Monday by an intense solar storm that could bring the northern lights to night skies further south than normal, a US agency announced.

New analysis of Webb data measures universe expansion rate, finds there may not be a 'Hubble tension'

We know many things about our universe, but astronomers are still debating exactly how fast it is expanding. In fact, over the past two decades, two major ways to measure this number—known as the "Hubble constant" —have come up with different answers, leading some to wonder if there was something missing from our model of how the universe works.

New species of extinct walrus-like mammal discovered in the North Atlantic

A new discovery by a team of paleontologists, led by Dr. Mathieu Boisville (University of Tsukuba, Japan), has uncovered a new species of the extinct genus Ontocetus from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the North Atlantic. This species, named Ontocetus posti, displays surprising similarities in feeding adaptations to the modern walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), highlighting an intriguing case of convergent evolution. The research is published in the journal PeerJ.

DNA study challenges thinking on ancestry of people in Japan

A genetic study led by researchers from RIKEN's Center for Integrative Medical Sciences has uncovered evidence that people in Japan descend from three ancestral groups.

Newly discovered protein stops DNA damage

Researchers from Western University have discovered a protein that has the never-before-seen ability to stop DNA damage in its tracks. The finding could provide the foundation for developing everything from vaccines against cancer, to crops that can withstand the increasingly harsh growing conditions brought on by climate change.

Rare archaeological site reveals 'surprising' Neanderthal behavior at Pyrenees foothills

An unchartered area in the foothills of the Southern Pyrenees in Spain is providing insights into a poorly known period of Neanderthal history, offering clues that could help archaeologists uncover the mystery of their downfall, according to research from The Australian National University (ANU).

Chaos theory approach reveals long-distance relationship in seemingly random behavior of bowhead whales

Applying chaos theory to the movement of iconic arctic whales uncovered a 24-hour diving cycle and a long-range (~100 km) synchronization.

Jamestown DNA helps solve a 400-year-old mystery and unexpectedly reveals a family secret

An ancient DNA (aDNA) study at the 17th-century English colony of Jamestown, Virginia, has identified two of the town's earliest settlers, and revealed an unexpected family secret.