Video: Scientists spot mesmerizing creatures after iceberg snaps off ice shelf
After a Chicago-sized iceberg broke off an Antarctic ice shelf in January, scientists discovered a thriving ecosystem never seen by humans on the sea floor.
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CBS News
12 hours ago
- CBS News
Tiny fragment of asteroid giving Field Museum scientists a glimpse 4.6 billion years into the past
The Field Museum is the new temporary home to a tiny piece of pristine asteroid. The fragment of the asteroid Bennu, on loan from NASA, won't be on display for visitors, but will give scientists the chance to study an asteroid sample uncontaminated by Earth's atmosphere. A tiny, black fragment might not seem exciting, until a scientist explains it's a specimen from space. "It's an honor of a lifetime to be able to study this sample," said Field Museum curator Dr. Philipp Heck. How did Heck feel when the little rock first arrived at the museum and he held the vial containing the sample? "It was amazing. I was looking forward to that moment for a long time," he said. NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission was planned decades ago. In 2016, a spacecraft launched. In 2018, it arrived at Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid as wide as the Sears Tower is tall. The mission collected pieces of the asteroid and brought them back to Earth in 2023. "This is the first U.S. mission that sends a spacecraft to the asteroid and brings a sample back to Earth," said University of Chicago graduate student Yuke Zheng, who is part of the OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team. "It's a tiny, dark, black fragment that is fragile, so we want to protect it very carefully." She'll use the museum's scanning electron microscope to get an up-close look at a tiny sample of Bennu. "What struck me is how dark the sample is. I had never seen such a dark sample," Heck said. The fragment is like a time capsule, taking scientists back 4.6 billion years. "We believe Bennu contains part of the ingredients for life, and part of the ingredients of the formation of Earth," Heck said. Suddenly, a fragment at the bottom of a vial can have you pondering your place in the universe. "I've never studied a pristine sample from an asteroid," Heck said.
Newsweek
18 hours ago
- Newsweek
Study Reveals Hidden Power of Sharing Cute Animal Pics
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. From clumsy puppies to grinning chimps, adorable animal content is fantastically popular on social media. But while these charming snaps are a source of instant joy for viewers, it turns out that their impact goes beyond just entertainment. A study from Concordia University has concluded that sharing cute animal pictures online strengthens digital connections, reinforcing bonds both within social groups and online communities. The researchers compare the act of sharing animal content on social media to "pebbling," a behavior often observed in penguins to show that they care about each other. The penguins offer pebbles, which serve as nesting material in the barren Antarctic, to their chosen mates as a way to acknowledge their relationship and affirm their commitment to each other. A stock image shows a person taking a picture of a stray cat with a digital camera, as the animal poses in front of them. A stock image shows a person taking a picture of a stray cat with a digital camera, as the animal poses in front of them. getty images Sharing cute animal content with your friends and family serves a similar purpose, maintaining and nurturing relationships in a digital space. After all, about 50 percent of global social media users do say that their main reason for being on social media is to keep in touch with their loved ones. The study outlines a framework that explains the content's journey from creation to circulation. The first step is "indexicalization", the process of taking an image, gif or video of an animal, and adding an emotional cue or meaning to it, like a hashtag or a caption, to signify one's relationship with it. Next comes re-indexicalization, when the content is shared and interacted with in what is dubbed a "techno-affective encounter". This adds new emotional layers to the media that create a shared understanding of its meaning exclusively within the group to whom it is shared. The final step is decontextualization, when the content is stripped of personalized information and shaped into widely relatable content, like memes, to appeal to a broader audience. "Our findings imply that companion animals' capacities as social lubricants traverse to digital space, thus facilitating interactions and reinforcing relationships as companion species content", the researchers wrote in their study. Although this specific study only focuses on cute animal content, the researchers suggest that the same principles are likely to apply to other similar types of digital content, like food images or posts featuring funny kids. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about how we connect? Let us know via science@ Reference Shamayleh, G., & Arsel, Z. (2025). Digital Affective Encounters: The Relational Role of Content Circulation on Social Media. Journal of Consumer Research.
Bloomberg
20 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Space Is a Cold, Dark Place for Insurance Companies
By and Mel Ambaye Save Greetings from Kiel Porter in Chicago and Melos Ambaye in New York. Given the limited lifespan of small, cheap satellites orbiting near Earth, operators in many cases elect not to insure them. But before we get to that ... Three things you need to know today:
