The waves of the mantle lift the continents up and adorn them with diamonds

Brown mountains stand in the background, with golden grass covered foothills in the foreground.

For billions of years, the continents have moved across the Earth’s surface like tectonic vessels, but they have not survived unscathed. Waves in the lower layer known as the mantle could sweep away the keels of continents, pushing their surfaces upward to form visible landforms away from any active plate boundaries, researchers proposed on Aug. … Read more

Scientists want to send endangered species to the moon

A photo of Earth taken by a NASA spacecraft in orbit around the moon

As more and more species come close to extinction, scientists have been collecting samples of animals, plants and other creatures and storing them in biorepositories around the globe.SN: 5/8/19). But climate change, environmental disasters and wars threaten these modern Noah’s Arks (SN: 28/2/22). Now, a team of researchers is thinking of an out-of-this-world solution: building … Read more

Astronauts are actually stuck in space all the time

Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore float in the International Space Station.

Imagine going on a week-long business trip and not coming home until next year. That may be the case for American astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, whose eight-day mission to the International Space Station has already stretched to more than two months and is likely to last even longer. The pair launched to the … Read more

How earthquakes build solid gold nuggets

A bit of gold nestled inside a quartz block.

When strained by earthquakes, underground networks of quartz veins can generate enough tension to leach gold from passing fluids, researchers report Sept. 2. Nature Geoscience. The findings explain how fluids carrying small amounts of gold can fabricate large pieces, even in chemically inert environments. “You find a quartz vein 2 meters wide, and there’s a … Read more

Can taking ashwagandha supplements improve health?

A pile of light brown roots of the ashwagandha plant on a white background

citations J. O’Conner et al. Effect of ashwagandha on stress, sleep quality, and food cravings in college students: quantitative analysis of a double-blind randomized control trial. Journal of Medicinal Food. Vol. December 25, 2022, p. 1086. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2022.0040. C. Baker et al. Perceived impact of ashwagandha on stress, sleep quality, energy, and mental clarity in … Read more