In 2015, scientists found abundant molecular oxygen on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which is extremely rare. Researchers now say its abundance may be an illusion caused by ice from the comet’s nucleus rapidly vaporizing when warmed by the Sun.
Researchers demonstrated that industry-standard self-driving vehicle sensors are vulnerable to a hack that tricks them into seeing objects as closer or farther away than they actually are. The researchers suggest adding a two-camera setup to sensors or implementing data-sharing with other vehicles to reduce the risk from this type of attack.
Scientists discovered an extinct cat-like predator called Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae, which preceded the saber-tooth tiger by 40 million years. It’s part of a little-known animal group called Machaeroidines, which subsisted on meat but aren’t closely related to modern carnivores.
Researchers decoded the DNA of the vulnerable Arabian oryx, an important step for future breeding programs that could bring the animal back from the brink of extinction. The Arabian oryx was once extinct in the wild, but wild populations today number around 1,200 thanks to breeding in captivity.
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei broke the record for the most consecutive days in space by an American astronaut. When he returns to Earth on March 30th, he’ll have spent 355 days on the International Space Station, 15 days longer than previous record-holder Scott Kelly.
Researchers found that bacteria change in shape when they develop antibiotic resistance. The finding could be used to detect drug-resistant bacteria with machine-learning analysis of microscope images.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope completed its fine phasing alignment stage, signaling that it will perform at or above expectations. NASA released images from the alignment phase showing one focused star with a collection of galaxies and other stars in the background.