Oddly heavy particle may have just broken the reigning model of particle physics

Dinosaur leg might be from the day the asteroid struck, scientists claim | Jamestown colonists killed and ate the dogs of Indigenous Americans | Oddly heavy particle may have just broken the reigning model of particle physics Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( April 8, 2022 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  [Facebook]( [Twitter](  [LIVESCIENCE]( Amazing science every day [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE](  [] Top Science News [] [Dinosaur leg might be from the day the asteroid struck, scientists claim]( [Dinosaur leg might be from the day the asteroid struck, scientists claim]( (MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images) An immaculately preserved dinosaur leg uncovered in North Dakota may be a relic from the day a massive asteroid slammed into Earth, bringing the age of the nonavian dinosaurs to an end, scientists claim. That said, not all experts are convinced that the dino actually died on that fateful day 66 million years ago — or at least, they're witholding judgment until more data is available for review. "We need the whole story," Kirk Johnson, the Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., told Live Science. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/7) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [Never Stop Learning]( From big space discoveries to ancient mysteries and future tech, our Knowledge magazines are packed with engaging, authoritative content for all ages. With expert editorial teams across history, science and technology, we have everything you need to feed your curiosity. [Subscribe today!]( ADVERTISEMENT [] History & Archaeology [] [Jamestown colonists killed and ate the dogs of Indigenous Americans]( [Jamestown colonists killed and ate the dogs of Indigenous Americans]( (Photo courtesy of Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia)) Colonists at Jamestown — one of the first English colonies in North America — likely killed and ate local dogs, new research shows. Most of the dog bones excavated at Jamestown have cut marks on them, suggesting that "it is possible that they were eaten," study co-author Ariane Thomas, a doctoral student of biological anthropology at the University of Iowa, told Live Science in an email. But given the starvation and evidence for human cannibalism at Jamestown, it is not surprising that people ate dogs, Thomas said. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/8) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Math & Physics [] [Oddly heavy particle may have just broken the reigning model of particle physics]( [Oddly heavy particle may have just broken the reigning model of particle physics]( (Science History Images via Alamy) An ultraprecise measurement of the mass of a subatomic particle called the W boson may diverge from the Standard Model, a long-reigning framework that governs the strange world of quantum physics. After 10 years of collaboration using an atom smasher at Fermilab in Illinois, scientists announced this new measurement, which is so precise that they likened it to finding the weight of an 800-pound (363 kilograms) gorilla to a precision of 1.5 ounces (42.5 grams). Their result puts the W boson, a carrier of the weak nuclear force, at a mass seven standard deviations higher than the Standard Model predicts. That's a very high level of certainty, representing only an incredibly small probability that this result occurred by pure chance. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/8) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] In the Sky [] [Spinning orb of blue light streaks across sky above Alaska]( [Spinning orb of blue light streaks across sky above Alaska]( (The Aurora Chasers/Ronn Murray/Marketa Murray) Scientists have solved the mystery of a spinning orb of bluish light that slowly streaked across the sky above Alaska last month, stealing the show from the famous northern lights: The unusual ball was most likely debris from a Chinese rocket passing overhead. Eyewitnesses across the state spotted the strange phenomenon March 29 at around 5 a.m. local time. "It seemed like it had something that was spinning inside it," Leslie Smallwood, a Fairbanks resident who witnessed the event, told local news station KUAC. The orb appeared much larger than a full moon and moved from the northeast to the southwest, he added. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/8) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Astronomy & Astrophysics [] [Galactic bones inside Milky Way's skeleton are a magnetic mess]( [Galactic bones inside Milky Way's skeleton are a magnetic mess]( (G47: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/Ke Wang et al. 2015; Polarization map: Stephens et al., 2021) Astronomers have produced the most detailed map yet of the magnetic field within a part of one of the Milky Way's spiral arms called a galactic bone — a long filament of dense gas and dust that forms down the middle of the arm of a spiral galaxy. The new map reveals a random mess of magnetic lines, contradicting established magnetic properties seen across the rest of the Milky Way's skeleton. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, and the majority of the galaxy's stars, as well as the cosmic dust that births them, is concentrated into massive, elongated arms that spin around the galactic center. Each arm has a series of galactic bones running through its center, similar to how humans have bones running through the center of our limbs. The gas and dust within these skeletal filaments are so dense that the bones produce their own magnetic field. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/8) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Astronomers just discovered the farthest object in the known universe — but what is it?]( [Astronomers just discovered the farthest object in the known universe — but what is it?]( (Harikane et al.) A possible galaxy that exists some 13.5 billion light-years from Earth has broken the record for farthest astronomical object ever seen. That age places this collection of stars, now dubbed HD1, between a time of total darkness — about 14 billion years ago the universe was a blank slate devoid of any stars or galaxies — and one of just-burgeoning lights as clumps of dust and gas were growing into their cosmic destinies. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/7) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Curious Creatures [] [Big John, world's largest Triceratops, got mauled by a rival dinosaur, fossils suggest]( [Big John, world's largest Triceratops, got mauled by a rival dinosaur, fossils suggest]( (Zoic LLC) A violent encounter with a rival dinosaur may explain why Big John, the most massive Triceratops skeleton ever found, has a keyhole-shaped opening on its frill, a new study finds. This fight happened more than 66 million years ago, but scientists think they know the assailant's identity. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/7) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Quiz [] POLL QUESTION: What kind of dinosaur likely mauled Big John? (Learn the answer [here]() [Vote]( [T. rex]( [Vote]( [Triceratops or Torosaurus]( [Vote]( [Giraffatitan]( [Vote]( [Supersaurus](   [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Cookies Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:livescience@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE]( Future US LLC © 1100 13th St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005