Ultra-rare black hole ancestor detected at the dawn of the universe

Ultra-rare black hole ancestor detected at the dawn of the universe | Earliest evidence of Maya divination calendar discovered in ancient temple | Zoo anteater exposed people to rabies in first-of-its-kind case Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( April 15, 2022 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  [Facebook]( [Twitter](  [LIVESCIENCE]( Amazing science every day [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE](  [] Top Science News [] [Ultra-rare black hole ancestor detected at the dawn of the universe]( [Ultra-rare black hole ancestor detected at the dawn of the universe]( (ESA/Hubble, N. Bartmann) Astronomers have discovered a dusty, red object 13 billion light-years from Earth that may be the earliest known ancestor of a supermassive black hole. The ancient object shows characteristics that fall between dusty, star-forming galaxies and brightly glowing black holes known as quasars, according to the authors of a new study, published April 13 in the journal Nature. Born just 750 million years after the Big Bang, during an epoch called the "cosmic dawn," the object appears to be the first direct evidence of an early galaxy weaving stardust into the foundations of a supermassive black hole. Objects like these, known as transitioning red quasars, have been theorized to exist in the early universe, but they have never been observed — until now. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] History & Archaeology [] [Earliest evidence of Maya divination calendar discovered in ancient temple]( [Earliest evidence of Maya divination calendar discovered in ancient temple]( (Photograph by Karl Taube, courtesy of the Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultun.) Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the oldest evidence of the Maya calendar on record: two mural fragments that, when pieced together, reveal a notation known as "7 deer," a new study finds. The two "7 deer" fragments date to between 300 B.C. and 200 B.C., according to radiocarbon dating done by the research team. This early date indicates that this Maya divination calendar, which was also used by other pre-Columbian cultures in Mesoamerica, such as the Aztecs, has been in continuous use for at least 2,300 years, as it is still followed today by modern Maya, the researchers said. (Notably, this is not the Long Count calendar that some people used to suggest the world was going to end in 2012.) Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Your Health [] [Zoo anteater exposed people to rabies in first-of-its-kind case]( [Zoo anteater exposed people to rabies in first-of-its-kind case]( (Mikael Drackner via Getty Images) An anteater infected with rabies at a Tennessee zoo potentially exposed more than a dozen people to the deadly virus, according to a new report. The unusual case marks the first time that rabies has been reported in this species, a type of anteater from South America known as the southern tamandua or lesser anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla), according to the report, published Thursday (April 14) in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a journal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Astronomy & Astrophysics [] [The sun has blasted Mercury with a plasma wave]( [The sun has blasted Mercury with a plasma wave]( (NASA/SDO/HMI/AIA) A gigantic plasma wave that launched from the sun smashed into Mercury Tuesday (April 12), likely triggering a geomagnetic storm and scouring material from the planet's surface. The powerful eruption, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), was seen emanating from the sun's far side on the evening of April 11 and took less than a day to strike the closest planet to our star, where it may have created a temporary atmosphere and even added material to Mercury's comet-like tail, according to Spaceweather.com. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Curious Creatures [] [100-million-year-old fairy shrimp reproduced without sex, rare fossils reveal]( [100-million-year-old fairy shrimp reproduced without sex, rare fossils reveal]( (Museums of Victoria) Ancient female fairy shrimp may have gotten along just fine without males. Researchers studying Cretaceous-period freshwater fossils in the Koonwarra fossil bed in southern Australia have described a new species of now-extinct freshwater shrimp (Koonwarrella peterorum) whose females likely reproduced without sex — a phenomenon known as parthenogenesis, which is a type of asexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis is the spontaneous development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg. It's known to occur in both plants and animals, although it is thought to be extremely rare. Some species, such as whiptail lizards, reproduce exclusively through parthenogenesis, but some sexually reproducing species have been known to reproduce parthenogenetically, as in the case of two fatherless California condors reported in the Journal of Heredity in 2021. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/13) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Your Brain [] ['Secret code' behind key type of memory revealed in new brain scans]( ['Secret code' behind key type of memory revealed in new brain scans]( (Boris SV via Getty Images) The "secret code" the brain uses to create a key type of memory has finally been cracked. This type of memory, called working memory, is what allows people to temporarily hold on to and manipulate information for short periods of time. You use working memory, for example, when you look up a phone number and then briefly remember the sequence of digits in order to dial, or when you ask a friend for directions to a restaurant and then keep track of the turns as you drive there. The new work represents a "fundamental step forward" in the study of working memory, Derek Nee, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Florida State University, told Live Science in an email. Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/14) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Poll Question [] POLL QUESTION: Did you know that April's full moon, the "Pink Moon," will be visible this weekend? (Learn about April's Pink Moon [here]() [Vote]( [Yes, I plan to look out for it]( [Vote]( [No, but now I know!]( [Vote]( [I'm more excited for the total lunar eclipse coming up in May](   [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