A full-scale prototype for muon tomography

Each year, billions of tons of goods are transported globally using cargo containers. Currently, there are concerns that this immense volume of traffic could be exploited to transport illicit nuclear materials, with little chance of detection. One promising approach to combating this issue is to measure how goods interact with charged particles named muons—which form naturally as cosmic rays interact with…

Attackers May Still Be Breaking into US Networks Without SolarWinds, CISA says

On Friday, America’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency revealed that the “threat actor” behind the massive breach of U.S. networks through compromised SolarWinds software also used password guessing and password spraying attacks, according to ZDNet. And they may still be breaching federal networks, reports GCN: “Specifically, we are investigating incidents in which activity indicating abuse of Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)…

Ancient life signs under dinosaur-killing Chicxulub crater

Researchers have found evidence for an ancient microbial ecosystem in a hydrothermal system beneath Mexico’s Chicxulub Crater, thought to be the site of the impact that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/dinosaur-killing-chicxulub-impact-crater-hydrothermal-microbial…

Inside the secret lives of synchronous fireflies

In the Smoky Mountains, thousands of fireflies flash in unison. Researchers want to know how. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/inside-secret-lives-synchronous-fireflies-video…

Earth’s magnetic field may change faster than we thought

A long-standing question has been how fast Earth’s magnetic field can change. The authors of a new study say they’ve uncovered some answers. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/earths-magnetic-field-change-faster-thought…

These ancient crocodiles walked on 2 legs like dinosaurs

Researchers suggest 110–120 million year old fossil footprints were made by ancient crocodiles that walked on 2 hind legs about the same length as adult human legs. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ancient-crocodiles-walked-on-2-legs-fossil-footprints…

Desert Quakes May Have Boosted Chances of ‘Big One’ Striking California

sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: A pair of earthquakes that struck the remote California desert 1 year ago have raised the risk of ‘the big one’ hitting Southern California, according to a new study. The research finds that the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, quakes shifted underground stresses, making the San Andreas fault — the state’s longest and most dangerous fault…