According to a new study which a team of psychologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently conducted, it seems that the face of God is in the eye of the beholder. Most Christians think that the Almighty looks like a white guy which is, in fact, normal. People tend to see God as looking similar to them. Even the experts are saying that from the earliest representations, from Michelangelo to Monty Python, God has been depicted as a white, Caucasian, bearded man.

What’s even more interesting is that when the researchers asked 511 Americans to detail how they see God, most of them choose a younger-looking, friendlier version. The researchers wrote that these results may not resemble the authentic depiction of God in many cultures, but this is the so-called American God. It seems that people like to see God as resembling a normal person, more approachable than the one from the Sistine Chapel paintings, for example. This further proves how different people living now are from those living back in the 16^th century. Still, they have one thing in common: they are white.

What does the face of God look like?

According to Professor Kurt Gray, who is the lead author of the study, people tend to think that God really looks like one of them. The fact that God seems to be white is because of the fact that most people who took part in the study were white. Gray also said that it was surprising to hear women describing God as male, and even some black people saw God as being white.

For millennia, people have been led to believe God was a white guy. It seems that this idea is still not completely gone from the people’s minds. They are still projecting their own image into a divine figure that listens to their prayers and helps them.

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After an unending quest to find life on Mars, researchers might have finally found out where to look for it. The planet was once covered in lakes that, given the presence of liquid water, might have been populated by different life forms. Now, the formations are covered in rocks, and these Martian lake rocks might hold fossil evidence of life on the planet.

 

Martian Lake Rocks Must Be Hiding Important Fossils

 

Researchers have been suspecting for quite a long time that life must have existed on the Red Planet. Now, a recent study suggests we might prove it by looking at the Martian lake rocks at the bottom of these formations. The rich quantity of silica and iron, together with liquid water, might have made it possible for life to thrive.

Therefore, researchers concluded these Martian lake rocks must hide valuable fossils. However, you shouldn’t expect some complex animal hiding in the sediments. The life forms inside them were most probably microbes.

The Martian lake rocks in question date back to 3 or 4 billion years ago, coinciding with the Noachian epoch. Back then, researchers assumed the region had plenty of liquid water and friendlier temperatures, so it was possible for microbes to survive.

 

The Study is Showing Researchers How to Look for Life

 

Researchers developed the study as a guide for future Martian explorations. They do not only indicate the likely location of the fossils but also describe some techniques to analyze the rocks. Fortunately, the mission won’t be too complicated, given the lack of tectonic movements on Mars. This means the Martian lake rocks must be in a better state than sediments of the same age found on Earth.

There might be more rocks that hide promising fossils on them. However, we still don’t have the means for a thorough exploration of the planet. As a result, researchers have chosen the most promising rock deposits that might really hold valuable evidence. The study on the matter was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

 

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Dutch art dealer Jan Six purchased a 17-century portrait back in 2016 at a Christie’s auction in London. The painting showed a young, unidentified man, wearing a luxurious cloak with a lace collar. At the time, experts said that it belonged to the “school of Rembrandt.” However, as an expert in Old Masters paintings, Six suspected from the get go that his purchase might be an actual Rembrandt. Now, after about 18 months of research, he finally proved that his initial suspicion was correct. The painting called Portrait of a Young Gentleman indeed belong to the famous Dutch artist.

A large number of Rembrandt experts are sure that the painting belongs to Rembrandt himself and if it’s true, this is the first of his works to come to light in about 44 years. According to the experts’ theories, Rembrandt created the portrait in 1634 or 1635, when he was in his 20s. Interestingly enough, the work seems to have been cut from a much larger painting that also had the man’s wife. Before Six discovered it, this portrait was completely unknown to the art world and nobody knew it even exited.

A new Rembrandt came to light

Moreover, there are no literary references to it anywhere. The last time a Rembrandt was discovered it was in 1974, when The Baptism of the Eunuch was revealed to have been made by the Dutch painter. Six also had a special connection with the master painter because his ancestor, also called Jan Six, sat for one of his portraits.

He immediately recognized some small details and suspected that the portrait must have been one of Rembrandt’s. He was right and after months of analysis, he proved his point. Those who are in Amsterdam can see the portrait at the city’s Hermitage museum until June 15. After that, Six wants to sell the painting because now, it may be worth millions.

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It may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but fossil records are telling us that the early humans once hunted giant ground sloths. At least this is what a new study which the journal Science Advances recently published claims. It seems that for the first time in history, scientists have discovered some fossilized footprints of our ancestors in New Mexico. What’s even more interesting is that these small footprints were located inside some larger ones, belonging to giant ground sloths. These were some huge creatures with wolverine-like claws which once roamed the land that is now America.

According to David Bustos, the lead author of the study, the location of these footprints tells us that humans hunted and followed these creatures closely behind. This is actually a huge discovery, especially because it also proves that humans lived in that same area. Thankfully, the giant sloth is now extinct, but in the past, it was a very dangerous foe for our ancestors. It had some huge claws on its front legs and very tight muscles. They were most likely capable of tearing apart humans without much effort.

Our ancestors once hunted giant sloths

The giant sloth was an herbivore, but this wouldn’t have made hunting it any easier. This is why ancient humans were using sneak attacks to surprise the creature and therefore have a chance against it. Near the human tracks, the giant sloth tracks seem to show signs of defensive behavior and evasion. They probably feared humans too.

Bustos also said that the White Sands National Monument site has the largest concentration of Ice Age giant megafauna and human prints in America. Apart from this, this discovery might offer some clues regarding human intervention and what role they might have played in the extinction of giant sloths. According to the footprints, this confrontation took place about 11,700 years ago.

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Back in 2008, some pieces that belonged to a diamond that was encased in rock fell from space and landed in the Nubian Desert of Sudan. Now, a new study, which the journal Nature Communications recently published, says that the meteorite crystals actually offer a more detailed look and the first physical evidence of a building block that dates from our ancient solar system. According to the researchers, the Almahata Sitta meteorite was once part of a protoplanet. This was one of those very early world that suffered a lot of changes and impacts which finally led to the creation of the planets we now have in our solar system

According to the new study, the fact that these meteorite crystals actually exist is incredible. Until now, simulation models were the only way in which experts were able to predict their existence. It seems that this particular diamond meteorite originated from a planet that was between the moon and Mars in size. During the first 10 million years of our solar system, it collided with many other space objects and doesn’t exist as a planet anymore.

The meteorite diamonds came from a protoplanet

According to the study, crystals can sometimes fulfill the roles of time capsules. They can trap certain minerals dating from the beginning of the formation process which experts can then analyze. On our planet, experts use diamonds to establish the composition and structure of Earth’s deepest layers.

Upon analysis, the Almahata Sitta meteorite revealed that it is actually a achondrite, which is a very rare type of space rock. According to the research team, this meteorite either came from an early planet or from a very big asteroid. Moreover, because of its incredibly-high amounts of carbon, the meteorite is actually a ureilite, which is a separate, specific type of meteorite.

Image source: flickr

It seems that the Apocalypse is upon us once again, at least this is what a group of conspiracy theorists claim. Now, the date is closer than ever because they say that the end of the world will happen on April 23. This is actually the date when the sun, the moon, and planet Jupiter align in the Virgo constellation. It is also the date of the Biblical Rapture, as these people claim. Moreover, they think that during the same night, the mysterious planet Nibiru will make an appearance in the sky. This will begin World War III, and finally, the rise of the Antichrist.

The conspiracy theorists are basing their ideas on a Bible passage that talks about a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet and with a crown of 12 stars. They think that the woman is the sign Virgo, possibly foretelling the end of all days. David Meade, probably the most famous Christian conspiracy theorist, also think that the end is near. He says that all of these signs will be there on April 23 and we should take time as our time marker. It is all in the 12^th chapter of Revelation.

Another Apocalypse?

However, there’s something you to know before you go make provisions and hide in an underground shelter. Experts at NASA have numerous times debunked the existence of the planet Nibiru, also commonly called Planet X. They said that the people should keep calm and not worry about a mysterious planet that doesn’t even exist, because they would have seen it.

Also, people are starting to ignore these Apocalypse dates because they seem to always change and never happen. There is no doubt that the end of the world will happen one day, but maybe we shouldn’t talk about that date like we want it to come sooner.

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It seems that the Hubble Space Telescope simply cannot cease to amaze an entire world. Recently, it has broken yet anther record and has observed the most distant ordinary star ever. This star is reportedly at about 9-billion years away from Earth. This means hat the light scientists saw started travelling about 9-billion years ago. For comparison reasons, everyone should know that the age of the Universe is 13.8 billion years. This is an amazing breakthrough because usually, stars that are that far cannot be observed on their own. For example, a supernova or an entire galaxy are a lot easier to see.

However, this distant star was observed by Hubble thanks to a very rare alignment. The researchers nicknamed the star Icarus and managed to find it through gravitational lensing. This is a phenomenon that happens when a massive galaxy or another big object is able to bend the light from the objects behind it. This means that normally dim objects appear a lot brighter from Earth, making them more noticeable. Normally, this phenomenon magnifies objects 50 times. However, this was a very special case, as the astronomers managed to magnify the star 2,000 times.

The most distant star ever observed

They managed to do this because another star was passing between Hubble and Icarus’s line of sight right at that moment. It’s interesting because this very rare glimpse of such a distant star could shed some light on the evolution of stars. According to research leader Patrick Kelly, individual galaxies exist out there. However, this particular star is about 100 times farther away then the next single star that the team can study.

Icarus’ official name is actually MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1, and it showed up as Kelly was searching for a supernova. He discovered SN Refsdal back in 2014 and was planning to follow it a bit more. Fortunately, he found something a lot more interesting.

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After some huge ancient dinosaur footprints were discovered on the Isle of Skye and a team of researchers analyzed them, they finally managed to shed some light on a more mysterious period of dinosaur evolution. The dozens of tracks were reportedly left about 170 million years ago, and it seems that they belonged to theropods and sauropods from the Middle Jurassic era. According to the researchers, the discovery of these footprints is of “global importance” mainly because researchers have found very few fossil sites from this period around the world.

On the Isle of Skye, the team found them in a shallow and muddy lagoon. Now, they are extremely important in helping experts find out more details about a very important but mysterious period in dinosaur evolution. It seems that long-necked sauropods and theropods left most of these giant footprints in that area. Sauropods were as tall as 6.5ft and both species were the older cousins of the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Dinosaur footprints reveal details about a mysterious period

In order to find out more about these dinosaurs and about the period they came from, the team of experts photographed, measured and analyzed about 50 such footprints. They were all placed around a tidal area Rubha nam Brathairean (Brother’s Point), on Skye’s Trotternish peninsula. Because of the tidal conditions, the landscape changes, and the weather impact, the team found it difficult to analyze the tracks.

However, they finally managed to identify two separate track ways, apart from the large number of isolated footprints. They analyzed the clearest tracks and managed to attribute them to sauropods and theropods. The Scottish Journal of Geology recently published their impressive findings. According to Paige dePolo, who led the study, this track site is only the second discovery of sauropod footprints on Skye. Actually, the Isle of Skye is full of such footprints and the team is now planning to search for more.

Image source: flickr

 

One of China’s highest profile space projects ended up in flames when, on Monday morning, re-entered our planet’ atmosphere and finally landed in the middle of the South Pacific. According to the China Manned Space Agency, most parts of Tiangong-1 burned when the space lab re-entered the atmosphere. For those who may not be familiar with this space station, it was launched back in September 2011 and its name translates to “heavenly palace”. It was initially a prototype of China’s very ambitious space project: a permanent space station expected to launch in the 2020s.

Recently, its uneventful end attracted attention from all over the world as scientists were struggling to discover its final destination. According to experts, their predictions were right, and the space lab did exactly as they predicted. It fell in a place that was uninhabited and didn’t hurt anyone or damage anything in the process. As for any possible amateur images of the space lab’s demise, experts don’t think any will surface. This is mostly because it was daytime in the Pacific when it fell. Scientists had previously said that it was only possible to see the space lab falling as a series of fireballs across the sky.

Tiangong-1 finally met it end

According to a former United States astronaut, Leroy Chiao, probably no major pieces of the spacecraft survived the crash. Firstly, Tiangong-1 was not that big anyway and secondly, it did not have a heat shield. So, any pieces that made it through the atmosphere are now probably at the bottom of the ocean.

Astronauts last used Tiangong-1 back in 2013. Back then, a team spent 12 days on it to conduct some experiments. In May 2017, the Chinese government told the United Nations that the vessel had stopped functioning in 2016 but didn’t mention a reason. Now, we finally know what happened to the “heavenly palace”.

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An unusual galaxy has become the center of discussion when it comes to dark matter, but the interesting part is that it contains almost no dark matter. According to astronomers, and to the study which the journal Nature recently published, the galaxy called NGC 1052-DF2, or DF2, has about 400 times less dark matter than an object of its size would normally have. It’s interesting that this bizarre galaxy could provide an insight into how galaxies are born. Also, it could help prove that dark matter is indeed a real thing, according to researchers.

According to Pieter van Dokkum, the leader of the study, this fascinating galactic find challenges the idea that galaxies are born thanks to dark matter. For a long time, experts have believed the interaction between dark and normal matter to be the key in the formation of galaxies. However, that might not be the case, and this unusual galaxy proves it. It seems that dark matter is not absolutely necessary for a galaxy to be born. But what actually is this mysterious dark matter? It’s an invisible matter whose presence is only observed through its interaction with normal or baryonic, matter.

An unusual galaxy, devoid of dark matter

Moreover, this unseen matter makes up about 80% of the universe’s entire mass and plays the most important role in galactic evolution. NASA says that the interaction between galaxies and stars within the dark matter have produced the galaxies we are still observing today. So, after carefully analyzing this bizarre galaxy, van Dokkum and his team came to the conclusion that it had a stellar mass of about 200 million solar masses. In this case, the dark matter mass should have been of at least 80,000 million solar masses.

But the surprise came when they realized that it only weighed about 300 million solar masses, far less than expected. Experts are now trying to figure out how did this galaxy actually form, if now thanks to dark matter.

Image source: flickr

 

Scientists were able to reverse blindness in two people by using an experimental stem cell treatment for age-related macular degeneration, according to a new study.

One of the patients, Douglas Waters, suffered from severe macular degeneration which led to his right eye going blind. However, after undergoing the stem cell treatment, the 86-year-old said that he can “now read the newspaper”.

Age-related macular degeneration involves the deterioration of the macula, a small central area of the retina of the eye that controls visual acuity, or the ability to see things straight in front of us. It is a common cause of vision loss in people ages 50 or older. People rely on visual acuity for daily tasks such as reading and driving.

For this study, researchers focused on a layer of cells behind the macula called the “retinal pigment epithelium”. This component offers nourishment to specific eye cells and is involved in the progression of macular degeneration.

By using stem cells, researchers were able to create a new “patch” of retinal pigment epithelium.  To do this, they coaxed embryonic stem cells, which can become any cell in the body, into becoming pigment epithelium cells. This patch was then surgically implanted into the patients’ eyes.

Waters and the other patient, a woman in her 60s, have improved their vision a year after they received the patches.

However, the study stresses that more research is needed to determine the treatment’s overall safety. One concern that could impede on the latest breakthrough would be the possibility that the transplanted cells could become cancerous, however, there has been no sign of this thus far.

The researchers said that the treatment is currently only for “wet” macular degeneration, a form of the disease where the macula is damaged by the growth of the abnormal blood vessels. However, researchers hope that their stem cell treatment will eventually help with “dry” macular degeneration, a form that occurs when the cells in the macula gradually break down.

The study was published in the journal, Nature Biotechnology.

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NASA, had to clarify its initial reports when it said that astronaut, Scott Kelly’s DNA, had changed after spending a year in space aboard the International Space Station. Now, the space agency says that Kelly’s gene expression had changed and it’s very minimal at that.

Scott Kelly had spent 340 days aboard the ISS, returned to Earth in March 2016 and retired from NASA later that year. It was previously reported that Kelly’s DNA had changed during his time in space, something which was studied by the agency as part of its Twins Study. While Scott Kelly was in space, his twin brother, Mark Kelly, who is also an astronaut, remained on Earth. The brothers provided blood, saliva, and urine samples, underwent bone scans and ultrasounds, among other medical tests, as to pinpoint the exact changes in Scott Kelly’s genetic makeup.

NASA scientists confirmed the preliminary findings of the study earlier this year. They claim that 93 percent of Scott’s genes returned to normal after his return to Earth. The Jan. 31 announcement also stated that the remaining 7 percent of the astronaut’s genes exhibited longer-term changes. These genes were related to his immune system, DNA repair, bone formation networks, and others.

“Mark and Scott Kelly are still identical twins; Scott’s DNA did not fundamentally change. What researchers did observe are changes in gene expression, which is how your body reacts to your environment,” reads an official update from NASA.

The agency compared the change to that exhibited in humans who undergo extreme stress, such as mountain climbing or scuba diving.

Scott Kelly became the first American astronaut to spend 12 consecutive months in space when he completed his 340-day mission on the ISS. He served as a Navy fighter pilot and test pilot before his selection by NASA in 1996.

Image Source: Nasa.gov