All articles tagged with #isotopes
A new ETH Zurich study analyzing 10 isotope systems in meteorites and Earth argues that Earth's building blocks came almost entirely from the inner Solar System, with Jupiter acting as a barrier to outer-material mixing; Earth’s composition aligns with Mars and the asteroid Vesta, suggesting a local origin for several planets, though the source of Earth's water remains unresolved and will be a focus of future work.
Scientists analyzed chemical patterns in three Tyrannosaurus rex teeth and estimated a core body temperature of about 97°F (36°C)—similar to humans and elephants—suggesting T. rex maintained a warm, stable physiology across varied environments. Published in Science Advances, the finding supports warm-blooded tendencies in dinosaurs and demonstrates a method to gauge temperature in ancient species.
Scientists analyzed isotopes in two tiny enamel samples from Thomas the T. rex to estimate its formation temperature at about 97°F (36°C), directly indicating a warm-blooded metabolism capable of longer activity and broader geographic range than cold-blooded reptiles. The approach uses tooth enamel as a fossil thermometer and, if applied to other dinosaurs, could reshape our understanding of their physiology and behavior across ancient climates.
A new analysis of ten isotope systems in meteorites shows Earth's building blocks came exclusively from the inner Solar System, with outer-Solar-System material contributing less than 2% of Earth's mass and possibly none at all. Jupiter's gravity likely formed a barrier that prevented material exchange between the inner and outer Solar System, implying Earth, Mars, and Vesta share a similar inner-Solar-System composition. The findings raise questions about how Earth's oceans formed if water-rich material did not come from farther out, and whether this pattern applies to Mercury and Venus as well.
New simulations considering the internal temperatures and material strengths of early Earth and Theia suggest the Moon could form within about five hours after the Theia–Earth giant impact if Theia was relatively warm; cooler, slower-forming scenarios are also possible. This refines the leading giant-impact theory, indicating the Moon largely originated from Theia’s mantle with a bit from Earth, and implies the Moon’s volatile content and isotopic differences may reflect the thermal state at impact. The findings have implications for exomoon searches and the Moon’s formation timeline.
Archaeologists uncover a 400-year-old grave near Pień, Poland, of a 17–19-year-old girl buried with a sickle over her throat and a toe padlock to stop her rising, plus a copper-gold object in her mouth. Ancient DNA and isotopes suggest she was locally raised and likely from a wealthy family with possible Scandinavian maternal links; the site features other deviant burials reflecting fears of the dead, and researchers plan further DNA work to learn more about her death and beliefs surrounding revenants.
A Nature Communications study finds Earth’s climate oscillated through five distinct regimes over 539 million years, with rapid transitions that heightened life’s vulnerability and align with the planet’s Big Five mass extinctions. By tracking ocean oxygen and carbon isotopes and creating a biosphere vulnerability index, researchers show that higher temperatures and regime boundaries correlate with increased extinction risk, though the index measures overall system fragility rather than predicting specific events. The work offers a historical warning that, while the current era (Cenozoic) appears relatively stable, rapid environmental change can amplify the impact of disasters and push the biosphere toward instability.
Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope measured carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, finding carbon-12/carbon-13 ~151 and nitrogen-14/nitrogen-15 ~363. These values are higher than typical solar-system comets, suggesting formation in the cold outer disk around an older, metal-poor star, consistent with isotope-selective chemistry in such environments. The results, published online July 6, 2026 in Nature Astronomy, provide a rare glimpse into material from another planetary system and the efficiency of planetesimal formation around ancient stars.
Scientists using the VLT measured carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios in cyanide around interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and conclude it formed in the outer regions of an old, low-metallicity star system—likely much older than the Sun—making it one of the Galaxy’s oldest known objects; future observations with the ELT will study more interstellar visitors.
New isotope measurements from JWST and the VLT corroborate that interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS formed billions of years ago far from its parent star, likely in the outer regions of a protoplanetary disk (akin to a Kuiper belt) and was later ejected into interstellar space. Its carbon-12 to carbon-13 and nitrogen-14 to nitrogen-15 ratios differ markedly from solar-system comets, suggesting a birth environment and chemistry unlike our own. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy.
New observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from JWST and other telescopes confirm its interstellar origin and reveal chemical fingerprints—a red, cosmic-ray–processed surface; unusually high deuterium abundance and a carbon-12 to carbon-13 ratio far lower than Solar System values—that point to formation in a cold, primitive environment long before our Solar System, making 3I/ATLAS billions of years older than the Sun; its orbit alone cannot determine its age.
Isotopic analysis of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS suggests it formed in a cold environment about 12 billion years ago, making it older than our Solar System and a preserved fragment of an ancient planetary system; unusual isotope ratios (including deuterium) point to a distant, metal-poor birth environment, and SETI scans found no signs of alien technology.
Astronomers say the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas could be as old as 12 billion years, potentially the oldest object observed in our solar system. Isotopic data from the JWST and ALMA show an unusually high deuterium content and formation in an extremely cold environment, suggesting an origin outside the solar system; NASA says there’s no evidence of extraterrestrial technology. Future observations with the Rubin Observatory are expected to reveal more interstellar visitors.
Scientists analyzing the Martian meteorite NWA 8171 identified a new garnet-bearing rock type, a mineral not previously detected on Mars; the rock could reflect metamorphic processes from impacts or magmatic activity, offering a window into Mars's ancient geology. Isotopic analyses are planned to confirm whether the garnet formed on Mars or was delivered by an exotic meteorite.
Fossils housed for decades at the University of Alaska Museum of the North were long labeled as woolly mammoths, but new radiocarbon dating and isotope analyses show they are two whales (likely a Northern Pacific right whale and a common minke whale) dating to about 2,000–3,000 years ago, far younger than mammoths. Mitochondrial DNA confirmed whale identity. How they ended up inland remains unclear, with hypotheses including inland whale incursions, transport by ancient humans, or a museum mix-up; the study concludes the specimens are not mammoths.