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Paleontologists have discovered a three-eyed creature with a pencil sharpener-like mouth that roamed the sea for prey more than 500 million years ago.

The fossilized remains of one Mosura fentoni — nicknamed the "sea moth" — were found in the Burgess Shale of Canadian Rockies, presenting researchers with new insight into animal life in the Cambrian period, according to a paper published this week in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

The predator was about the length of an index finger, with three eyes dotting its head and a circular mouth lined with teeth, according to paleontologists at the Manitoba Museum and Royal Ontario Museum who made the discovery. The beast was also equipped with flaps on both sides of its body for swimming, and had intimidating claws extending from its head.

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Everything on Earth, in our solar system, our galaxy, and beyond is contained within the universe. So how much does  science tell us about the all-encompassing, four-dimensional cradle that holds all of space time? A lot.

Philosophers, mathematicians, and astronomers across cultures and centuries have long debated and theorized about the night sky. But in the early 1920’s, building on the work of Henrietta Swan Leavitt and others, astronomer Edwin Hubble produced the first clear evidence that the swirling clusters visible through telescopes were actually distant galaxies, comparable to our own Milky Way. By capturing  detailed, long-exposure images of space features like pulsing, Cepheid variable stars, Hubble confirmed the true nature of the Andromeda Nebula and others. These weren’t just nearby gas clouds, but far away islands of worlds and stars.

In fact, the life that could be – emphasis on the could be – thriving on a distant ocean-covered planet named K2-18b is likely not intelligent at all.

But that doesn't make the recent discovery any less exciting.

Astronomers at the University of Cambridge announced on April 17 that they had found the strongest evidence yet that life may exist anywhere else besides Earth. Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the researchers detected atmospheric clues hinting that microbial organisms could be living on the surface of K2-18b in the constellation Leo.

Here's everything to know about the discovery, the intriguing exoplanet itself and the ongoing search for life in the cosmos.

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Crows are able to look at a handful of four-sided shapes and correctly distinguish those that exhibit geometric regularity from those that don't, according to a provocative new study.

It's the first time a species other than humans has been shown to have this kind of geometric intuition, says Andreas Nieder, a cognitive neurobiologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany.

"Claiming that it is specific to us humans, that only humans can detect geometric regularity, is now falsified," says Nieder. "Because we have at least the crow."

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L ike many scientists, I came to the US as a young adult, driven by idealism and ambition. I arrived with all my belongings contained in two suitcases, and just enough cash to cover the first month’s rent on a small apartment. But I also had something of greater value: an offer to work and train in one of America’s top biomedical research laboratories, a chance to participate in the revolution that is modern biological science.

In the years that followed, I became an American scientist and raised an American family. Now, I lead a laboratory in one of the US’s great universities. I am a member of America’s National Academy of Sciences. From a scientist’s perspective, I have lived the American dream.

My story is not unusual. Many of the best scientists in the world are drawn to the US, joining many Americans who choose to build a career in science. This attraction to American science is because more so than any other country, America values unfettered scientific enquiry. In the US, scientists have greater resources to pursue their work, and scientists are an integral part of a culture that has innovation and dynamism at its core.

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SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program's eighth test flight Thursday, but a malfunction of some sort triggered multiple upper stage engine shutdowns and the vehicle failed to reach its planned sub-orbital altitude, breaking apart in a spectacular shower of debris.

It was the second failure in a row for a Starship upper stage, a vehicle critical to NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon in the next few years.

"During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses," SpaceX said in a statement.

"We will review the data from today's flight test to better understand root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today's flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability."

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