Radio telescopes target promising exoplanet
Scientists aimed both the Very Large Array in New Mexico and the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa at K2-18b, a planet in the habitable zone of its star that has shown tantalizing hints of potential biosignatures in its atmosphere. The observations represent one of the broadest frequency searches for artificial signals ever conducted on a single exoplanet. While no definitive alien signals were detected in the initial data analysis, the search parameters were wider than any previous effort targeting this world.
Chili pepper consumption linked to cancer risk
A major review published this week found that people who consumed the most chili peppers had a substantially higher risk of esophageal cancer. The evidence was less clear for stomach and colorectal cancers, and researchers cautioned that the findings show an association rather than proven causation. The study comes amid growing research into how diet interacts with cancer risk at the molecular level.
New monkey species discovered in Congo
Researchers identified and formally described a new species of the African monkey genus Colobus living in the remote interior of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The discovery marks only the fifth new monkey species found on the African continent in the past 75 years, highlighting how much biodiversity remains undocumented in Central Africa's dense forests.