Some 252 million years ago the world was going through a tumultuous period of rapid global warming. To understand what caused it, scientists have looked to one particular event in which a volcanic eruption in what is now Siberia spewed huge volumes of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. However, there is evidence the climate was
Prehistoric daggers long thought to be non-functional ceremonial objects interred in warriors’ graves were actually used to slaughter and butcher animals during the early fourth millennium BCE, a new study suggests. Numerous copper-alloy daggers have been unearthed in Bronze Age warriors’ graves across Europe, along with other weapons, and archaeologists previously speculated that the daggers
The oceans that surround us are transforming. As our climate changes, the world’s waters are shifting too, with abnormalities evident not only in the ocean’s temperature, but also its structure, currents, and even its color. As these changes manifest, the usually stable environment of the ocean is becoming more unpredictable and erratic, and in some
Researchers have taken advantage of a rare opportunity to study identical (aka monozygotic) twins who were separated early in life, before being raised in different countries by different families – and there are some surprising results to report. Whereas IQ has been shown to be up to 80 percent heritable – with twins usually scoring roughly
The human brain is said to be the most complex biological structure ever to have existed. And while science doesn’t fully understand the brain yet, researchers in the expanding field of neuroscience have been making progress. Neuroscientists have made substantial inroads towards mapping the complex functions of the brain’s 85 billion or so neurons and
Deep beneath the waters of Monterey Bay, researchers in California have filmed an extremely rare deep-sea fish. At first glance, the little fella looks sort of like a bronze shimmery cigar floating on end, but the feverish wiggle of its tail gives the creature’s true identity away. The little bronze beauty is known to scientists
We might not be able to hear sound in space, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any. In 2003, astronomers detected something truly astonishing: acoustic waves propagating through the gas surrounding a supermassive black hole, 250 million light-years away. We wouldn’t be able to hear them at their current pitch. Emanating from the supermassive black
While it still has plenty of mysteries for us to solve, Mars is becoming clearer to us every day, thanks to the dozen functioning robots we currently have either on the red planet’s surface or in its orbit. In this latest release from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express orbiter, a unique feature of
Black holes are powerful cosmic engines. They provide the energy behind quasars and other active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This is due to the interaction of matter with its powerful gravitational and magnetic fields. Technically, a black hole doesn’t have a magnetic field on its own, but the dense plasma surrounding the black hole as an
A 1,000-pound (453 kilograms) migrating great white shark surfaced off the coast of New Jersey April 28 while seeking rich fishing grounds farther north. Researchers nicknamed the shark ‘Ironbound’ when he was first caught and tagged in 2019, as he was found near West Ironbound Island near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The 12.4-foot-long (3.7 meters) shark migrating when he
Planets outside of our Solar System are rather dull things. So dull, we can only see them directly by sifting out a scattering of reflected rays amid the glare of their parent star. Even then, the best we can manage is a pinprick to identify its position. Gathering enough light to reveal intricate details of
Throughout our planet’s history, Earth has fluctuated between a hothouse and an icehouse. Today, our home is supposed to be in a period of global cooling, but human emissions of greenhouse gasses are reversing that natural trend at a rapid and unprecedented rate. One of the last times Earth went from an icehouse to a
Sometimes you have to just sit back and marvel at a particularly gorgeous view of a galaxy interaction. When these giant space cities merge with each other, wild and crazy things happen – a sort of “Galaxies Gone Wild” scenario. Take this pair, for example. We see them locked together in a cosmic dance that
“Are you even listening to me?” It’s a question that discouraged parents often throw at their distracted teenagers, and the truthful answer is probably, “No.” It’s hard to really blame them. New research on adolescent brains suggests the reaction we have to certain voices naturally shifts with time, making our mother’s voice feel less valuable.
In the wee morning hours of Thursday (May 5), a camera in Waycross, Georgia, witnessed a mysterious object streaking through the sky. Bright, fast, and trailed by a glowing oblong aura, the object looked a bit like a space jellyfish, as Chris Combs, a professor of aerodynamics and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas
An expedition to a deep-sea ridge, just north of the Hawaiian Islands, has revealed an ancient dried-out lake bed paved with what looks like a yellow brick road. The eerie scene was chanced upon by the exploration vessel Nautilus, which is currently surveying the Liliʻuokalani ridge within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). PMNM is one
Mistakes happen. Especially when it comes to the replication of vast sequences of DNA inside our cells. It’s a good thing too. If not for the errors in our genes we refer to as mutations, natural selection would be a no-go, and life would be dead in the water. As crucial as mutations are to
For 65,000 years, Bininj – the local Kundjeihmi word for Aboriginal people – have returned to Madjedbebe rock shelter on Mirarr Country in the Kakadu region (in the Northern Territory). Over this immense span of time, the environment around the rock shelter has changed dramatically. Our paper, published last week in Quaternary Science Reviews, uses
Myriad animals don the brilliant shifting hues of iridescence, making them stunning to marvel at, but why natural selection so widely favored such structural colors has been somewhat of a mystery. Shifting metallic sheens have evolved independently many times across the animal kingdom, from dazzling hummingbirds to skinks shining in rainbow to jewel-like flies. In
Researchers in the United States and Norway are working together to figure out what forms of flirtation are most effective and why. The results of the international collaboration are only based on questionnaires, not experiments, which means we have to assume participants are being honest and self-aware about what they find attractive. That said, among
Squishy cephalopods never cease to amaze with their clever features, including brained arms, color-shifting camouflage, escape artistry, and puzzle-solving skills. New analyses of squid, octopus, and cuttlefish (coleoid) genetics reveal their genomes are just as deliciously weird as the animals themselves. The cephalopod genome “is incredibly churned up,” says developmental biologist Caroline Albertin, who led one
Flung into freefall for months on end, our bodies adjust in ways that makes for a long list of health concerns for space travelers. The latest evaluation of microgravity’s warping effect on our biology focuses on the spaces surrounding the blood vessels that weave through our brain, revealing concerning changes that remain with astronauts between
Beneath a fast-flowing ice stream in West Antarctica, scientists have discovered a vast aquifer brimming with seawater that’s likely been locked down there for thousands of years. This is the first time scientists have detected groundwater beneath an ice stream in Antarctica, and the discovery could reshape our understanding of how the frigid continent reacts to climate
Paleolithic cuisine was anything but lean and green, according to a 2021 study on the diets of our Pleistocene ancestors. For a good 2 million years, Homo sapiens and their ancestors ditched the salad and dined heavily on meat, putting them at the top of the food chain. It’s not quite the balanced diet of berries,
A powerful solar flare just erupted from the surface of the Sun – and NASA captured stunning footage of it. The X-class flare, the strongest produced by our star, was recorded by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory as it burst from a sunspot on the lower left limb of the Sun at 9:25 am EDT (13:25
There are some strange objects lurking in our galaxy, and astronomers have just spied an extreme new candidate roughly 3,000 to 4,000 light-years away. After investigating mysterious flashes of light coming from the system, researchers have detected what they suspect is an elusive ‘black widow’ star – a rapidly spinning pulsar that’s kept alive by
A swarm of 10 bright blue drones lifts off in a bamboo forest in China, then swerves its way between cluttered branches, bushes, and over uneven ground as it autonomously navigates the best flight path through the woods. The experiment, led by scientists at Zhejiang University, evokes scenes from science fiction – and the authors
New details of our past are coming to light, hiding in the nooks and crannies of the world, as we refine our techniques to go looking for them. Most lauded is the reconstruction of the evolution of humanity since our African origins around 300,000 years ago, by analyzing our living and fossil DNA. Replete with
When the Apollo 15 and 17 missions returned to Earth with pieces of the Moon in 1971 and 1972, some of the samples were deliberately set aside for the future. Flash forward half a century and these samples are finally being studied. In 2019, shortly after an upcoming Artemis mission to the Moon was announced,
Hidden below the waves, the ocean contains vast reserves of sugar that we never were aware of, according to new research. Scientists have discovered that seagrass meadows on the ocean floor can store huge amounts of the sweet stuff underneath their waving fronds – and there are major implications for carbon storage and climate change.
Rats have been seen as filthy disease-spreaders since at least the time of the plague, but new research shows that rodents and other city-dwelling animals are less likely to cause the next pandemic than previously thought. Researchers at Georgetown University in Washington DC studied data on about nearly 3,000 mammals, expecting to find that those
Argentine paleontologists have announced the discovery of an apex-predator dinosaur that measured three stories from nose to tail and eviscerated its prey with sharp, curved claws. The six-ton giant, the largest megaraptor unearthed to date, fed on smaller dinosaurs that it ripped to shreds with its talons before digging into their intestines, paleontologist Mauro Aranciaga
There’s something wonderful about sitting under the night sky, watching a meteor shower play out overhead. However, observers in the Southern Hemisphere usually get the short end of the stick, with most of the best showers strongly favoring those north of the equator. Every May, however, southern observers get a special treat – the Eta
In 2019, the United States sent an average of US$7.2 billion dollars worth of plastic to landfill, according to new estimates from the Department of Energy (DOE). When considering the price of manufacturing, marketing and processing all that trashed material, the costs to the economy are significant. Nor does that consider the environmental price of
There are water molecules and ice up on the Moon, so how did they get there? Asteroid and comet collisions are likely to have produced some of it, but a new study suggests another source of lunar water: the Earth’s atmosphere. Hydrogen and oxygen ions escaping from our planet’s upper atmosphere and then combining on
The natural world around us is endlessly inspiring, and fascinating, and often very odd too: like when researchers snapped a photo of Bolivian river dolphins swimming around with a Beni anaconda snake in their mouths, for example. These river dolphins are relatively rarely seen creatures, as it’s unusual for them to have their heads above
Echoes of light bouncing off thick clouds of material around active black holes are helping astronomers better understand the wacky space-time in the immediate vicinity of these extreme objects. Within the Milky Way, astronomers have just identified eight new examples of these echoing black holes. Previously, only two had been identified within our galaxy. Having
If there are so many galaxies, stars, and planets, where are all the aliens, and why haven’t we heard from them? Those are the simple questions at the heart of the Fermi Paradox. In a new paper, a pair of researchers ask the next obvious question: how long will we have to survive to hear
In a warmer world, rising sea levels could render many coastlines, beaches, and reef islands uninhabitable, or destroy them altogether. The 1.09℃ Earth has warmed since pre-industrial times has already heightened seas by 20 centimeters. But curiously, research shows some coastlines and even low-lying coral reef islands are actually growing rather than eroding in the
After nearly 13.8 billion years of nonstop expansion, the Universe could soon grind to a standstill, then slowly start to contract, new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests. In the new paper, three scientists attempt to model the nature of dark energy – a mysterious force that seems to be causing
If a person is lost in the wilderness, they have two options. They can search for civilization, or they could make themselves easy to spot by building a fire or writing HELP in big letters. For scientists interested in the question of whether intelligent aliens exist, the options are much the same. For over 70
Scientists have detected the brightest pulsar ever observed outside the Milky Way, revealing the true identity of a far-off luminous object previously mistaken for a distant galaxy. Pulsars are incredibly dense neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation from their poles. Due to the way these objects rapidly rotate, their high-energy emissions appear as
Every dog is different, and depending on things like their breed, size, age, and health, their particular dietary requirements may also be different, including what you should feed them, and how much. But what about how often? A new study that assessed over 10,000 dogs offers some startling insights into the apparent links between feeding
Dark matter is one slippery substance. As far as we can tell, it has to exist for our current models of the Universe to work. But not only can we not see it, feel it, or interact with it in any way – we’re not even sure what dark matter really is. We do have
Climate change is throwing Earth’s water cycle severely out of whack. According to new satellite data, freshwaters are growing fresher and salt waters are growing saltier at an increasingly rapid rate all around the world. If this pattern continues, it will turbocharge rainstorms. The findings indicate a severe acceleration of the global water cycle – a
We know that there are some truly hardy microorganisms out there – able to survive in deep space and deep underground, for example – but a group of microbes identified in a new study might be the most impressively robust yet. The research describes fungi and bacteria that have not only survived the 2016 Soberanes
There’s an old joke that the dinosaurs are only extinct because they didn’t develop a space agency. The implication, of course, is that unlike our reptilian ancestors, we humans might be able to save ourselves from an impending asteroid strike on Earth, given our six-and-a-half decades of spaceflight experience. But the fact is that while
Leaf fossils on Borneo have been studied in detail for the first time, say researchers, revealing that the rainforests that cover the surface of the island have been in place and fostering biodiversity for at least 4 million years. The current landscape, dominated by dipterocarp trees, looks much as it would have done during the
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