When Dolphins Learned to Swim
For more than 250 million years, four-limbed land animals known as tetrapods have repeatedly conquered the Earth’s oceans. These…
Category: Astrobiology & Space Science
Hydrofracturing in the Greenland Ice Sheet
Surface meltwater regularly travels to the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet and lubricates the flow of the ice into the ocean, but new…
Abnormally high plume observed above surface of Mars
Plumes seen reaching high above the surface of Mars are causing a stir among scientists studying the atmosphere on the Red Planet On two…
Is the mind algorithmic?
Disagreements in how we use words can cause major confusion. Sometimes, someone uses the word “far” to mean 50 miles, and other times…
Can cold-loving bacteria help to clean up oil spills?
For several decades scientists have been interested in the ability of psychrophilic (cold- loving) microbial communities to degrade the…
How Long Will Human Civilization Last?
Human-caused climate change, ocean acidification and species extinctions may eventually threaten the collapse of civilization, according to…
Massive tectonic event may have triggered explosion of animal life
A new analysis of geologic history may help solve the riddle of the “Cambrian explosion,” the rapid diversification of animal…
Geothermal heating increases the habitability of planets orbiting red dwarfs
Small red stars, known by astronomers as “M-dwarfs”, are the most abundant type of star in the sky and are also the most long-lived of…
New but really old genetic ‘operating system’ led to evolution of complex organisms
The evolution of worms, insects, vertebrates and other “bilateral” animals — those with distinct left and right sides…
Evolutionary arms race via ancient viruses in primate evolution
New findings by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, suggest that an evolutionary arms race between rival elements within…