A new species of flying reptile reshuffles the timeline of pterosaur evolution
About 230 million years ago, almost 80 million years before the first bird appeared, their distantly related cousins, the pterosaurs took to the sky, as the first group of active fliers among the vertebrates. Pterosaurs developed active, flapping fli.....»»
Teaching evolution with conflict reduction practices increases acceptance, study finds
Students in biology classes accepted the theory of evolution more often when it was taught with conflict-reducing practices, including an emphasis on religious compatibility and autonomy, according to a study published December 4, 2024 in the open-ac.....»»
Warming oceans are changing marine habitats. A new study explores the impact on thousands of species
Every year, human activities release billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the Sun, making the Earth warmer than it would be without them. Over 90% of the extra heat from greenhouse gases gets absorbed b.....»»
Deep seabed mining: Bad for biodiversity and terrible for the economy
The debate around deep seabed mining has been gaining attention as concerns mount about its potential impacts on ocean ecosystems. The ocean is host to countless species yet to be discovered, some of which could hold the key to breakthroughs in medic.....»»
Study confirms two forms of longtooth groupers in Asia are separate species of fish
A team of marine biologists from the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, also in Japan, and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, has found via genetic and physical study that tw.....»»
Five space mysteries Proba-3 will help solve
ESA's Proba-3 will be the first mission to create an artificial total solar eclipse by flying a pair of satellites 150 meters apart. For six hours at a time, it will be able to see the sun's faint atmosphere, the corona, in the hard-to-observe region.....»»
Peat-bog fungi produce substances that kill tuberculosis-causing bacteria
An analysis of fungi collected from peat bogs has identified several species that produce substances toxic to the bacterium that causes the human disease tuberculosis. The findings suggest that one promising direction for development of better treatm.....»»
Wildlife commission lowers European wolf protections
Dozens of countries on Tuesday approved downgrading the protection status of the wolf in Europe, a move activists say will upset the recovery made by the species over the past 10 years after near extinction a century ago......»»
Scientists uncover new mollusk species co-habiting with an anemone in the North Atlantic abyss
A new species of tusk shell, a burrowing marine mollusk, has been discovered in deep, North Atlantic waters by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research. The newly discovered mollusk lives in the aby.....»»
Plant ecosystems study questions common assumption about biodiversity
Plant species can fulfill different functions within an ecosystem, even if they are closely related to each other. This surprising conclusion was reached by a global analysis of around 1.7 million datasets on plant communities......»»
Deep-sea marvels: How anglerfish defy evolutionary expectations
A Rice University study sheds light on the extraordinary evolution of anglerfish, a group of deep-sea dwellers whose bizarre adaptations have captivated scientists and the public alike. The research, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, uncovers.....»»
Evidence of human-to-animal SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a Brazilian zoo
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais-led research at the Belo Horizonte Zoo in Minas Gerais, Brazil, has detected SARS-CoV-2 in multiple captive wild mammals, revealing potential human-to-animal transmission and viral evolution in new hosts......»»
Proba-3: Flying two spacecraft is harder than one
What's harder than flying a single satellite in Earth orbit? Flying two—right beside each other, at proximities that would normally trigger collision avoidance maneuvers......»»
20-year study in Congo"s largest protected park confirms that rangers are effective in preserving endangered bonobos
Scientists now know how many bonobos live in one of the largest pristine tropical forests, a place believed to be the world's stronghold for the endangered species......»»
Sustainable land management practice successfully "uproots" invasive Prosopis juliflora in East Africa
The adoption of a sustainable land management practice (SLM) to manage invasive Prosopis juliflora—considered one of the worlds most threatening non-native tree species—appears to have "uprooted" the problem in East Africa......»»
What polar bear poop can tell us about the future of the vulnerable northern species
Before heading out to do their fieldwork, Dr. Stephanie Collins, Jing Lu and their team would scan the horizon, get tips from local residents and check a whiteboard at the research station in Churchill, Manitoba, where they had settled in to do their.....»»
What came first, life or evolution? Self-replicating molecules demonstrate basic principles of Darwinian evolution
We know that Darwinian evolution acts on all forms of life, but does evolution act on non-living materials as well?.....»»
Using DNA to identify seabird bycatch
Australian Antarctic Program scientists have used DNA technology to help identify threatened albatross, petrel and shearwater species caught unintentionally (as 'bycatch') during longline fishing operations in Australian waters......»»
Scientists gather to decode puzzle of the world"s rarest whale in "extraordinary" New Zealand study
It is the world's rarest whale, with only seven of its kind ever spotted. Almost nothing is known about the enigmatic species. But on Monday a small group of scientists and cultural experts in New Zealand clustered around a near-perfectly preserved s.....»»
Muddy footprints suggest 2 species of early humans were neighbors in Kenya 1.5 million years ago
Muddy footprints left on a Kenyan lakeside suggest two of our early human ancestors were nearby neighbors some 1.5 million years ago......»»
How a species of ground squirrel manages to go without food and water over the winter months
A team of molecular and physiology specialists at the Yale University School of Medicine has uncovered some of the hibernating secrets of thirteen-lined ground squirrels, and have partly explained how it manages to avoid thirst during its long winter.....»»