Fossil discovery solves mystery of how pandas became vegetarian
The discovery of panda fossils in China has helped researchers solve the mystery of how the giant species developed a "false thumb" and became the only dedicated vegetarian in the bear family......»»
Florida dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian flu: Report
The case of a Florida bottlenose dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, or HPAIV—a discovery made by University of Florida researchers in collaboration with multiple other agencies and one of the first reports of a constantly g.....»»
Umami-rich scrap fish and invasive species can liven up vegetables, says gastrophysicist
Greening the way we eat needn't mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to "boring" vegetables. University of Copenhagen gastrophysicist Ole G. Mouritsen puts mathematical equa.....»»
Did Vesuvius bury the home of the first Roman emperor?
A group of archaeologists, led by researchers from the University of Tokyo, announce the discovery of a part of a Roman villa built before the middle of the first century. This villa, near the town of Nola in southwestern Italy's Campania region, was.....»»
Genetic hope in fight against devastating wheat disease
Fungal disease Fusarium head blight (FHB) is on the rise due to increasingly humid conditions induced by climate change during the wheat growing season, but a fundamental discovery by University of Adelaide researchers could help reduce its economic.....»»
TESS finds its first rogue planet
Well over 5,000 planets have been found orbiting other star systems. One of the satellites hunting for them is TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Astronomers using TESS think they are made a rather surprising discovery; their first free.....»»
A shortcut for drug discovery: Novel method predicts on a large scale how small molecules interact with proteins
For most human proteins, there are no small molecules known to bind them chemically (so-called "ligands"). Ligands frequently represent important starting points for drug development but this knowledge gap critically hampers the development of novel.....»»
EPA issues four rules limiting pollution from fossil fuel power plants
Coal to be hit hard, natural gas plants will have to capture carbon emissions. Enlarge (credit: Jose A. Bernat Bacete) Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced a suite of rules that target pollution from f.....»»
US announces sweeping cuts to power sector carbon emissions
President Joe Biden's government on Thursday finalized sweeping plans to curb planet-warming emissions from the nation's fossil fuel plants as part of the United States' efforts to confront the climate crisis......»»
Researchers uncover "parallel universe" in tomato genetics
In a paper appearing in Science Advances, Michigan State University researchers have unraveled a surprising genetic mystery centered on sugars found in what gardeners know as "tomato tar.".....»»
Ross Young: New iPad Air won’t feature mini-LED after all, but a new mystery iPad is coming in Q4
Last week, we got a report from Ross Young with a nice surprise that the upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Air would use mini-LED for its display. Now an updated report from Ross says that’s not happening after all, but there could be an iPad surprise at the.....»»
Unveiling the mysteries of cell division in embryos with timelapse photography
The beginning of life is shrouded in mystery. While the intricate dynamics of mitosis are well-studied in the so-called somatic cells—the cells that have a specialized function, like skin and muscle cells—they remain elusive in the first cells of.....»»
A chemical mystery solved—the reaction that explains large carbon sinks
A mystery that has puzzled the scientific community for more than 50 years has finally been solved. A team from Linköping University, Sweden, and Helmholtz Munich have discovered that a certain type of chemical reaction can explain why organic matte.....»»
New algorithm solves century-old problem for coral reef scientists
An algorithm developed by a Florida Tech graduate student creates a new ecological survey method that allows scientists to unlock important historical data from a vast trove of coral-reef photographs dating back more than a century......»»
Fossil frogs share their skincare secrets: Analysis of 45-million-year-old soft tissues
Paleontologists at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts—it's all down to their skin......»»
Bacteria for climate-neutral chemicals of the future
Researchers at ETH Zurich have engineered bacteria in the laboratory to efficiently use methanol. The metabolism of these bacteria can now be tapped into to produce valuable products currently made by the chemical industry from fossil fuels......»»
3 Netflix shows we can’t wait to see in May 2024
The three Netflix shows you need to watch in May 2024 include a thriller with Benedict Cumberbatch, a drama with Jeff Daniels, and a mystery set in Ireland......»»
First discovery in decades of blue whales near Seychelles
Blue whales are fascinating animals. At 24–30 meters in length (longer than a basketball court) they are the largest creatures on Earth. They are also among the rarest. Estimates suggest that there are only about 5,000 to 15,000 blue whales left in.....»»
Astronomers offer new model for formation of recently discovered "free-floating" planets
The recent discovery of a potential new class of distant and mysterious "free-floating" planets has intrigued astronomers since stunning new images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope were shared late last year......»»
Pulsating Snake: First millisecond pulsar discovered in the galactic center
Astronomers from the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) report the discovery of a new millisecond pulsar in the "Snake"—a radio filament in the galactic center. It is the first millisecond pulsar detected in the center of our galaxy. The.....»»
Technical trials for easing the (cosmological) tension
Thanks to the dizzying growth of cosmic observations and measurement tools and some new advancements (primarily the "discovery" of what we call dark matter and dark energy) all against the backdrop of General Relativity, the early 2000s were a time w.....»»