Idiotfruit and tree kangaroos: Why the ancient rainforests of Queensland"s Wet Tropics are so distinctive
In Queensland's northern reaches lie the Wet Tropics, spanning about 450 kilometers between Townsville and Cooktown. These mountainous rainforests are a relic of the ancient continent of Gondwana, dating back million of years when Australia and parts.....»»
Giant sloths and mastodons coexisted with humans for millennia in Americas, new discoveries suggest
Sloths weren't always slow-moving, furry tree-dwellers. Their prehistoric ancestors were huge—up to 4 tons (3.6 metric tons)—and when startled, they brandished immense claws......»»
Denali Fault found to have torn apart ancient joining of two landmasses
New research shows that three sites spread along an approximately 620-mile portion of today's Denali Fault were once a smaller united geologic feature indicative of the final joining of two land masses. That feature was then torn apart by millions of.....»»
Ancient Mars" thick crust could have supported hidden water reservoirs and rare magmas, new research suggests
A new study explores how variations in Mars' crustal thickness during its ancient history may have influenced the planet's magmatic evolution and hydrological systems. The research, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, suggests that the.....»»
Extended chart of life shows ancient species may have evolved slower and lasted longer
If all the world's a stage and all the species merely players, then their exits and entrances can be found in the rock record. Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but.....»»
Ancient clay remedy may have potential to boost modern gut health
A team of scientists has discovered that an ancient medicinal clay known as Lemnian earth (LE) could inspire new understanding of how to support present-day gut health......»»
How the loss of urban trees affects education outcomes
It's well established that urban tree cover provides numerous environmental and psychological benefits to city dwellers. Urban trees may also bolster education outcomes and their loss could disproportionately affect students from low-income families,.....»»
Wildfire risk climbs as trees reclaim eastern US landscapes
The eastern U.S. has more trees and shrubs than three decades ago. This growth, driven by processes such as tree and understory infilling in unmanaged forests, is helping fuel wildfires, contributing to changing fire regimes in the eastern half of th.....»»
Black hole genealogy: A new way to discover "ancestors" of cosmic phenomena
A research team has proposed a new method to reconstruct the "family tree" of black holes. Published in The Astrophysical Journal, this research offers a way to infer the properties of the black hole progenitors of these mergers, one of the most brut.....»»
Blue Origin edges closer to New Glenn rocket’s maiden flight
Blue Origin is set to conduct a wet dress rehearsal ahead of the inaugural flight of the New Glenn rocket, which it wants to perform before the end of the year......»»
Shrubs can help or hinder a forest"s recovery after wildfire
Research from the University of California, Davis, is shedding light on when and where to plant tree seedlings to help restore forests after high-severity wildfires, and it has a lot to do with shrubs......»»
Twins were the norm for our ancient primate ancestors—one baby at a time had evolutionary advantages
Twins have been rare in human history and for that reason can seem special. Many cultures associate twins with health and vitality, while others see them as a philosophical reminder of the duality of life and death, good and evil. Some famous twins a.....»»
Completing the "timetree" of primates: A new way to map the evolutionary history of life on Earth
In a new article published in Frontiers in Bioinformatics, biologists Dr. Jack M Craig, Dr. Blair Hedges, and Dr. Sudhir Kumar, all at Temple University, have built an evolutionary tree that encompasses 455 primates, every species for which genetic d.....»»
Ancient genes pinpoint when humans and Neanderthals mixed and mingled
Neanderthals and humans likely mixed and mingled during a narrow time frame 45,000 years ago, scientists reported Thursday......»»
Saturday Citations: M87* lashes out; a deep sleep discovery; proposal to build a digital cell
I love it when researchers observe an extra-weird particle, and this week, scientists reported the observation of a particle that only has mass when it's moving in a single direction. Good enough! An ancient DNA analysis suggests that Neanderthals an.....»»
Buried landforms reveal North Sea"s ancient glacial past
An international team of researchers, including a glaciologist at Newcastle University, UK, has discovered remarkably well-preserved glacial landforms buried almost 1 km beneath the North Sea......»»
Ancient Roman harbor wooden structures analyzed with MRI technology
In a recent study, rare wooden structures from the Roman Empire were investigated in a wide range of ways using NMR methods. These methods, widely known for their use in hospital MRI scans to produce detailed images of the human body, have proven equ.....»»
How an iconic desert tree survives extreme heat—and the unique risk it"s facing now
New research has found that the punishing summer temperatures and persistent drought conditions in much of Arizona and the Southwest are dealing a double whammy to trees attempting to regulate their own temperature, putting a critical part of the des.....»»
How Australia"s ancient forests became an arid zone
I didn't plan to become a botanist, I just pursued activities that made me happy. Studying subjects that make you light up can guide you towards a career that doesn't really feel like work because you find it fascinating......»»
Neanderthal-human interbreeding lasted 7,000 years, new study reveals
A new analysis of DNA from ancient modern humans (Homo sapiens) in Europe and Asia has determined, more precisely than ever, the time period during which Neanderthals interbred with modern humans, starting about 50,500 years ago and lasting about 7,0.....»»
Ancient genomes link early Europeans to Neanderthal ancestry
After modern humans left Africa, they met and interbred with Neanderthals, resulting in around 2–3% Neanderthal DNA that can be found in the genomes of all people outside Africa today. However, little is known about the genetics of these first pion.....»»