Two new genera and species of conifers from upper Cretaceous discovered in Hokkaido, Japan
Illustrations depicting the dinosaur era—whether in books or movies—are often accompanied by lush greenery. During the Cretaceous period, the trees commonly dominating a wide range of Earth's terrestrial environments were conifers—similar to th.....»»
Wreck discovered of French steamship that sank in Atlantic in 1856
A US dive team has discovered the wreck of a French steamship, Le Lyonnais, that sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1856 after a "hit-and-run" collision with an American sailing vessel, claiming 114 lives......»»
Newly discovered antimicrobial could prevent or treat cholera
More than a million people each year die from infections by pathogens that are resistant to antimicrobials, and the problem is growing. Meanwhile, the discovery of new antimicrobials that can help stem the tide has not kept pace......»»
Modeling study explains why amazon is such a biodiverse paradise
The Amazon rainforest is home to a remarkable variety of plants and animals not found anywhere else on Earth, with some species only located in certain areas, but the reason for this has perplexed and divided scientists for decades......»»
Astronomers discover a long-hidden small black hole in an unusually evolved binary system
Chinese researchers have discovered a promising mass-gap black hole using radial velocity and astrometry methods. The study was published online in Nature Astronomy on Sept. 10, and was conducted by a team led by Dr. Wang Song, an associate researche.....»»
Archaeologists discover an ancient Neanderthal lineage that remained isolated for over 50,000 years
A fossilized Neanderthal discovered in a cave system in the Rhône Valley, France, represents an ancient and previously undescribed lineage that diverged from other currently known Neanderthals around 100,000 years ago and remained genetically isolat.....»»
Rogue WHOIS server gives researcher superpowers no one should ever have
.mobi top-level-domain managers changed the location of its WHOIS server. No one got the memo. Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images) It’s not every day that a security researcher acquires the ability to genera.....»»
Endangered species rebounds in California a century after being wiped out
All on its own, an endangered species is making a fierce comeback in California, newly published state wildlife data show......»»
Mount Fuji crowds shrink after Japan brings in overtourism measures
Fewer climbers tackled Mount Fuji during this year's hiking season, preliminary figures show, after Japanese authorities introduced an entry fee and a daily cap on numbers to fight overtourism......»»
X-ray footage shows how Japanese eels escape from a predator’s stomach
It took escaping eels 56 seconds on average to free themselves from death. Enlarge / "The only species of fish confirmed to be able to escape from the digestive tract of the predatory fish after being captured.” (credit: Hasega.....»»
Whales are recovering from near extinction, but industrial fishing around Antarctica competes for their sole food source
The Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica is the world's largest feeding ground for baleen whales—species like humpbacks that filter tiny organisms from seawater for food. In the 20th century, whalers killed roughly 2 million large whales in the Sou.....»»
Opinion: Researchers don"t take enough account of variation in biology—doing so could unlock new understanding
The natural world is filled with variety. Ecological systems can look very different in different parts of the Earth. Every species has genetic variation, which means individuals can look and behave very differently. Diseases can affect people differ.....»»
Researchers sequence the genome of the spur-thighed tortoise
Like many threatened land turtle species, the spur-thighed tortoise had no complete genome. Now for the first time, researchers from the Ecology departments at Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the University of Alicante (UA) have succe.....»»
How viruses move through insects for transmission of diseases
Viruses are master parasites that have adapted to infect many host species. Some viruses even use multiple hosts to spread their infections—such as arboviruses that use insects to move their infections to mammalian hosts like humans. Understanding.....»»
Orchestrating a swarm of robots for exploration of canyon on Mars
An enormous canyon stretches across Mars: Valles Marineris is 3,000 kilometers long, 600 kilometers wide and on average 8 kilometers deep. Its Latin name goes back to the Mars orbiter Mariner, which discovered the valley in the early 1970s......»»
Surprising hormone-related gene activity discovered in the early larval stage of the Malabar grouper
Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST)'s Marine Climate Change Unit and Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit have highlighted patterns of gene activation during Malabar grouper larval development, revealing an unusual early peak of.....»»
New dense sub-Saturn exoplanet discovered
Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, India and elsewhere, have detected a new sub-Saturn exoplanet with a relatively high density. The finding was reported in a.....»»
Researchers find live fungi, bacteria and viruses high in the Earth"s atmosphere
A team of climate, health and atmospheric specialists in Spain and Japan has found abundant live fungi, bacteria and viruses high in the Earth's atmosphere. In their study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group co.....»»
Atomic diffusion technique could lead to mass production of metal nanowires
A group from Nagoya University in Japan has created a new technique for growing the tiny metal nanowires (NWs) that are expected to be used in next-generation electronics. Their results suggest a way to mass produce pure metal NWs, which has until no.....»»
Polaris Dawn takes to the skies, setting the stage for a daring private spacewalk
Weather had confounded the launch attempt for nearly two weeks. Enlarge / A Crew Dragon spacecraft separates from the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday morning. (credit: SpaceX) A Falcon 9 rocket streaked into.....»»
Genetic analysis reveals new giant fanged frog species in Philippines that is nearly identical to even larger species
Researchers from the University of Kansas have published findings in the journal Ichthyology & Herpetology describing a new species of fanged frog, named Limnonectes cassiopeia, from the Philippine island of Luzon......»»