Humans Caused a Major Shift in Earth’s Ecosystems 6000 Years Ago. The study, published in the journal Nature, offers the first long-term view of how species associated with each other for half of the existence of multicellular life on Earth, says co-author Donald Waller, a professor of botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We did not expect, or predict, that …

As Canadian cities resettle the displaced Syrian refugees who have been arriving since last week, 214 more landed in Toronto Tuesday afternoon. These latest refugees will depart Beirut, Lebanon, in the morning and arrive mid-afternoon on a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight, McCallum said Monday. There will be a mix of privately sponsored and government-assisted refugees on board. The Liberal government …

Newly released court documents reveal RCMP believe they have evidence linking accused Travis Vader to the disappearances and deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann. The McCann’s were last seen in July 2010, their burned out motorhome found a few days later, and their car found just a few more days after that.

A Sooke, B.C. family’s walk on the beach turned into a paleontology expedition when they stumbled upon a rare find: a 25-million-year-old bird fossil embedded in a slab of rock. The fossil was in good enough condition for researchers to identify the animal as a new species of a plotopterid, a long-extinct penguin or cormorant-like bird never before found in …

Seven Quebec men from the same family are facing sex charges for alleged offences against four minors between the late 1950s and the mid-’70s, authorities say. The seven brothers are now between 59 and 71 years old and the alleged crimes took place between 1964 and 1976. They are facing a variety of sex charges, including sexual assault, molestation, gross …

The “hunger hormone” ghrelin helps rats with restricted feeding schedules learn to eat more, according to a recent study. Scientists at the University of Southern California found that once rats knew about their limited eating schedule, they started doubling their food intake. “We are looking deep into the higher-order functions of the brain to unpick not just which hormones are …

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has been punched in the face during a campaign event for Sunday’s general election in his home region of Galicia. Police say the individual who punched him was 17 years old and was arrested on the scene. Rajoy began to fall after the hit but was stopped from hitting the ground by a crowd of …

Researchers have discovered six new kinds of African clawed frog, boosting the number of known species by 30% and offering new avenues for research on human disease, said a study on Wednesday. “Because the African clawed frog is used as a model organism for biological research, it would be understandable to think that scientists had already pinned down the number …

Facebook users on an Android device will be pleased to know that they have a new feature available to them: Instant Articles. Combined with its recent launch of Instant Articles to everyone on Facebook for iPhone, publishers can now deliver fast and immersive reading experiences to hundreds of millions of people daily across the two most popular mobile platforms in …

As the holiday season approaches, the Surrey RCMP and Fraser Health are taking the time to warn families of the increased risks that now exist with taking recreational drugs. Police and health officials have recently responded to several accidental overdoses — many of which are suspected to be related to fentanyl.

The victim of a fatal stabbing in the city’s downtown core last night has been identified as a 39-year-old cancer researcher and adjunct professor at Ryerson University. Mark Ernsting was out for his routine nightly walk when he was attacked about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on McGill Street, just east of Yonge. Police arrested Calvin Michael Nimoh, 21, about an hour …