Science

Researchers might have found the common ancestor that unites all life on Earth – and it’s called Luca. The researchers started by looking at nearly 2000 genes of modern microbes, exploring the traces that have been passed down from the beginning of life on Earth. That meant that they could explore the bits that appeared to be able to be …

Researchers have figured out how we might have some warning, though not much: A new study released last week suggests humanity would have about a year to brace itself before just such an eruption. That is the conclusion of a new microscopic analysis of quartz crystals in pumice taken from the Bishop Tuff in eastern California, which is the site …

Paul Dolk gets incredible shots with his DRONE of a group of WHITE-BEAKED DOLPHINS and their CALVES!. Dolk says he was out on the water with his wife looking for whales when he came across a small pod of white beaked dolphins.

A Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker is set to embark on a 47-day expedition from Halifax Harbour to the North Pole to collect scientific information and much-needed data that could bolster the country’s claim to Arctic sovereignty. The Canadian Hydrographic Service in collaboration with the government of Sweden will undertake a seabed mapping expedition during the voyage. “The work of our …

Researchers have dug up a new species of dinosaur in Argentina that holds clues to the mysterious megaraptors, a carnivorous group of animals that defies easy categorization. The species was named Murusraptor barrosaensis, and is described for the first time in an article published Wednesday in PLOS ONE. Megaraptorid dinosaurs are medium-sized and walk on two legs. They’re characterised by …

Great white sharks off South Africa are in danger of dying out as nets, poachers, pollution and the depletion of fish stocks eradicate the predators. Dr Sara Andreotti and her team, Dr Craig O’Connell and Michael Rutzen, have developed the Sharksafe Barrier, which is an environmentally-friendly artificial magnetic kelp. They have built a small test site in what’s known as …

When the world moved to phase out ozone-destroying chlorofluorcarbons, or CFCs, it solved one enormous and urgent environmental problem — but it left behind another. CFCs were bad for the ozone layer and also caused a great deal of global warming to boot. But a key substitute — hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs — spare the ozone layer but are still powerful …

Some scientists make robots inspired by sea slugs. But this team from Case Western Reserve University took a muscle from a real slug and used it to make a biohybrid robot. A team of scientists from the Case Western Reserve University took the buccal muscle from a sea hare slug and attached it to 3D-printed parts. Electric pulses force the …

Thousands of bees caused a buzz on Glasgow’s south side as they swarmed near a popular restaurant. Some 40,000 insects massed on a fence on Grange Road, opposite the Battlefield Rest, causing passers-by to cross to the other side of the road. The insects seem to cause an obstruction as they gathered on a fence opposite the Battlefield Rest earlier …

New research effort provides a strong evidence for the existence of an enormous X-shaped structure in our galaxy Milky Way. Previous computer models, observations of other galaxies, and observations of our own galaxy have suggested that the X-shaped structure existed. But no one had observed it directly; and some astronomers argued that previous research that pointed indirectly to the existence …

Dinosaurs are often depicted in movies as roaring ferociously, but it is likely that some dinosaurs mumbled or cooed with closed mouths, according to a study posted online in the journal Evolution that will be published in the August print issue. Closed-mouth vocalizations are sounds that are emitted through the skin in the neck area while the beak is kept …