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Was 'Snowball Earth' a global event? Study delivers best proof yet

A series of rocks hiding around Colorado's Rocky Mountains may hold clues to a frigid period in Earth's past when glaciers several miles thick covered the entire planet.

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First amber find on the Antarctic continent

Roughly 90 million years ago, climatic conditions in Antarctica were suitable for resin-producing trees. Researchers have now made the southernmost discovery of amber in the world.

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Young coral use metabolic tricks to resist bleaching

Coral larvae reduce their metabolism and increase nitrogen uptake to resist bleaching in high temperatures, according to a new study.

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Anti-fatberg invention could help unclog city sewers

Engineers have invented a protective coating for concrete pipes that could help drastically reduce the formation of fatbergs in sewers.

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'Cool' white car headlights more likely to dazzle moths

'Cool' white lights -- such as those in modern car headlights -- endanger moths by causing them to fly erratically, new research shows.

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Spectacular chimneys discovered in the Dead Sea

Researchers have discovered meter-high chimneys on the floor of the Dead Sea. These are formed by the spontaneous crystallization of minerals from groundwater with an extremely high salt content...

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Living microbes discovered in Earth's driest desert

A new technique allows researchers to separate external and internal DNA to identify microbes colonizing the hostile environment of the Atacama Desert.

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New research explores volcanic caves, advancing the search for life on Mars

Through the intricate study of lava tubes -- caves formed following volcanic eruptions when lava cools down -- an international team of researchers has uncovered clues about Earth's ancient...

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New fossil reveals the evolution of flying reptiles

A newly discovered pterosaur fossil is shedding light on the evolutionary journey of these ancient flying reptiles. This complete specimen, named Skiphosoura bavarica, provides crucial insights into...

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Sliding seeds can provide insight into devastating landslides and rock...

Researchers study how Champatis roll and bounce down inclines. The authors released a heap of the seeds down an inclined plane while a camera recorded their descent to analyze their speed and the...

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Smarter city planning: Researchers use brain activity to predict visits to...

Researchers have measured the brain activity of people who had never been to a specific city and then use this brain activity to predict other people's actual visits to places around that city. This...

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To design better water filters, engineers look to manta rays

Studying the filter-feeding mechanism of mobula rays, engineers developed a new design for industrial cross-flow water filters. Research shows the filter-feeders strike a natural balance between...

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Unexplained heat-wave 'hotspots' are popping up across the globe

A striking new phenomenon is emerging: distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain. A new study...

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Feeding grazing cattle seaweed cuts methane emissions by almost 40%

Scientists find making a seaweed additive more accessible to grazing cattle reduces methane emissions 40% and could make cattle farming more sustainable.

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Tiny dancers: Scientists synchronize bacterial motion

Researchers at TU Delft have discovered that E. coli bacteria can synchronize their movements, creating order in seemingly random biological systems. By trapping individual bacteria in micro-engineered...

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Can plastic-eating bugs help with our microplastic problem?

Previous research found that insects can ingest and absorb pure, unrefined microplastics -- but only under unrealistic, food-scarce situations. Zoologists have now tested mealworms in a more realistic...

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Tyrannosaur teeth discovered in Bexhill-on-Sea, England

Research has revealed that several groups of meat-eating dinosaur stalked the Bexhill-on-Sea region of coastal East Sussex 135 million years ago.

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Researchers use data from citizen scientists to uncover the mysteries of a...

Colorful auroras appeared around Japan's Honshu and Hokkaido islands on May 11, 2024, sparked by an intense magnetic storm. Usually, auroras observed at low latitudes appear red due to the emission of...

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That's no straw: Hummingbirds evolved surprisingly flexible bills to help...

Hummingbird bills -- their long, thin beaks -- look a little like drinking straws. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. Scientists have discovered that the...

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Desert ants use the polarity of the geomagnetic field for navigation

Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but rely on a different component of the field than other insects. The survey suggests that the ants...

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New ocean predator discovered in the Atacama Trench

Characterized by darkness and intense pressure, the ocean's hadal zone seems uninhabitable, yet dozens of unique organisms call it home. Each species discovered there adds a crucial piece to the puzzle...

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Tiny poops in the ocean may help solve the carbon problem

Some of the world's smallest animals and their tiny poops could aid in the fight against climate change. A study reports that clay dust sprayed on the surface of seawater converts free-floating carbon...

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Recycling human, animal excreta reduces need for fertilizers

Recycling all the human and livestock feces and urine on the planet would contribute substantially to meeting the nutrient supply for all crops worldwide, thereby reducing the need to mine fertilizers...

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How 'Conan the Bacterium' withstands extreme radiation

Thanks for a powerful antioxidant, Deinococcus radiodurans can withstand radiation doses 28,000 times greater than what would kill a human. In a new study, scientists discovered how the antioxidant...

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Superflares once per century

Stars similar to the Sun produce a gigantic outburst of radiation on average about once every hundred years per star. Such superflares release more energy than a trillion hydrogen bombs and make all...

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How the dirt under our feet could affect human health

Researchers are linking human activity to increased gene transfer from soil bacteria to humans.

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Botanists name beautiful new species of 'lipstick vine' from the Philippine...

Scientists have today announced the discovery of a species of lipstick vine completely new to science, from the depths of the Philippine rainforest. The team of botanists made the discovery during an...

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Butchered bones suggest violent 'othering' of enemies in Bronze Age Britain

Analysis of the remains of at least 37 individuals from Early Bronze Age England finds they were killed, butchered, and probably consumed before being thrown down a 15m-deep shaft. It is the...

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Travelers weigh in on weight-based airfares for eco-friendly skies

The holidays are in full swing and people are shopping, wrapping and packing to visit loved ones. Along with the extra fees for checked baggage and seat upgrades, some airlines are also considering...

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Carnivorous squirrels documented in California

California ground squirrels hunt, kill and eat voles, reveals a new study documenting evidence of widespread carnivorous behavior among squirrels.

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Chart of life extended by nearly 1.5 billion years

Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago. The...

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Researchers identify a mysterious fossil seed to reveal new chapters in...

Scientists have successfully identified a previously unknown species to Southern California from fossilized seeds, revealing a drought-fueled dance between two species of juniper with lessons for the...

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Striking new moray eel discovered in Central Indo-Pacific river mouths, named...

A new species of black, slender moray eel has chosen the road less traveled, thriving in dim and muddy river mouths, unlike most of its marine relatives. It is found across the Central Indo-Pacific,...

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New method turns e-waste to gold

A research team has developed a method for extracting gold from electronics waste, then using the recovered precious metal as a catalyst for converting carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, to...

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Oldest-known evolutionary 'arms race'

A new study presents what is believed to be the oldest known example in the fossil record of an evolutionary arms race. These 517-million-year-old predator-prey interactions occurred in the ocean...

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Wind sensing by biomimetic flexible flapping wing with strain sensors

Bio-inspired wind sensing using strain sensors on flexible wings could revolutionize robotic flight control strategy. Researchers have developed a method to detect wind direction with 99% accuracy...

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Evolutionary biology: Ants can hold a grudge

Evolutionary biologists are investigating the extent to which ants learn from past experiences. After being attacked by ants from a particular nest, ants behave more aggressively towards others from...

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When the past meets the future: Innovative drone mapping unlocks secrets of...

An academic has used drone mapping to investigate a 3000-year-old 'mega fortress' in the Caucasus mountains, revealing details that re-shape understanding of the site and contribute to a global...

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Electric fungi: The biobattery that needs to be fed

A battery that needs feeding instead of charging? This is exactly what researchers have achieved with their 3D-printed, biodegradable fungal battery. The living battery could supply power to sensors...

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'What is that?' Scientists explain white patch that appears near northern lights

A whitish, grey patch that sometimes appears in the night sky alongside the northern lights has now been explained.

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A fast-moving belly flop: Researchers unveil the unique skills of cricket frogs

The way cricket frogs move across the surface of water has long been thought to resemble walking on water, but researchers have now discovered a different reality.

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New fossil discovery sheds light on the early evolution of animal nervous...

An international team of scientists has uncovered a fascinating piece of the evolutionary puzzle: how the ventral nerve cord, a key component of the central nervous system, evolved in ecdysozoan...

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Chornobyl dogs' genetic differences not due to mutation

Radiation-induced mutation is unlikely to have induced genetic differences between dog populations in Chornobyl City and the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

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Atop the Oregon Cascades, team finds a huge buried aquifer

Scientists have mapped the amount of water stored beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades and found an aquifer many times larger than previously estimated -- at least 81...

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This fast and agile robotic insect could someday aid in mechanical pollination

New insect-scale microrobots can fly more than 100 times longer than previous versions. The new bots, also significantly faster and more agile, could someday be used to pollinate fruits and vegetables.

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Early humans adapted to harsh conditions more than a million years ago

A long-standing question about when archaic members of the genus Homo adapted to harsh environments such as deserts and rainforests has been answered in a new research paper.

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Cavity-nesting birds decorate with snake skin to deter predators

When a bird drapes its nest with snake skin, it isn't just making an interesting decor choice. Researchers find that for some birds, it keeps predators at bay.

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Pioneering research exposes huge loss of glaciers in one of the...

A new study has revealed the alarming extent glaciers have shrunk over the past 40 years in a global warming hotspot -- and the biggest retreat has occurred in recent years.

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Asteroid impact sulfur release less lethal in dinosaur extinction

Previous studies have posited that the mass extinction that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the Earth was caused by the release of large volumes of sulfur from rocks within the Chicxulub impact...

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Volcanic eruption caused Neolithic people to sacrifice unique 'sun stones'

4,900 years ago, a Neolithic people on the Danish island Bornholm sacrificed hundreds of stones engraved with sun and field motifs. Archaeologists and climate scientists can now show that these ritual...

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