Nature

There’s more than 32 times as much energy in a magnitude 8 earthquake as there is in a magnitude 7 earthquake – and scientists have discovered a natural ‘gate’ that controls which quakes are allowed to increase up to that highest scale. The gate in question is at the Alpine Fault in New Zealand. A

The dirt scattered across the floor of an ancient, remote cave in Mexico has yielded a new source of viable ancient DNA. For the first time, scientists have sequenced ancient DNA from soil samples – and it’s all thanks to the Upper Paleolithic bears that prolifically used the cave as their toilet around 16,000 years

As the climate crisis causes havoc in temperature and rainfall patterns around the world, one of the many crops under threat is humanity’s precious coffee. Now scientists have identified a coffee-making plant that could be more robust against the rigors of the shifting seasons. The plant is stenophylla coffee or Coffea stenophylla, a wild and relatively

Few spiders elicit as much reaction from humans as the famous and feared tarantula. These giant, hairy arachnids are known for their remarkable size, brilliant colors, and distinctive physical attributes. But it’s not just the tarantula itself that is so impressively (albeit unsettlingly) large. So is the creature’s footprint on the globe – which is

In a complete redefinition of the concept of ‘cute’, an international team of paleontologists has identified the tiniest known stegosaur footprint. Preserved in the stone in the Xinjiang Province of China for 100 million years, the print measures just 5.7 centimeters (2.24 inches) long, and was probably made by a baby stegosaur (ichnogenus Deltapodus) around

The last ice age was a bad time for wildlife. The world froze, ecosystems changed, and humans and animals competed fiercely for available resources. By 11,700 years ago, as the ice age drew to a close, most of the large mammals roaming what is now the Yukon Territory in Canada had gone extinct; the large

A small, flying reptile glides beneath the canopy of an ancient forest, scouring the trees for tasty bugs. She spots a cicada buzzing in the boughs of a ginkgo tree, then swoops down to snatch it up in her beak. The bug flees; the reptile follows, grasping swiftly along the branches with her sharp claws

For two and a half million years, the most infamous of predators, Tyrannosaurus rex, slowly stomped its way around what is today North America’s western coast. Scientists have now come up with an estimate for the total number of T. rex’s that ever existed: around 2.5 billion (yes, billion). This may sound like a lot – and it’s

You may not give a pile of bat poop gathered over 4,300 years a second look – but to a group of scientists, it’s provided an intriguing insight into how bat diets and therefore climate conditions have shifted over thousands of years. Taller than the average man (2 meters or 6-and-a-half feet), the pile of

Spiders rely quite significantly on touch to sense the world around them. Their bodies and legs are covered in tiny hairs and slits that can distinguish between different kinds of vibrations. Prey blundering into a web makes a very different vibrational clamor from another spider coming a-wooing, or the stirring of a breeze, for example.

Nearly 4 in 5 dog owners report instances of jealousy from their pooches, and new research suggests those behaviors can be triggered even if a supposed rival for affection and attention is out of sight. In other words, dogs appear to have the mental capacity to imagine a situation that would make them feel jealous,

The tropical water at the equator is renowned for having the richest diversity of marine life on Earth, with vibrant coral reefs and large aggregations of tunas, sea turtles, manta rays, and whale sharks. The number of marine species naturally tapers off as you head towards the poles. Ecologists have assumed this global pattern has

Whiskers on cats and other mammals aren’t covered with sensors. Instead, the sensing is done at the base of the whisker, hidden inside a small follicle, and scientists just discovered a lot more about how this biological transmission works. Getting into the follicle to take a look at the base of whiskers would interfere with

A bacterium that dwells deep underground, living off chemical reactions triggered by radioactive decay, has been doing so unchanged for millions of years, new research has found. A genetic analysis of microbes of the species Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator (CDA) collected from three different continents has revealed that the bacterium has barely evolved since they were last

Earth’s transition to permanently hosting an oxygenated atmosphere was a halting process that took 100 million years longer than previously believed, according to a new study. When Earth first formed 4.5 billion years ago, the atmosphere contained almost no oxygen. But 2.43 billion years ago, something happened: Oxygen levels started rising, then falling, accompanied by massive

The mesmerizing red algal species Phymatolithon calcareum clumps together to form habitats called maerl beds in coastal regions across the northeast Atlantic, but researchers have discovered a pocket of the algae near Cornwall in the UK that’s genetically distinct from the rest of the region. It’s been dubbed ‘falgae‘, likely because of its location in the

Diamonds that formed hundreds of kilometers deep below Earth’s surface contain traces of chemical reactions that took place on the bottom of the ocean. Given that the bottom of the ocean is just 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) down at its deepest point, this may seem rather odd – but those diamonds are a really valuable

Several years ago, divers exploring the western coast of Norway encountered an object they couldn’t explain: An enormous, jelly-like orb, more than 3 feet (1 meter) wide, was hovering in place partway between the seafloor and the surface. A dark streak cut through the center of the orb, but the object was otherwise translucent and totally

A dig in Argentina has unearthed a previously undiscovered species of dinosaur, and the tyrannosaur-like predator has been given a name to suit what we know about it so far: Llukalkan aliocranianus, or ‘one who causes fear’. Able to grow as long as an elephant, and with sharp teeth and a powerful bite, L. aliocranianus

Make a crocodile out of taffy. Take its head and tug on it until its neck extends a good few meters from its body. If you squint, this could be what one odd-looking Triassic reptile called Tanystropheus looked like. More or less. This animal’s assortment of ludicrously long fossilized neck bones has confused the heck

The tree of animal life had to begin somewhere. Finding that original branch amongst such a tangled canopy is harder than it sounds, though. A new analysis of genomic data suggests that one phylum in the running for the oldest branch has been deceiving us all along. Since the 19th century, many scientists have presented

Some of the deepest parts of the Black Sea are still responding to climate changes prompted by the last ice age, scientists have discovered – a period which officially ended almost 12,000 years ago. An analysis of gas hydrate deposits – in this case methane trapped by water molecules, in a solid substance that looks

Scientists have identified a new rule of growth that shapes the form and development of pointy or sharp biological structures in animals and plants, such as teeth, horns, claws, beaks, and thorns. Describing the newly found pattern as a previously unknown law of nature, the researchers call their discovery the “power cascade” – a mathematical

A severe thunderstorm cloud that formed over the Pacific Ocean in 2018 reached the coldest temperatures ever recorded, according to a new study. The very top of the storm cloud reached a bone-chilling minus 167.8 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 111 degrees Celsius), colder than any storm cloud measured before. Thunderstorms and tropical cyclones, a circular low-pressure

Could humans ever evolve venom? It’s highly unlikely that people will join rattlesnakes and platypuses among the ranks of venomous animals, but new research reveals that humans do have the tool kit to produce venom – in fact, all reptiles and mammals do. This collection of flexible genes, particularly associated with the salivary glands in humans, explains how venom

In a new first for genetic engineering, scientists have developed a single-celled synthetic organism that grows and divides much like a normal cell, mimicking aspects of the cell division cycle that underlies and generates healthy living cellular life. The achievement, demonstrated in an engineered unicellular bacteria-like life form called JCVI-syn3A, is the result of decades

The vast majority of animals considered ‘wild dogs’ in Australia are actually pure dingoes or canines that are mostly dingo in terms of their genetic makeup, new research suggests. Scientists collated the results from DNA tests of over 5,000 wild canids across Australia and found that only about 1 percent were actually feral dogs or

Scientists have figured out a way to stop cannibalistic moths from selfishly eating their siblings. All that’s required is the space to get to know one another. The Indian meal moth, or the pantry moth (Plodia interpunctella), is usually a voracious vegetarian, chowing down on flours, cereals, rice, and other packaged foods as a young

Bloodsucking insects, trapped in amber for millions of years, extracted for their blood-filled bellies, with the blood analyzed for ancient DNA. At first glance, the scientific explanation for the revival of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park doesn’t sound too far-fetched. It was considered a genuine possibility at the time the book was written. There’s just one problem –

Bacteria collected from more than a mile below the surface of the Pacific Ocean may have just blown one of immunology’s longest-held assumptions clean out of the water. The bacteria are so alien to humans that our immune cells do not even register that they exist, making them completely invisible to our immune systems. This totally contradicts one

Back when mega wombats, sheep-sized echidnas, and marsupial lions roamed the ancient lands of Australia, there also lived a gigantic flightless bird. Known by some as the ‘demon duck of doom’, Dromornis stirtoni is described by paleontologist Trevor Worthy as an “extreme evolutionary experiment”. “It would appear these giant birds were probably what evolution produced when

At the core of just about every plant, algae, and blob of green pond scum on Earth sits a molecular engine for harvesting sunlight. Its only emissions are oxygen – a gas we can all be incredibly thankful for today. If not for the evolution of this vastly common form of photosynthesis (also known as

Selective breeding by humans has led to some incredibly odd and unfortunate pets over the years, and the sauteur d’Alfort rabbit is among the strangest of the lot. This rare breed of bunny does not hop or walk like any other rabbit or hare in existence. When the sauteur is ready to go, it kicks

A mysterious neurodegenerative disease has been killing bald eagles and other animals at lakes across the United States. And after 25 years of sleuthing, researchers have finally figured out its cause. The disease, known as vacuolar myelinopathy (VM), was first discovered in 1994 when a large number of bald eagle carcasses were found near DeGray Lake in

The flickering colors of a sleeping octopus seem to indicate something akin to an REM sleep state, scientists have found. In fact, as octopuses snooze, they distinctly cycle between two major sleep states, quiet and active. This discovery suggests not only that an active sleep state evolved separately in vertebrates and cephalopods, but also that,

The class of marine animals known as cephalopoda – which today includes squids, octopuses, and cuttlefishes – could have been around on Earth 30 million years earlier than previously thought, according to new research. What’s more, if we do need to reset the timings on the appearance of cephalopods, then the whole evolutionary history of invertebrate

They are among the largest and strangest of all structures on Earth: huge, mysterious blobs of dense rock lurking deep within the lowermost parts of our planet’s mantle. There are two of these gigantic masses – called the large low-shear-velocity provinces (LLSVPs) – with one buried under Africa, the other below the Pacific Ocean. These

Maps usually exist for the purpose of charting landscapes of the known. In times of crisis, though, maps of the unknown may be just as vital a resource. That’s the thinking behind a new scientific effort to map all the places on Earth where undiscovered species are most likely to be living today. Against the

A volcano that spewed glowing red lava near Iceland’s capital Reykjavik after awakening for the first time in 900 years appeared to be subsiding on Saturday, posing no danger to people, experts said. Streams of red lava bubbled and flowed out of a fissure in a valley in Geldingadalur, close to Mount Fagradalsfjall on the

After years of cracking and crumbling, a humongous iceberg finally broke away from Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf last month and began drifting out to sea. Like a retractable skylight, the event gave us a rare glimpse at a previously unreachable seafloor absolutely teeming with life.  For five decades, the ocean below this massive chunk of ice

Sperm whales taught each other how to avoid harpoons after hunting for them began 200 years ago, according to a new study. Published by the Royal Society on Wednesday, the research was based on newly digitized logbooks from American whalers, which recorded details of their expeditions in the North Pacific during the 19th century, such as the number

Life can get a little blue beneath the ocean’s surface. Warmer colors quickly fade the deeper you go, leaving a meager palette of just a few short wavelengths to light up the landscape. To stand out in the gloom, many marine animals have evolved ways to make their skins and shells radiate hues of green,

The very first vertebrates to walk on our planet might have done so in the great ocean deep, millions of years before their later relatives transitioned to the land. In 2018, scientists were shocked to find the little skate fish (Leucoraja erinacea) and some basal sharks were capable of footing it along the ocean floor

A beady-eyed shark encircling its prey is a classic scene known to many ocean lovers. Except this captivating circling behavior is not all it seems, according to a new study that has observed whales, penguins, and sea turtles swimming in circles, too. “We’ve found that a wide variety of marine megafauna showed similar circling behavior,

The question of how life on Earth got started has long intrigued us, and new research suggests that primordial lightning strikes – perhaps over the course of a billion years – could have played a crucial role in sparking life on this planet. Central to the idea is the way that lightning bolts create special

Spring is coming to North America and scientists are quietly excited. Little dwarf lemurs are waking up after months in hibernation – the first time these furry fat-tailed animals have gone into a long hibernation in captivity. New research, which recreated seasonal conditions to coax captive dwarf lemurs into hibernation just like their wild kin

The Greenland ice sheet has been there for a long time. As near as we can tell, it could have been extensive as early as 45 million years ago. Evidence, as well as our understanding, is patchy, but scientists have been pretty confident on one thing: It seems to have been in place for at

A big event in the insect world is approaching. Starting sometime in April or May, depending on latitude, one of the largest broods of 17-year cicadas will emerge from underground in a dozen states, from New York west to Illinois and south into northern Georgia. This group is known as Brood X, as in the