Harvard scientists have discovered a new tardigrade species in amber, offering insights into their evolutionary history and survival strategies. Tardigrades, also known as “water bears,” are eight-legged microscopic organisms known for their incredible resilience. These remarkable micro-animals can survive anything from deadly radiation to arctic temperatures to the vacuum of space. Although they can be found anywhere on Earth where there’s water, the evolutionary history of tardigrades remains relatively mysterious because of their sparse fossil record.

Unlocking the Secrets of Earth’s Most Resilient Creatures: New Fossils Reveal 500-Million-Year-Old History

On a tropical island that's part of modern-day Indonesia, archaeologist have uncovered a remarkable find: a bone fragment belonging to an archaic adult hominin that stood a diminutive three and a half feet tall. The discovery and identification of this arm bone, detailed in new study in Nature Communications, reveal...

Scientists Find New Evidence of Hobbit-Like Creatures on Remote Island

Researchers have unearthed a giant basal tetrapod fossil in Namibia, revealing new aspects of early land animal evolution and highlighting the importance of southern continents in the study of these ancient species. An international team of paleontologists has discovered a fossilized giant basal tetrapod in Namibia. Basal tetrapods, early four-legged...

Giant Fossil Discovery in Namibia Challenges Long-Held Evolutionary Theories

Indy100

A set of matching dinosaur footprints have been found on opposite sides of the world and can offer new insight into life on Earth around 120 million years ago.Over 260 "almost identical" footprints were found in Brazil and Cameroon, two countries which are 3,700 miles apart from one another.The dinosaurs that are thought to have left the prints are three-toed theropod dinosaurs most likely made by sauropods or ornithischians, said Diana P. Vineyard, a research associate at SMU and co-author of the study.While nowadays the Atlantic Ocean separates both places, this wasn't always the case since approximately 120 million years...

Scientists discover dinosaur footprints showing how the Earth looked 120 million years ago

A series of intense environmental events 100 million years ago led to widespread extinctions of marine species. Scientists have uncovered how a “tag-team” interaction between oceans and continents millions of years ago led to a massive devastation of marine life, significantly altering the course of evolution on Earth.

Scientists Uncover Catastrophic Chain Reaction That Changed Earth’s Evolutionary Path Forever

Loch Ness and its mythical monster have fascinated conspiracy theorists for decades – but new research has thrown up some interesting developments which might just change people’s perspectives on the supposed home of the famous beasty.Of course, the creature from Scottish folklore is said to inhabit Loch Ness with rumours dating back to the 19th century.No evidence has ever been uncovered, and a new study has found that there actually might be “mini-monsters” in the loch, rather than a bigger creature [via IFLScience].The study from the University of Aberdeen involved experts dropping a holographic camera into the loch, which has...

Groundbreaking Loch Ness research reveals that 'mini-monsters' are in its waters

Newly classified fossils indicate a distant cousin of the Tyrannosaurus Rex once roamed what is now Central Asia, an area that hasn’t previously produced evidence of being home to carnivorous dinosaurs. The newly named dino, which has been dubbed Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus, belonged to the metriacanthosaurids family, a subset of...

26-Foot-Long Distant Cousin of T. Rex Was Found in an Unexpected Place

Scientists discovered a new species, Ontocetus posti, showing feeding similarities with the modern walrus and reflecting convergent evolution. This species, adapted to suction-feeding, highlights the role of environmental changes in the evolutionary history of marine mammals, from its migration patterns to its extinction in the face of global cooling. A...

New Species of Extinct Walrus-Like Mammal Discovered in the North Atlantic

For the past several decades, the scientific community has been deeply invested in figuring out where the asteroid came from that caused the massive extinction of the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. This significant event transformed Earth’s biodiversity and ignited a plethora of theories and discussions among researchers.

Massive asteroid killed the dinosaurs, and we finally know where it came from

LiveScience

Using fossil evidence and genetic dating, geneticists and paleontologists have backed strikingly different candidates for the world's first animal.

What was the first animal on Earth?

"If it's taken us 18 years just to get ready to do the first people in orbit, we've got to improve our rate of innovation."

Elon Musk said he's 'definitely going to be dead' before humans go to Mars — and you probably will be too

In 2015, Samantha Hansen and a team of researchers from the University of Alabama and Arizona State University traveled to Antarctica to install 15 seismology stations. These stations allow researchers to study the interior of the planet. What they ultimately found were large mountain-like structures deep within the Earth. Mountainous...

Scientists Are Baffled by Massive Mountain-Like Structures Deep Inside Earth

Deep in Siberia, the Batagaika crater, often dubbed the “Gateway to Hell,” is an astonishing and rapidly expanding phenomenon. This enormous permafrost crater, the largest of its kind in the world, spans nearly a kilometer in length and reaches depths of up to 100 meters. Despite being commonly referred to as a crater, Batagaika is a thermokarst depression, or mega slump, that formed in the 1960s when deforestation disrupted the thermal balance of the permafrost. As the ground thawed, it released significant amounts of methane gas, contributing to the subsidence of the Earth and creating this immense depression. The ongoing thawing process has exacerbated the situation, releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which in turn accelerates the melting of permafrost—a troubling feedback loop.

Giant Permafrost Crater “Gateway to Hell” Is Rapidly Expanding in Siberia

The Conversation U.S.

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Do dinosaurs still exist in some parts of the world today? – Ruben M., age 5. Did all dinosaurs become extinct, killed when...

Could dinosaurs still exist somewhere in the world? A paleontologist explains

A study on Drosophila reveals that descending neurons (DNs) responsible for behaviors form complex, behavior-specific networks, challenging the notion that individual neurons drive actions independently. This discovery has implications for robotics and the study of motor disorders. A fundamental question in neuroscience is how animals, including humans, convert brain signals...

How Simple Commands Turn Into Complex Behaviors – Optogenetics Reveals New Layers of Brain Function

Space.com

A new simulation suggests the possible head-on collision of our Milky Way galaxy with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy comes down to a coin flip.

Will our galaxy really collide with Andromeda? Maybe not

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Devra Lee

Disclaimer: This content was written by Devra Lee for general informational and entertainment purposes only. This service is to provide astrological information that has been researched, recorded, and observed by the author.

Horoscope of the Day, Monday, September 2nd

Geological evidence of the transition when Earth was plunged into a planetary-wide deep-freeze discovered in ancient Scottish rocks.

'Golden spike' showing the moment Earth turned into a giant snowball discovered in ancient Scottish rocks

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of exoplanets with extremely small orbits around their stars. But what about exoplanets that get close enough to be devoured by their star, and what if it's an Earth-sized exoplanet?. This is what a recent study posted to the arXiv preprint server and accepted to...

Good thing we found this Earth-sized planet now—it's about to be destroyed

Earth.com

Imagine an epic prehistoric saga, unfolding in what is now northwestern Venezuela, featuring a sea cow as our unfortunate protagonist and a crocodile and a shark as the antagonists. 



This tale is not a figment of our imagination, but a fascinating reality woven by scientists from several esteemed institutions.



Unearthing the prehistoric tale



The events of this story took place during the Early to Middle Miocene epoch, a period dating from 23 million to 11.6 million years ago. A sea cow, belonging to the extinct genus Culebratherium, found itself at the mercy of a crocodile's attack.



Evidence of this saga is etched on...

Prehistoric sea cow fossils show it was dinner for a crocodile and a shark

NewsBreak

Darwin’s Fear Was Unjustified: New Study Confirms Evolution Despite Fossil Gaps

Hiatuses in the rock record are not a significant issue. Fossils play a crucial role in piecing together evolutionary history. However, not every animal or plant...

Darwin’s Fear Was Unjustified: New Study Confirms Evolution Despite Fossil Gaps

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