Category Archives: News & Archives

How does Earth sustain its magnetic field?

How did the chemical makeup of our planet's core shape its geologic history and habitability? Life as we know it could not exist without Earth's magnetic field and its ability to deflect dangerous ionizing particles from the solar wind and more far-flung cosmic rays. It is continuously generated by the motion of liquid iron in…

Like humans, beluga whales form social networks beyond family ties

A groundbreaking study using molecular genetic techniques and field studies brings together decades of research into the complex relationships among beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) that spans 10 locations across the Arctic from Alaska to Canada and Russia to Norway. The behavior of these highly gregarious whales, which include sophisticated vocal repertoires, suggest that this marine…

Humans and monkeys show similar thinking patterns

Humans and monkeys may not speak the same lingo, but our ways of thinking are a lot more similar than previously thought, according to new research from UC Berkeley, Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University. In experiments on 100 study participants across age groups, cultures and species, researchers found that indigenous Tsimane' people in Bolivia's…

Indigenous Americans had contact with Polynesians 800 years ago, DNA study confirms

Indigenous Americans and Polynesians crossed thousands of miles of open ocean and made contact with each other as early as 1200 A.D., centuries before the arrival of Europeans, a new study has found. Archeologists have long believed the two regions made early contact, pointing to the early, widespread cultivation of a South American plant in…

New University of Otago research sheds light on guinea pig domestication and how and why the small, furry animals became distributed around the world. Just published in the international science journal, Scientific Reports, the researchers use ancient DNA from archaeological guinea pig remains which reveals the transition from the animals being used as a wild food…

Evolution of pandemic coronavirus outlines path from animals to humans

A team of scientists studying the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, found that it was especially well-suited to jump from animals to humans by shapeshifting as it gained the ability to infect human cells. Conducting a genetic analysis, researchers from Duke University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of…

As many as six billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, according to new estimates

There may be as many as one Earth-like planet for every five Sun-like stars in the Milky way Galaxy, according to new estimates by University of British Columbia astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler mission. To be considered Earth-like, a planet must be rocky, roughly Earth-sized and orbiting Sun-like (G-type) stars. It also has to orbit in…

Steroid dexamethasone reduces deaths among patients with severe COVID-19 – trial shows

A cheap and widely-used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save lives among COVID-19 patients in what scientists said is a "major breakthrough" in the coronavirus pandemic. Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis, reduced death…

One of the biggest and longest-standing questions in the history of human thought is whether there are other intelligent life forms within our Universe. Obtaining good estimates of the number of possible extraterrestrial civilizations has however been very challenging. A new study led by the University of Nottingham and published today in The Astrophysical Journal has taken…

When three species of human ancestor walked the Earth

An international team, including Arizona State University researcher Gary Schwartz, have unearthed the earliest known skull of Homo erectus, the first of our ancestors to be nearly human-like in their anatomy and aspects of their behavior. Years of painstaking excavation at the fossil-rich site of Drimolen, nestled within the Cradle of Humankind (a UNESCO World Heritage…

Category Archives: News & Archives

How does Earth sustain its magnetic field?

Humans and monkeys show similar thinking patterns

Indigenous Americans had contact with Polynesians 800 years ago, DNA study confirms

Origins of the beloved guinea pig

Evolution of pandemic coronavirus outlines path from animals to humans

As many as six billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, according to new estimates

Steroid dexamethasone reduces deaths among patients with severe COVID-19 – trial shows

Is There Anybody out There? Likely, Yes

When three species of human ancestor walked the Earth