Category Archives: News & Archives

In a first, fossil dinosaur feathers found near the South Pole

In a first, fossil dinosaur feathers found near the South Pole
Ten exquisitely preserved fossil feathers found in Australia represent the first solid evidence that feathered dinosaurs lived at Earth’s poles, paleontologists report in an upcoming study in the journal Gondwana Research. The feathers date back 118 million years to the early Cretaceous period, when Australia was much farther south and joined with Antarctica to form…
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Genetic discovery holds implications for better immunity, longer life

Genetic discovery holds implications for better immunity, longer life
Wrinkles on the skin of a microscopic worm might provide the key to a longer, healthier life for humans. Working with Caenorhabditis elegans, a transparent nematode found in soil, researchers at Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine were the first to find that the nervous system controls the tiny worm's cuticle, a skin-like…
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Your RNA May Have Come from Space, Meteor Study Suggests

Your RNA May Have Come from Space, Meteor Study Suggests
A new study suggests that when some ancient meteorites crash-land on Earth, they bring a dash of extraterrestrial sugar with them. To be clear, this is not table sugar (sadly, scientists still have no insight into whether aliens prefer their coffee black or sweetened). Rather, in the powdered samples of two ancient, carbon-filled meteorites, astronomers…
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Beetle fossilised in amber reveals earliest evidence of prehistoric pollination as scientists discover the insect had flower traces on its feet when it died 99million years ago

Beetle fossilised in amber reveals earliest evidence of prehistoric pollination as scientists discover the insect had flower traces on its feet when it died 99million years ago
The earliest-known example of a pollinating insect has been found preserved in amber dating back to around 99 million years ago, researchers report. The fossilised tumbling flower beetle was found with pollen still stuck to its legs preserved in amber from deep inside a mine in northern Myanmar's Hukawng Valley. The find pushes back the…
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Scientists find early humans moved through Mediterranean earlier than believed

Scientists find early humans moved through Mediterranean earlier than believed
An international research team led by scientists from McMaster University has unearthed new evidence in Greece proving that the island of Naxos was inhabited by Neanderthals and earlier humans at least 200,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years earlier than previously believed. The findings, published today in the journal Science Advances, are based on years…
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In a first, scientists pinpoint neural activity’s role in human longevity

In a first, scientists pinpoint neural activity’s role in human longevity
The brain's neural activity -- long implicated in disorders ranging from dementia to epilepsy -- also plays a role in human aging and life span, according to research led by scientists in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School. The study, published Oct. 16 in Nature, is based on findings from human brains, mice and worms…
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New data on the evolution of plants and origin of species

New data on the evolution of plants and origin of species
There are over 500,000 plant species in the world today. They all evolved from a common ancestor. How this leap in biodiversity happened is still unclear. In the upcoming issue of Nature, an international team of researchers, including scientists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, presents the results of a unique project on the evolution of plants.…
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New cancer-driving mutation in ‘dark matter’ of the cancer genome

New cancer-driving mutation in ‘dark matter’ of the cancer genome
An Ontario-led research group has discovered a novel cancer-driving mutation in the vast non-coding regions of the human cancer genome, also known as the "dark matter" of human cancer DNA. The mutation, as described in two related studies published in Nature on October 9, 2019, represents a new potential therapeutic target for several types of cancer including…
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