Tiny Jurassic Dinosaur Featured Rainbow Ruff and a Bony Crest
Ancient dinosaurs were adorned in some amazing ways, from the horns of the triceratops to the plates and spikes of the stegosaurus. A newly discovered,…
Geology
Researchers Date the Origins of Photosynthesis to 1.25 Billion Years Ago
The world’s oldest algae fossils are a billion years old, according to a new analysis by earth scientists at McGill University. Based on this finding,…
Yale Researchers ‘Look’ Deep Inside a Diamond Planet
New research by Yale University scientists suggests rocky planets orbiting other stars may hide thick layers of diamond beneath the surface. “A carbon-rich planet likely…
First-of-Its Kind Seismic Study Challenges Concepts of Geology
Slowly but steadily, an enormous mass of warm rock is rising beneath part of New England, although a major volcanic eruption isn’t likely for millions…
Oxygen-Rich Iron Reservoirs Could Have Played a Crucial Role in the Creation of Life
A new study from the Carnegie Institution For Science shows that reservoirs of oxygen-rich iron between the Earth’s core and mantle could have played a…
SMU Study Shows Carbon Dioxide Link to Global Warming 22 Million Years Ago
New research from Southern Methodist University reveals a link between high carbon dioxide and climate change 22 million years ago. Fossil leaves from Africa have…
Mongolian Microfossils Shed Light on the Rise of Animals
A newly published study from Yale University details how a cache of embryo-like microfossils discovered in northern Mongolia may shed light on questions about the…
Extreme Methane Rainstorms Shape Saturn’s Moon Titan
Newly published research from UCLA shows that extreme methane rainstorms appear to have a key role in shaping Titan’s icy surface. Titan, the largest of…
Tectonic Plates Used to Sink Much Further Than They do Today
New research from MIT reveals that ancient Earth harbored higher mantle temperatures, which were much more efficient at drawing down pieces of the planet’s crust….
Moon’s Magnetic Field May Have Lasted 2 Billion Years
New findings from MIT suggest two mechanisms may have powered the moon’s ancient churning, extending the lunar dynamo’s lifetime by at least 1 billion years….
Researchers Identify a Prehistoric Sea Creature That Once Patrolled the Ocean Floor
A team of biologists has identified a small marine predator that once patrolled the ocean floor and grabbed its prey with 50 spines that it…
Initial Pulse of Siberian Traps Sills Triggered End-Permian Extinction
New research from MIT reveals that about 251.9 million years ago, in a region that today is known as the Siberian Traps, a huge pulse…
Arctic Sea Ice Loss is Impacting Atlantic Ocean Water Circulation System
New research from Yale University and the University of Southampton shows that the loss of Arctic sea ice is impacting the Atlantic Ocean water circulation…
Titan’s Landscape Resembles That of Mars, not Earth
New research from MIT shows that the origins of surface elevations on Mars and Titan are very different from that on Earth. The environment on…
New Study Reveals How Rain Reshaped the Surface of Mars
A newly published study from the Smithsonian Institution and the Johns Hopkins University reveals that heavy rain on Mars reshaped the planet’s impact craters and…
Prehistoric Extinctions Offer Insights for Today’s Endangered Species
New research from Yale University is using data from prehistoric extinctions to teach valuable, real-world lessons about what happens to an ecosystem when its most…
NASA GRAIL Mission Provides Insights into Moon Impacts
Astronomers are using data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission to provide new insights into the huge impacts that dominated the early history…
Study Suggests Habitable Zone Alone Isn’t Sufficient to Support Life
New research from Yale University suggests that simply being in the habitable zone isn’t sufficient to support life. A planet also must start with an…