Science News

• First evidence of human occupation in lava tube cave in Saudi Arabia April 17, 2024
  New research has highlighted an area in Arabia that once acted as a key point for cultural exchanges and trades amongst ancient people -- and it all took place in vast caves and lava tubes that have remained largely untapped reservoirs of archaeological abundance in Arabia. Through meticulous excavation and analysis, the international team uncovered […]
• Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile April 17, 2024
  The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, UK.
• New class of antimicrobials discovered in soil bacteria April 17, 2024
  Researchers have discovered toxic protein particles, shaped like umbrellas, that soil bacteria known as Streptomyces secrete to squelch competitors in their crowded microbial communities, especially others of their own species. What makes these newly detected antibacterial toxins different is that, unlike the Streptomyces' small-molecule antibiotics, umbrella toxins are large complexes composed of multiple proteins. They […]
• 38 trillion dollars in damages each year: World economy already committed to income reduction of 19 % due to climate change April 17, 2024
  Even if CO2 emissions were to be drastically cut down starting today, the world economy is already committed to an income reduction of 19% until 2050 due to climate change, a new study finds. These damages are six times larger than the mitigation costs needed to limit global warming to two degrees. Based on empirical […]
• Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra April 17, 2024
  The warming climate shifts the dynamics of tundra environments and makes them release trapped carbon, according to a new study published in Nature. These changes could transform tundras from carbon sinks into a carbon source, exacerbating the effects of climate change.
• Substantial global cost of climate inaction April 17, 2024
  Pioneering study reveals that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could reduce the global economic costs of climate change by two thirds. If warming continues to 3 degrees Celsius, global GDP will decrease by up to 10 percent -- with the worst impacts in less developed countries.
• Dog attacks on mountain tapirs highlight a growing threat to endangered wildlife April 17, 2024
  Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened wildlife.
• A better view with new mid-infrared nanoscopy April 17, 2024
  A team has constructed an improved mid-infrared microscope, enabling them to see the structures inside living bacteria at the nanometer scale. Mid-infrared microscopy is typically limited by its low resolution, especially when compared to other microscopy techniques. This latest development produced images at 120 nanometers, which the researchers say is a thirtyfold improvement on the […]
• Interspecies competition led to even more forms of ancient human -- defying evolutionary trends in vertebrates April 17, 2024
  Competition between species played a major role in the rise and fall of hominins -- and produced a 'bizarre' evolutionary pattern for the Homo lineage -- according to a new study that revises the start and end dates for many of our early ancestors.
• E-tongue can detect white wine spoilage before humans can April 17, 2024
  While the electronic tongue bears little physical resemblance to its namesake, the strand-like sensory probes of the 'e-tongue' still outperformed human senses when detecting contaminated wine in a recent study. In a recent experiment, the e-tongue identified signs of microorganisms in white wine within a week after contamination -- four weeks before a human panel […]