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For nearly a century, scientists around the world have been searching for dark matter – an invisible substance believed to make up about 80 percent of the universe’s mass and needed to explain a variety of physical phenomena. Numerous methods have been used in attempts to detect dark matter, from trying to produce it in…

Wherever there’s dirt there’s bound to be ants, but one particular group is so adept at blending in with the ground that they hold the name “dirt ant” (Basiceros) all to themselves. Now, an ancient fossil has revealed these elusive ants have seen much more of the planet’s dirt throughout their history than scientists previously…

Weight loss and diabetes drugs on the market often do not achieve long-term weight loss for patients. GLP-1 drugs target brain neurons that control appetite but frequently cause side effects. Nausea and vomiting force 70% of patients to stop treatment within a year. Syracuse University chemistry professor Robert Doyle is leading a multidisciplinary team that…

Submarine canyons are among the most spectacular and fascinating geological formations to be found on our ocean floors, but at an international level scientists have yet to uncover many of their secrets, especially of those located in remote regions of the Earth like the North and South Poles. Now, an article published in the journal…

Glaciers carved the deep valleys of Banff, eroded Ontario to deposit the fertile soils of the Prairies and continue to change the Earth’s surface. But how fast do glaciers sculpt the landscape? Published on August 7 in Nature Geoscience, University of Victoria (UVic) geographer Sophie Norris and her international team provide the most comprehensive view of…

Body coverings such as hair and feathers have played a central role in evolution. They enabled warm-bloodedness by insulating the body, and were used for courtship, display, deterrence of enemies and, in the case of feathers, flight. Their structure is characterised by longer and more complex skin outgrowths that differ significantly from the simple and…

More than 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous Period, much of northern Illinois outside Chicago — including what is now the Mazon Creek (“muh-ZAHN”) fossil site — was alive with ancient creatures thriving in lush, tropical swamps, river deltas and shallow seas. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri’s College of Arts and Science…