The remains of landscapes thought to have formed when ancient rivers flowed across East Antarctica have been discovered – and could help predictions of future loss from the ice sheet. Researchers led by Durham University, UK, examined radar measurements of ice thickness and found extensive, previously unmapped, flat surfaces buried beneath a 3,500 km stretch…
New University of South Australia research is providing evidence of biological triggers of oil production in oats, a discovery that will help processing and potentially drive further demand for Australian-grown oats. While Australia is the world’s second-largest exporter of oats, high oil content in oat grains creates challenges during milling, reducing processing efficiency and limiting…
Beneath the scales of Australia’s iconic monitor lizards (commonly known as goannas), scientists have discovered an unexpected secret: a hidden layer of bony skin structures known as osteoderms. These structures, which have been long overlooked, may hold the key to understanding how these ancient reptiles not only survived but thrived in one of the world’s…
New research by the University of Sydney offers important insights into how and when new coronavirus variants arise in bats. Bats are beneficial to our ecosystems and economy but, as habitat destruction and environmental stressors put them in closer proximity to humans, disease risks can emerge. The research, published in Nature Communications on July 17,…
Shri rapax fossil Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels A new species of Velociraptor-like dinosaur from the Gobi desert in Mongolia had giant claws and exceptionally thickset hands, which may have enabled it to take down larger prey. The name of the species, Shri rapax, was inspired by “the rapacious features we see in…
A new international study suggests that ancient viral DNA embedded in our genome, which were long dismissed as genetic “junk,” may actually play powerful roles in regulating gene expression. Focusing on a family of sequences called MER11, researchers from Japan, China, Canada, and the US have shown that these elements have evolved to influence how…
“This estimate shows that there is more plastic in the form of nanoparticles floating in the this part of the ocean, than there is in larger micro- or macroplastics floating in the Atlantic or even all the world’s oceans!,” said Helge Niemann, researcher at NIOZ and professor of geochemistry at Utrecht University. Mid-June, he received…
Scientists at Rice University and University of Houston have developed an innovative, scalable approach to engineer bacterial cellulose into high-strength, multifunctional materials. The study, published in Nature Communications, introduces a dynamic biosynthesis technique that aligns bacterial cellulose fibers in real-time, resulting in robust biopolymer sheets with exceptional mechanical properties. Plastic pollution persists because traditional synthetic…
A Caucasian leopard, Panthera pardus tulliana, spotted in Armenia Apple TV+ The Wild OnesApple TV+ The Wild Ones, the latest nature documentary from Apple TV+, is an insider trip charting the work of three experts – and it is a series that rewards careful watching. The opening narration points out that nature is in crisis:…
Plain-body octopuses can be duped into thinking a fake arm is their own Sumire Kawashima and Yuzuru Ikeda/the University of the Ryukyus Just like humans, octopuses can be fooled by an illusion that makes them think a fake arm is actually theirs. First demonstrated in the late 1990s, the rubber hand illusion involves hiding a…
