Two Irish scientists have created a groundbreaking method for recovering fingerprints from fired bullet casings — something long believed to be impossible. Dr. Eithne Dempsey and her former PhD student, Dr. Colm McKeever, from the Department of Chemistry at Maynooth University in Ireland, have designed a novel electrochemical process that reveals fingerprints on brass casings…
Earth’s oceans hold extraordinary biodiversity, yet only a small portion of an estimated two million marine species have been formally identified and described. One of the biggest hurdles in ocean science is the lengthy delay — sometimes lasting decades — between when a species is first discovered and when it is officially documented. To overcome…
Scientists at the University of California, Davis report the discovery of a previously unrecognized trapdoor spider that lives in California’s coastal sand dunes. The species, named Aptostichus ramirezae, is closely related to Aptostichus simus, which occurs along the shoreline from Monterey to Baja California, Mexico. Findings published in the journal Ecology and Evolution indicate that…
Over a few million years, the spider Dysdera tilosensis (a species found only in the Canary Islands) has accomplished something extraordinary: it has cut its genome size nearly in half while adapting to its island environment. Despite this dramatic reduction, the genome of this species is not only more compact but also contains a higher…
Available for over a year What’s been called the storm of the century – Hurricane Melissa – has barrelled through Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas over the past two days. Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology at the University of Reading, explains whether Melissa was caused – or made worse – by human-made climate change. As…
Azadeh MoshiriPakistan Correspondent BBC Floods have swept across Pakistan, hitting urban and rural areas, including the capital of Punjab, Lahore Rescuers and relatives searched knee-deep in water for the body of one-year-old Zara. She’d been swept away by flash floods; the bodies of her parents and three siblings had already been found days earlier. “We…
The arrival of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere marked a defining moment in the planet’s history, transforming it into a world capable of supporting complex life. This major shift, known as the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), took place approximately 2.1 to 2.4 billion years ago. However, oxygenic photosynthesis — produced by cyanobacteria — had likely evolved…
For most of Earth’s history, scientists have viewed the slow breakdown of silicate rocks as the planet’s main natural thermostat. In this process, rainwater absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, lands on exposed rocks, and gradually dissolves them. The carbon and calcium released eventually flow into the oceans, where they form the raw materials…
Astronomers have produced the first three-dimensional map of a planet outside our solar system, revealing distinct temperature regions, including one so hot that water vapor breaks apart. The findings appear in Nature Astronomy, published October 28, 2025. Led by researchers at the University of Maryland and Cornell University, the study charts temperatures across WASP-18b, a…
The question of whether spacetime truly exists should not be particularly controversial or even conceptually difficult once we understand what is meant by “spacetime,” “events,” and “instants.” Believing that spacetime is a real, physical entity is no more defensible than believing in the old idea of a celestial sphere. Both are human-centered frameworks that help…
