A new study in Nature Microbiology analyzes soils collected across Kansas to test the role of “legacy effects,” which refers to how soils at a given site are shaped by microbes that have adapted to the local climate over many years. “The bacteria and fungi and other organisms living in the soil can actually end…
Plankton are the unseen drivers of life on Earth. These microscopic organisms produce a large share of the planet’s oxygen and form the base of the ocean food chain. They are also astonishingly diverse, with tens of thousands of species already identified and many more waiting to be discovered. Among them, protists — tiny, single-celled…
After nearly a quarter century of investigation, scientists have solved a remarkable mystery. Europe’s largest bat doesn’t merely snack on small birds — it hunts and captures them more than a kilometer above the ground and consumes them while still in flight. An international research team has uncovered how this massive bat hunts and eats…
Could everything we thought we knew about T. rex growth be wrong? A remarkably complete tyrannosaur skeleton has brought new clarity to one of paleontology’s longest debates: whether Nanotyrannus was its own species or merely a young Tyrannosaurus rex. The fossil comes from the famous “Dueling Dinosaurs” discovery in Montana, which preserved two creatures locked…
Disrupting communication between the body’s internal clock and the brain could help limit neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WashU Medicine). The study, published in Nature Aging, explored how changes in the circadian system affect brain health and memory in mouse models of Alzheimer’s…
Scientists in Japan have discovered Physalia mikazuki, a previously unknown species of Portuguese man-of-war, in northern waters for the first time. DNA and anatomical analysis confirmed it as distinct from tropical relatives. Ocean simulations suggest warming currents transported it northward, offering new clues about changing ecosystems. The find underscores both marine adaptation and safety concerns…
For nearly 100 years, scientists have been intrigued by the fossils of Paranthropus robustus, a sturdy, distant cousin of early humans. This upright-walking hominin was built for chewing tough foods, equipped with powerful jaws and large teeth coated in thick enamel. Researchers believe it lived in southern Africa between 2.25 million and 1.7 million years…
Where you live could have a powerful influence on how your brain functions and your chances of developing dementia, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The study, recently featured in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging (a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association), found that people residing in neighborhoods…
The coelacanth is often called a “living fossil,” once believed to have vanished millions of years ago before a live specimen was unexpectedly caught in the Indian Ocean in 1938. Since that surprise discovery, more individuals have been found, yet their ancient fossil record remains incomplete. In a new paper published in the Journal of…
Right in time for Halloween, astronomers have spotted what looks like a flying bat soaring above the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) Paranal site in Chile. Using its wide field of view, the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) captured a vast cloud of cosmic gas and dust whose ghostly shape mirrors a bat’s silhouette. Located about 10,000…
