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The bottom of the Arctic Ocean, below the permanent sea ice, is not a friendly place for life. Down there in the cold dark, nutrients and vegetation are sparse; it’s expected that any life that does manage to eke out an existence under these conditions would be likewise thin on the ground. Scientists were … Read more
Entombed below a thick layer of sea ice year-round and nearly devoid of nutrients, the central Arctic Ocean is a frigid wasteland where few creatures are capable of surviving. That is why researchers at Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and their colleagues were so surprised to spot a thriving community of velvety deep-sea sponges below … Read more
By Adam Vaughan Glacier in the Fitz Roy mountain range in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina Maciej Bledowski / Alamy People living in the Andes in South America will reach “peak water” – defined as a declining availability of water – much sooner than expected because the glaciers they rely on have been found to … Read more
By Clare Wilson Three people who were completely paralysed from the waist down due to spinal cord injuries can now walk while using wheeled walking frames or crutches for support, thanks to implants that electrically stimulate nerves in their back and legs. “All three patients immediately after the surgery were able to stand up and … Read more
Chimps at Loango National Park in Gabon apply small winged insects to their wounds in an apparent form of self-medication, but it is unclear why Life 7 February 2022 By Chen Ly Chimpanzees Suzee, Sassandra and Olive live in Loango National Park in Gabon Tobias Deschner/ Ozouga Chimpanzee Project A community of chimpanzees in Loango … Read more
NASA’s Curiosity rover has left plenty of marks on Mars over the past nine-plus years, and the Red Planet is returning the favor. The rugged landscape inside Mars’ Gale Crater has taken some substantial bites out of Curiosity’s six aluminum wheels, as CNET recently pointed out. The damage looks dramatic, but don’t panic; Curiosity should … Read more
Sparrows on a collection of Canadian islands change their behaviour when they fear predators are nearby, and an experiment shows this reduces their ability to raise their offspring to adulthood Life 7 February 2022 By Luke Taylor Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in British Columbia, Canada Jess Findlay/BIA/Minden/Naturepl.com The fear of predators alone is enough to … Read more
In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Caribbean communities, and we now know it had an impact on monkeys too – macaques that lived through the stressful experience have aged at an accelerated rate Life 7 February 2022 By Luke Taylor Rhesus macaques resting in the remnants of a forest that was destroyed when Hurricane Maria directly … Read more
By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong and Alex Wilkins Pedestrians wearing protective masks cross a street in Hong Kong, China, on Friday 4 February, 2022 Paul Yeung/Bloomberg via Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 8 … Read more
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Speed alone may be the factor that draws many sports fans to the bobsled, luge and skeleton events at this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics. But beneath the thrilling descents of the winding, ice-covered track, a myriad of concepts … Read more