A New Study Has Identified a Dominant Force Driving Evolution on Earth Today

Mounting evidence suggests humans are now a major driving force of evolution on Earth. From selective breeding to environmental modifications, we’re altering so much of our world that we’re not only now driving the climate, but the direction of life itself.   Now, in a massive project involving 287 scientists across 160 cities in 26 … Read more

Features on icy ‘space snowman’ Arrokoth receive names

The map of a distant, lobe-shaped object called Arrokoth (2014 MU69) now has official names to accompany the images from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. After the spacecraft zoomed by the lobe-shaped world in 2019, managers of the mission — most famous for its flyby of Pluto four years before — announced the proposed feature names … Read more

Curiosity Rover Snapped This Photo of a Tiny And Delicate Mineral ‘Flower’ on Mars

The Curiosity rover took a picture of something pretty enticing this week on the surface of Mars. While the object in question looks like a tiny little flower or maybe even some type of organic feature, the rover team confirmed this object is a mineral formation, with delicate structures that formed by minerals precipitating from water.   … Read more

Mountain gorilla inbreeding has distorted their facial features

The mountain gorilla population is small and inbreeding levels are high – and now there’s evidence this inbreeding may explain why some gorillas have distorted facial features Life 23 February 2022 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre An extreme example of facial asymmetry in a female Virunga mountain gorilla cranium McGrath K et al. The degree of distortion … Read more

Arcane Ritual Complex From 9,000 Years Ago Unearthed in Unprecedented Discovery

Archaeologists deep in the Jordanian desert have discovered a 9,000-year-old ritualistic complex near what is thought to be the earliest known large human-built structure worldwide.   The Stone Age shrine site, excavated last year, was used by gazelle hunters and features carved stone figures, an altar and a miniature model of a large-scale hunting trap. … Read more

NASA Space Probe Unexpectedly Glimpses The Surface of Venus in Stunning New First

New images recorded by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe have revealed the red-hot glow of Venus‘s surface radiating through its shroud of toxic clouds – a finding that could help us better understand the minerals making up this rocky and mysterious planet.   Using data from the Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument, scientists … Read more

Evolution Keeps Making And Unmaking Crabs, And Nobody Knows Why

Our planet’s convoluted history of evolving life has spawned countless weird and wonderful creatures, but none excite evolutionary biologists – or divide taxonomists – quite like crabs.   When researchers attempted to reconcile the evolutionary history of crabs in all their raucous glory just earlier this year, they arrived at the conclusion that the defining … Read more