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Scientists Identify a Previously Unknown Type of Storm, Called an ‘Atmospheric Lake’

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A new type of weather condition has been observed, existing primarily in one particular part of the world: compact, slow-moving, moisture-rich pools. Researchers are calling these ‘atmospheric lakes’.   This unique type of storm occurs over the western Indian Ocean and moves towards Africa. Unlike most storms – created by a vortex – the lakes … Read more

Scientists Unearth a Ginormous Triassic Sea Monster That Once Roamed The ‘Superocean’

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A sea monster that lived during the early dinosaur age is so unexpectedly colossal, it reveals that its kind grew to gigantic sizes extremely quickly, evolutionarily speaking at least.    The discovery suggests that such ichthyosaurs – a group of fish-shaped marine reptiles that inhabited the dinosaur-era seas – grew to enormous sizes in a span of only 2.5 … Read more

Alien Life Could Theoretically Survive Within Venus’s Clouds, Scientists Say

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With an atmosphere acidic enough to strip the skin from your bones, Venus is far from what we might imagine as hospitable. But a new study backs up the idea that cocoons of life could potentially exist in the planet’s corrosive clouds.   Researchers have identified a chemical pathway through which the droplets of sulfuric … Read more

Crows Are So Smart They Seem to Understand The Concept of Tool Value

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A new study has demonstrated crows can assign value to their tools just like we do. “Many of us will fuss about a brand-new phone, making sure it does not get scratched, dropped or lost. But we may handle an old phone with a cracked screen quite carelessly,” said behavioral ecologist Barbara Klump now at … Read more

Astronomers Detect Up to 170 Rogue Planets Hurtling Aimlessly Through Space

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Interstellar space is a graveyard of lost souls. Adrift far from any star, these planets float in the darkness like ghost ships in the night. Catching sight of one requires patience, and a good eye. But a new approach based on tens of thousands of images collected by the European Southern Observatory’s facilities has resulted … Read more

Tsunamis’ Magnetic Fields Can Be Detected Before Sea Levels Change

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Seconds count when it comes to tsunami alerts, and scientists may have found a warning sign that can be detected even earlier than sea level rises: the magnetic fields created by these gigantic rushes of waves.   Even though the difference might only be a minute or two, that can save lives. Magnetic field data … Read more

Early Studies Out of UK Indicate Omicron Has a Lower Hospitalization Rate Than Delta

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Two studies from Britain published Wednesday showed COVID infections with Omicron are less likely to result in hospitalization compared to the Delta variant, the latest research confirming a trend first identified in South Africa.​   The preliminary studies – one paper from Scotland and the other from England – were cautiously welcomed by experts, who nonetheless … Read more

Scientists Just Identified a Brand New Muscle Layer in The Human Jaw

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It turns out there are still exciting new discoveries to be made in a field as well-studied as human anatomy: researchers have confirmed the existence of a layer of muscle in the human jaw that has until now eluded anatomists.   This new muscle is a deeper, third section of the masseter muscle. It’s the most prominent … Read more

US Life Expectancy Has Taken Its Sharpest Drop in More Than 75 Years

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US life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years in 2020, final official figures showed Wednesday, the steepest drop in more than 75 years driven in large part by the COVID-19 pandemic.   Life expectancy at birth was 77.0 years for the total US population last year, down from 78.8 years in 2019, according to the Centers … Read more