The First Explosion of Life on Earth Made an Impact Deep Under The Surface

The Cambrian Explosion – around 541 million years ago – was when life and organisms really got going on planet Earth. Now new research has revealed how that explosion of life has left behind traces deep within Earth’s mantle.   For scientists, it shows the connected interplay between Earth’s surface and what lies beneath, as … Read more

Spiders Use Electric Fields to Fly, And We May Finally Know How

Having never evolved wings, many species of spider instead evolved an uncanny ability to take to the skies using nothing more than a few short threads of gossamer dangling from their dainty butts.   Just how this invertebrate answer to paragliding works has never been entirely clear, though historically biologists have assumed it probably has … Read more

‘Fish’ Pet Food Could Actually Contain Endangered Shark, Alarming DNA Study Finds

Your pet’s dinner may contain endangered shark – even if the ingredients on the label don’t explicitly include “shark”, a recent analysis of commercially produced pet foods has found.   Pet foods often describe their ocean-sourced ingredients with generic terms such as “fish”, “white fish”, “white bait”, or “ocean fish” and researchers wondered if genetic … Read more

Bizarre 300-Year-Old Mummified ‘Mermaid’ Can Finally Be Explained

Researchers in Japan are investigating the origins of a nightmarish, 300-year-old mummified ‘mermaid‘, which has been worshipped for centuries due to its supposed medicinal properties.   The haunting remains are most likely a gruesome amalgam of a monkey’s torso sewed onto a fish’s tail, potentially embellished with hair and nails from a human.  Hiroshi Kinoshita, board member … Read more

Road Salt’s Harm to Freshwater Ecosystems Could Ripple Out to All of Us

We have a salt problem, and we’re not referring to our diets. As effective as salt is at de-icing our highways in the winter, new research reveals that its extensive use is also causing damage to freshwater ecosystems.   What’s more, saltwater concentrations deemed safe by regulators in the US, Canada, and Europe aren’t doing … Read more

This Huge Yellow Spider Could Spread Across The US Seaboard in No Time at All

Say hello to the Jorō spider (Trichonephila clavata), an arachnid you’re likely to be seeing a lot more of in the future if you live on the East Coast of the US. New research suggests the distinctive black-and-yellow creature – currently flourishing in the state of Georgia – is unlikely to face any barriers in … Read more

Behold The Most Up-to-Date Scientific Reconstruction of a Prehistoric Ichthyosaur

A thorough review of 300 years of research, and an exceptionally preserved fossil, have given us what paleontologists say is the most up-to-date reconstruction yet of an ancient beast.   Living alongside dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that swam and hunted in Earth’s oceans. Resembling reptilian dolphins, these fascinating animals thrived … Read more

Lost Photos Suggest Europeans Were Mummifying Their Dead Far Earlier Than We Thought

Archaeologists may have just uncovered evidence for the oldest known practice of mummification. Human remains interred 8,000 years ago in the Sado Valley in Portugal, during the Mesolithic, appear to have been deliberately treated for mummification prior to burial. This is the first evidence for Mesolithic mummification in Europe.   It’s also possibly the oldest … Read more

Diversity researchers say fix the system in physics, not the students | Science

This story is part of a special package being published this week about the barriers Black physicists face and potential models for change. Read more C. Smith/Science Physicist Mary James was a sophomore at Hampshire College in Massachusetts in 1974 when a professor encouraged her to apply for a prestigious internship at a world-class laboratory. … Read more

Researchers Analyzed Folk Music like It Was DNA: They Found Parallels between Life and Art

Karen Hopkin: This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin. You’re probably familiar with the concept of evolution. Living things evolve by accumulating genetic changes, which are then weeded out or preserved through a process of natural selection. Turns out the same thing happens in music. And by using the same software that’s used to … Read more