Odd Creatures: Earth & Climate
December 30, 2024
Top Headlines
Dec. 19, 2024 — Scientists have successfully identified a previously unknown species to Southern California from fossilized seeds, revealing a drought-fueled dance between two species of juniper with lessons for the ...
Dec. 19, 2024 — Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago. The chart shows the relative ups and downs in species ...
Dec. 18, 2024 — California ground squirrels hunt, kill and eat voles, reveals a new study documenting evidence of widespread carnivorous behavior among ...
Dec. 17, 2024 — The holidays are in full swing and people are shopping, wrapping and packing to visit loved ones. Along with the extra fees for checked baggage and seat upgrades, some airlines are also considering weight-based pricing. A recent study looked at how ...
Latest Headlines
updated 11:01am EST
Dec. 16, 2024 — Analysis of the remains of at least 37 individuals from Early Bronze Age England finds they were killed, butchered, and probably consumed before being thrown down a 15m-deep shaft. It is the ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Scientists have today announced the discovery of a species of lipstick vine completely new to science, from the depths of the Philippine rainforest. ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers are linking human activity to increased gene transfer from soil bacteria to ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Stars similar to the Sun produce a gigantic outburst of radiation on average about once every hundred years per star. Such superflares release more energy than a trillion hydrogen bombs and make all ...
Dec. 9, 2024 — Thanks for a powerful antioxidant, Deinococcus radiodurans can withstand radiation doses 28,000 times greater than what would kill a human. In a new study, scientists discovered how the antioxidant ...
Dec. 11, 2024 — Recycling all the human and livestock feces and urine on the planet would contribute substantially to meeting the nutrient supply for all crops worldwide, thereby reducing the need to mine ...
Dec. 10, 2024 — Some of the world's smallest animals and their tiny poops could aid in the fight against climate change. A study reports that clay dust sprayed on the surface of seawater converts free-floating ...
Dec. 9, 2024 — Characterized by darkness and intense pressure, the ocean's hadal zone seems uninhabitable, yet dozens of unique organisms call it home. Each species discovered there adds a crucial piece to the ...
Dec. 6, 2024 — Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but rely on a different component of the field than other insects. The survey suggests that the ...
Dec. 5, 2024 — Colorful auroras appeared around Japan's Honshu and Hokkaido islands on May 11, 2024, sparked by an intense magnetic storm. Usually, auroras observed ...
Earlier Headlines
Dec. 5, 2024 — Hummingbird bills -- their long, thin beaks -- look a little like drinking straws. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. Scientists have discovered that the ...
Dec. 5, 2024 — Research has revealed that several groups of meat-eating dinosaur stalked the Bexhill-on-Sea region of coastal East Sussex 135 million years ...
Dec. 3, 2024 — Previous research found that insects can ingest and absorb pure, unrefined microplastics -- but only under unrealistic, food-scarce situations. Zoologists have now tested mealworms in a more ...
Dec. 3, 2024 — Researchers at TU Delft have discovered that E. coli bacteria can synchronize their movements, creating order in seemingly random biological systems. By trapping individual bacteria in ...
Dec. 2, 2024 — Scientists find making a seaweed additive more accessible to grazing cattle reduces methane emissions 40% and could make cattle farming more ...
Nov. 27, 2024 — A striking new phenomenon is emerging: distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain. A new study ...
Nov. 25, 2024 — Studying the filter-feeding mechanism of mobula rays, engineers developed a new design for industrial cross-flow water filters. Research shows the filter-feeders strike a natural balance between ...
Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers have measured the brain activity of people who had never been to a specific city and then use this brain activity to predict other people's actual visits to places around that city. ...
Nov. 19, 2024 — Researchers study how Champatis roll and bounce down inclines. The authors released a heap of the seeds down an inclined plane while a camera recorded their descent to analyze their speed and the ...
Nov. 18, 2024 — Through the intricate study of lava tubes -- caves formed following volcanic eruptions when lava cools down -- an international team of researchers has uncovered clues about Earth's ancient ...
Nov. 18, 2024 — A newly discovered pterosaur fossil is shedding light on the evolutionary journey of these ancient flying reptiles. This complete specimen, named Skiphosoura bavarica, provides crucial insights into ...
Nov. 14, 2024 — Researchers have discovered meter-high chimneys on the floor of the Dead Sea. These are formed by the spontaneous crystallization of minerals from groundwater with an extremely high salt content ...
Nov. 14, 2024 — 'Cool' white lights -- such as those in modern car headlights -- endanger moths by causing them to fly erratically, new research ...
Nov. 14, 2024 — A new technique allows researchers to separate external and internal DNA to identify microbes colonizing the hostile environment of the Atacama ...
Nov. 13, 2024 — Engineers have invented a protective coating for concrete pipes that could help drastically reduce the formation of fatbergs in ...
Nov. 12, 2024 — Coral larvae reduce their metabolism and increase nitrogen uptake to resist bleaching in high temperatures, according to a new ...
Nov. 12, 2024 — Roughly 90 million years ago, climatic conditions in Antarctica were suitable for resin-producing trees. Researchers have now made the southernmost discovery of amber in the ...
Nov. 11, 2024 — A series of rocks hiding around Colorado's Rocky Mountains may hold clues to a frigid period in Earth's past when glaciers several miles thick covered the entire ...
Nov. 11, 2024 — A new study on titan arum -- commonly known as the corpse flower for its smell like rotting flesh -- uncovers fundamental genetic pathways and biological mechanisms that produce heat and odorous ...
Nov. 8, 2024 — Highland deer mice and their lowland cousins ventured on a simulated seven-week ascent to 6,000 meters. By tracking how the mice responded to cold stress and progressively lower oxygen levels, the ...
Thursday, December 5, 2024
- That's No Straw: Hummingbirds Evolved Surprisingly Flexible Bills to Help Them Drink Nectar
- Tyrannosaur Teeth Discovered in Bexhill-on-Sea, England
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
- Can Plastic-Eating Bugs Help With Our Microplastic Problem?
- Tiny Dancers: Scientists Synchronize Bacterial Motion
Monday, December 2, 2024
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Monday, November 25, 2024
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Monday, November 18, 2024
- New Research Explores Volcanic Caves, Advancing the Search for Life on Mars
- New Fossil Reveals the Evolution of Flying Reptiles
Thursday, November 14, 2024
- Spectacular Chimneys Discovered in the Dead Sea
- 'Cool' White Car Headlights More Likely to Dazzle Moths
- Living Microbes Discovered in Earth's Driest Desert
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Monday, November 11, 2024
- Was 'Snowball Earth' A Global Event? Study Delivers Best Proof Yet
- Secret Behind the Corpse Flower's Famous Stench
Friday, November 8, 2024
- Study of Mountaineering Mice Sheds Light on Evolutionary Adaptation
- Measurements from 'lost' Seaglider Offer New Insights Into Antarctic Ice Melting
- Elephant Turns a Hose Into a Sophisticated Showering Tool
- Deep-Sea Corals Are Home to Previously Unknown Bacteria With Extremely Small Genomes
Thursday, November 7, 2024
- Insect-Killing Fungi Find Unexpected Harmony in War
- DNA Evidence Rewrites Story of People Buried in Pompeii Eruption
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
- How Gophers Brought Mount St. Helens Back to Life in One Day
- Research Reveals How Stormy Conditions Affect Albatrosses' Ability to Feed
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Monday, November 4, 2024
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
- Alcohol Consumption Among Non-Human Animals May Not Be as Rare as Previously Thought, Say Ecologists
- Solar-Powered Animal Cells
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
- Have We Found All the Major Maya Cities? Not Even Close, New Research Suggests
- Oceanographers Record the Largest Predation Event Ever Observed in the Ocean
- Beehive Fences Are Highly Effective in Reducing Human-Elephant Conflict, but Researchers Warn of Future Risks
- Weddell Seals in the Antarctic Strategically Time Their Most Extreme Dives to Maximize Foraging
- Dinosaurs Thrived After Ice, Not Fire, Says a New Study of Ancient Volcanism
Friday, October 25, 2024
Thursday, October 24, 2024
- Human Actions Likely Cause Insect Color Change
- Gut Bacteria Transfer Genes to Disable Weapons of Their Competitors
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
- 'Paleo-Robots' To Help Scientists Understand How Fish Started to Walk on Land
- Paleontologists Discover Colorado 'swamp Dweller' That Lived Alongside Dinosaurs
- With 'electro-Agriculture,' Plants Can Produce Food in the Dark and With 94% Less Land, Bioengineers Say
- Researchers Use the Sounds of Healthy Coral Reefs to Encourage Growth of a New Species of Coral Larvae
Monday, October 21, 2024
Thursday, October 17, 2024
- Soil's Secret Language: Researchers Decode Plant-to-Fungi Communication
- Microplastics Detected in Dolphin Breath
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
- Out-of-This-World Simulation Key to Collecting Moon Dust
- Echoes from the Past: A Geological Mystery Unravelled on Easter Island
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
- Seven New Frog Species Discovered in Madagascar: Sounds Like Something from Star Trek
- Tube Sock-Like Skunk Covers More Ground Than Deer, Impacted by Winter Weather, Study Finds
- Simulated Mission to Mars: Survey of Lichen Species
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Friday, October 4, 2024
- Pterosaurs Needed Feet on the Ground to Become Giants
- Scientists Uncover Auditory 'sixth Sense' In Geckos
Thursday, October 3, 2024
- Zooplankton Play Limited Role in Cleaning Contaminated Water
- Nanostructures in the Deep Ocean Floor Hint at Life's Origin
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
- Iron Nuggets in the Pinnacles Unlock Secrets of Ancient and Future Climates
- Most Tropical Lightning Storms Are Radioactive
Monday, September 30, 2024
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
- Humbug Damselfish Use 'motion Dazzle' To Evade Predators
- These Tadpoles Have Discovered a Unique Way of Not Contaminating Their Water Supply: Not Pooping
Monday, September 23, 2024
- All-Night Lights Change the Behavior of Fish, Even Into the Next Generation
- Human Urine Could Be Used as Eco-Friendly Crop Fertilizer
Thursday, September 19, 2024
- Breakthrough Study Predicts Catastrophic River Shifts That Threaten Millions Worldwide
- Engineers 3D Print Sturdy Glass Bricks for Building Structures
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Monday, September 16, 2024
Thursday, September 12, 2024
- How El Nino and Mega Ocean Warming Caused the Greatest-Ever Mass Extinction
- Climate-Change-Triggered 2023 Mega-Landslide Caused Earth to Vibrate for Nine Days
- Powered by Renewable Energy, Microbes Turn CO2 Into Protein and Vitamins
Monday, September 9, 2024
Friday, September 6, 2024
Friday, August 30, 2024
- New Species of Antarctic Dragonfish Highlights Its Threatened Ecosystem
- Doughnut-Shaped Region Found Inside Earth's Core Deepens Understanding of Planet's Magnetic Field
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Thursday, August 29, 2024
- Scientists Discover How Starfish Get 'legless'
- Land-Sea 'tag-Team' Devastated Ocean Life Millions of Years Ago Reveal Scientists
Friday, August 23, 2024
- Two Epicenters Led to Japan's Violent Noto Earthquake on New Year's Day
- Innovative Field Experiments Shed Light on Biological Clocks in Nature
Thursday, August 22, 2024
- Creature the Size of a Dust Grain Found Hiding in California's Mono Lake
- Fighting Coastal Erosion With Electricity
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
- Chalk-Based Coating Creates a Cooling Fabric
- Pilot Study Uses Recycled Glass to Grow Plants for Salsa Ingredients
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Friday, August 16, 2024
- Hailstone Library to Improve Extreme Weather Forecasting
- New Research Shows Unprecedented Atmospheric Changes During May's Geomagnetic Superstorm
Thursday, August 15, 2024
- Blind Cavefish Have Extraordinary Taste Buds
- Scientists Condition Crocodiles to Avoid Killer Cane Toads
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Friday, August 9, 2024
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
- Individuals Vary in How Air Pollution Impacts Their Mood
- When Mammoths Roamed Vancouver Island
- Fishing Is Causing Frightened Fish to Flee When They Should Flirt