How sloths went from ground-dwelling giants to the small tree-climbers
Scientists have solved the evolutionary puzzle of how sloths went from enormous ground-dwelling giants to the small, famously-laidback tree-climbers of the modern day.
The study,...
Scientists discover magnetism in the Earth’s mantle
Deep down lies the core of the Earth, followed by the Earth's mantle. The Earth's crust begins 35 kilometers below the surface.
The huge magnetic...
Very Large Telescope detected a passing double asteroid hurtling by Earth at 70 000...
The unique capabilities of the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have enabled it to obtain the sharpest images of a double asteroid...
Feathers arose 100 million years before birds
New research, led by the University of Bristol, suggests that feathers arose 100 million years before birds - changing how we look at dinosaurs,...
New mineral classification system captures Earth’s complex past
The first minerals to form in the universe were nanocrystalline diamonds, which condensed from gases ejected when the first generation of stars exploded.
Diamonds that...
Your diamond most likely made of recycled ocean floor
The diamond on your finger is most likely made of recycled seabed cooked deep in the Earth.
Traces of salt trapped in many diamonds show...
Thai dinosaur is a cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex, says new study
Scientists from the University of Bonn and the Sirindhorn Museum in Thailand have identified two new dinosaur species.
They analyzed fossil finds that were already...
This prehistoric burial mound re-used for 2,000 years
Researchers have found evidence that an unremarkable prehistoric burial mound near Bordeaux, in southwest France, was re-used by locals for around 2,000 years.
The researchers...
Comets might have brought water to our planet billions of years ago
The mystery of why Earth has so much water, allowing our "blue marble" to support an astounding array of life, is clearer with new...
Scientists discover ancient seawater preserved from the last Ice Age
Twenty thousand years ago, in the thick of an Ice Age, Earth looked very different.
Because water was locked up in glaciers hundreds of feet...