Nature

The former coalfield of Geiseltal in Saxony-Anhalt has yielded large numbers of exceptionally preserved fossil animals, giving palaeontologists a unique window into the evolution of mammals 47 million years ago. A team led by the University of Tübingen and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has shown that the body size of two species of

Researchers from Curtin University have used next generation DNA sequencing to learn more about the different species of plants, insects and animals present in the Pilbara and Perth regions of Western Australia. Lead researcher Curtin PhD candidate Mieke van der Heyde, from the ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration said that DNA metabarcoding is a

When German pathologist Robert Koch discovered the bacterium behind tuberculosis in 1882, he included a short guide for linking microorganisms to the diseases they cause. It was a windfall for germ theory, the modern understanding that pathogens can make us sick. But it didn’t only shake up the field of medicine: Botanists took note, too.

Smithsonian Voices National Air and Space Museum Our Friend Al Who Went to the Moon: Remembering Al Worden March 23rd, 2020, 5:04PM / BY Jennifer Levasseur Al Worden visits his Apollo 15 spacesuit at the National Air and Space Museum. Al Worden, 1932-2020 Alfred “Al” Worden, command module pilot on Apollo 15, passed away on

The current pace of climate change exceeds historical events by 1-2 orders of magnitude, which will make it hard for organisms and ecosystems to adapt. For a long time, it has been assumed that adaptation was only possible by changes in the genetic makeup — the DNA base sequence. Recently, another information level of the

COVID-19 is not the flu. But amidst the ongoing pandemic, many people hold out hope that the two diseases have something crucial in common: a seasonality that will loosen the global grip of SARS-CoV-2 as the weather warms. Many infectious diseases wax and wane with the changing months. Some, like flu, spike when the weather

Q: I’ve heard lightning rarely strikes in the Arctic. Why is that? — Carter Matthew | Boston For thunderstorms and resultant lightning to occur, there must be rising currents of warm, moist air. Deep in the Arctic and Antarctic, there is only cold, dry air, which does not rise, and thus cannot form thunder clouds,

Every year for the last half-century, scientists have gone to sea to collect ocean data as part of the Northern Gulf of Alaska Long Term Ecological Research Project. Now, because of the novel coronavirus, the five-decade-long project faces potential data gaps. Russell Hopcroft, project leader and oceanography professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says

It’s a glorious autumn morning on Brier Island, Nova Scotia, with birdsong in the air and the sun glinting off the rips of Grand Passage. Weathered clapboard and shingled houses line the island’s two principal streets, and chubby workboats—built for lobstering, mostly—jam the protected harbor, where wharves loom more than 20 feet above low tide.

Giraffes that are being translocated for conservation purposes should be moved in groups that contain at least 30 females and 3 males to ensure long-term population success. In two new studies, an international team of researchers identifies the ideal composition of a group to be moved and provides guidelines for all aspects of the translocation

Researchers of the University of Groningen and the Max Planck Institute have found that starlings sleep five hours less per night during the summer. Compared to winter, the birds take more mid-day naps and live under higher sleep pressure. During full-moon nights, starlings sleep around two hours less than usual. The findings of the study

Thanks to a new algorithm, researchers at the AWI can now use satellite data to determine in which parts of the ocean certain types of phytoplankton are dominant. In addition, they can identify toxic algal blooms and assess the effects of global warming on marine plankton, allowing them to draw conclusions regarding water quality and

The land is ten gently sloping acres in rural southeastern Pennsylvania, at one time mowed for hay, with a handsome farmhouse that Douglas Tallamy bought around 20 years ago. It isn’t much to look at, by the standards most Americans apply to landscaping—no expansive views across swaths of lawn set off by flowerbeds and specimen

Tropical forest ecosystems are an important part of the global carbon cycle as they take up and store large amounts of CO2. It is however uncertain how much these forests’ ability to take up and store carbon differ between forests with high versus low species richness. New IIASA research sheds light on this question aiming

Smithsonian Voices National Museum of Natural History Seven Ways to Learn About Natural History From Home March 19th, 2020, 6:00AM / BY Margaret Osborne Insect expert Dan Babbitt talks about the Chilean Rose Tarantula on “Smithsonian Science How,” a video series for students. (Smithsonian Institution) The Smithsonian’s museums may be closed in the wake of

On a recent winter morning at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, I watched two Asian elephants take a test. The building was still closed to visitors, but about a dozen zoo staffers were lined up to watch. As the gate from the outdoor elephant yard lifted, a keeper admonished everyone to stand farther back, even though there

As climate change churns up extreme weather, would-be geoengineers are proposing revolutionary new technologies to minimize the effects of global warming: Reflect sunlight into space with orbiting mirrors! Absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide with artificial trees! Bulk up sea ice by cooling it with giant pumps! Even proponents acknowledge that such extravagant measures would be risky,