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Recreating the spectacular pose many dinosaurs adopted in death might involve following the simplest of instructions: just add water. When palaeontologists are lucky enough to find a complete dinosaur skeleton – whether it be a tiny Sinosauropteryx or an enormous Apatosaurus – there's a good chance it will be found with its head thrown backwards and its tail arched upwards – technically known as the opisthotonic death pose. No one is entirely sure why this posture is so common, but Alicia Cutler and colleagues from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, think it all comes down to a dip in...

Some of the largest animals to ever walk on Earth were the long-necked, long-tailed dinosaurs known as the sauropods—and the most famous of these giants is probably Brontosaurus, the "thunder lizard." Deeply rooted as this titan is in the popular imagination, however, for more than a century scientists thought it never existed. The first of the Brontosaurus genus was named in 1879 by famed paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. The specimen still stands on display in the Great Hall of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History. In 1903, however, paleontologist Elmer Riggs found that Brontosaurus was apparently the same as the...

Did apes descend from us? Skeleton of Ardi, 1.2-metre, 50-kilogram female may hold the clue Joseph Hall Science writer It may well be the closest we will ever come to the missing link between chimps and humans and the most important anthropological find ever. In a series of studies released today by the journal Science, researchers have revealed a creature that took the first upright steps toward human beings and fundamentally changes the way we look at our earliest evolutionary ancestors. The research brings into question the belief that our most distant ancestors descended from apes. What's closer to the...

Conceptual image depicting end of the universe by generative AI (© The 2R Artificiality - stock.adobe.com) In a nutshell * Scientists discovered that neutron stars and white dwarfs are slowly evaporating, shortening the universe’s expected lifespan from 10^1100 years to 10^78 years. * All massive objects lose energy through a process similar to how black holes evaporate, with denser objects deteriorating faster. Despite this “earlier” end, the universe’s death is still inconceivably far in the future—neutron stars will last 10^68 years and white dwarfs about 10^78 years. ================================================================================ NIJMEGEN, Netherlands — Scientists have just calculated that our universe will end...

Scientists have been wondering for years which dinosaur could run the fastest. Now, new simulation models are offering a fresh look at dinosaur speed. This renewed interest has roots in a major discovery from 1964, when paleontologist John Ostrom and his team uncovered Deinonychus—a dinosaur with a lightweight body, long claws, and strong legs. Its features challenged the long-held image of dinosaurs as sluggish reptiles and instead pointed to an active, fast-moving predator. This discovery helped launch what scientists call the “dinosaur renaissance,” a major shift in how experts understood dinosaur behavior. Instead of slow-moving reptiles, some dinosaurs began to...

Have you ever wondered why you don't have thick hair covering your whole body like a dog, cat or gorilla does? Humans aren't the only mammals with sparse hair. Elephants, rhinos and naked mole rats also have very little hair. It's true for some marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins, too. Scientists think the earliest mammals, which lived at the time of the dinosaurs, were quite hairy. But over hundreds of millions of years, a small handful of mammals, including humans, evolved to have less hair. What's the advantage of not growing your own fur coat? I'm a biologist...

Humans are the only mammals with long hair on their heads. Scientists look into what drives this unique feature. Humans evolved long hair on their head to prevent overheating and excess water loss when walking under the hot sun in Africa. iStock, Delmaine Donson In 2004, a Chinese woman named Xie Qiuping won the Guinness World Record for the longest human scalp hair at 5.627 meters—the length of an adult male giraffe! While this is an anomaly, humans are the only mammals that have negligible body hair, but extremely long hair on their heads. “It's such an important part of...

Earth's Northern Lights typically dance near the poles, but 41,000 years ago, they lit up skies over North Africa and Australia. New research reveals how dramatically Earth's magnetic field weakened and shifted during an event called the Laschamps geomagnetic excursion, potentially influencing human evolution at a pivotal moment in our history...During the Laschamps excursion, Earth's magnetic field weakened to just 10% of its current strength, while the magnetic poles shifted dramatically away from the geographic poles...Using advanced computer modeling, the research team reconstructed Earth's magnetosphere during five key periods of the excursion. At its peak around 40,977 years ago, Earth's...

Every Easter, children and adults alike eagerly search for colorful eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny on Sunday morning. Whether made of chocolate, painted with bright designs, or stuffed with little surprises, Easter eggs are a beloved tradition that bring so much joy to the beloved holiday. But have you ever stopped to wonder where this quirky custom comes from? Why do we associate eggs with Easter, and how did this tradition evolve from old rituals to the modern-day candy-fueled extravaganza we know and love? The answer is as layered as a perfectly decorated egg.

Researchers analyzed the ancient DNA of two mummies from what is now Libya to learn about people who lived in the "Green Sahara" 7,000 years ago. Naturally mummified human remains found in the Takarkori rock shelter in the Sahara desert point to a previously unknown human population. (Image credit: © Archaeological Mission in the Sahara, Sapienza University of Rome) Two 7,000-year-old mummies belong to a previously unknown human lineage that remained isolated in North Africa for thousands of years, a new study finds. The mummies are the remains of women who once lived in the "Green Sahara," also known as...

Recent research by a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists and geologists has revealed that the Eridu region of southern Mesopotamia, inhabited from the sixth to the first millennium BCE, boasts one of the oldest and most well-preserved irrigation networks.Led by geoarchaeologist Jaafar Jotheri from Durham University, the research team uncovered an extensive water management system that predates the first millennium BC, offering valuable insights into the irrigation practices of ancient farmers.The Eridu region of southern Mesopotamia, located in present-day Iraq, is one of the best-preserved ancient archaeological sites, having been occupied from the sixth until the early first millennium BC. While...

A group of over 100 Christian pastors and social justice activists have signed an open letter denouncing the Trump administration's cuts to welfare programs, foreign aid and large-scale deportations of immigrants in the country illegally. Titled "Returning To Jesus: Practicing Lent In Our Time," the letter was the result of meetings among faith organization leaders in January, with the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, headed by longtime Evangelical progressive activist Jim Wallis, helping organize signatures and other logistics. The letter does not mention President Donald Trump by name, though it does take issue with the current efforts...

The entrance to the Maszycka Cave in southern Poland (Credit: Darek Bobak) In a nutshell * Scientists found evidence of cannibalism in an 18,000-year-old Polish cave, where at least ten people — including children — were systematically butchered and eaten, likely due to territorial conflicts rather than survival needs * The Magdalenian people who created famous cave art like Lascaux were capable of both sophisticated cultural achievements and extreme violence, challenging our understanding of prehistoric societies * As populations grew after the last Ice Age, competition for resources likely led to violent conflicts between groups, with evidence of similar cannibalism...

· Scientists used a 5,564-qubit quantum computer to simulate and observe "false vacuum decay" — a process that could determine our Universe's ultimate fate by transitioning it to a more stable state· The research team created and tracked quantum bubbles containing up to 306 qubits, revealing how smaller bubbles bounce around among larger ones in a complex quantum dance that persisted for over 1,000 qubit time units· This breakthrough demonstrates how table-top quantum experiments can help us understand fundamental cosmic processes without requiring massive facilities like the Large Hadron ColliderNearly 50 years ago, physicist Sidney Coleman proposed an intriguing idea:...

Scientists recently reported an unexpected deep-sea development in the Pacific: certain metallic rocks seem to be making oxygen in the dark, without light or sunshine, at the bottom of the ocean. This idea runs counter to the usual belief that oxygen only forms in sunlight through photosynthesis. Although these findings have stirred debate, the central claim is that potato-sized nodules found thousands of feet below the surface appear to split seawater molecules and release oxygen. Oxygen and photosynthesis – the basics Since the late 1700s, we’ve been taught that light creates oxygen through photosynthesis, a crucial natural process that keeps...

A piece of fossilised vomit dating back to the time of the dinosaurs has been discovered in Denmark. Local fossil hunter Peter Bennicke found the fossil at Stevns Klint - a Unesco-listed coastal cliff in the east of the country. The self-declared "fossil geek" said he came across some unusual-looking fragments which turned out to be pieces of sea lily - an underwater species related to starfish and sea urchins - in a piece of chalk. Mr Bennicke took the fragments to be examined at the Museum of East Zealand, which confirmed the vomit could be dated to the end...

LONDON — The mystery of dinosaur origins has taken an unexpected turn toward the equator. While paleontologists have long searched southern regions for clues about where these magnificent creatures first evolved, new research suggests we may have been looking in the wrong latitude altogether. A new study indicates that the first dinosaurs may have emerged in Earth’s ancient tropics, forcing scientists to reconsider long-held theories about their origins. For years, paleontologists believed dinosaurs originated in what is now southern South America and southern Africa, since the oldest unequivocal dinosaur fossils come from late Carnian rock formations (around 230 million years...

Global warming five million years ago may have caused parts of Antarctica's large ice sheets to melt and sea levels to rise by approximately 20 metres, scientists report today in the journal Nature Geoscience. The researchers, from Imperial College London, and their academic partners studied mud samples to learn about ancient melting of the East Antarctic ice sheet. They discovered that melting took place repeatedly between five and three million years ago, during a geological period called Pliocene Epoch, which may have caused sea levels to rise approximately ten metres.

Discoveries in Southeast Sicily reveal the massive scale of the Zanclean Megaflood, which refilled the Mediterranean Sea and ended the dry, salt flat-dominated landscape of the Messinian Salinity Crisis in a remarkably short period. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com In a groundbreaking study, researchers unveiled compelling evidence of the Zanclean Megaflood, a colossal event that refilled the Mediterranean Sea in mere years, reshaping its landscape with unprecedented water flow and velocities. This event, which ended the Messinian Salinity Crisis, altered the geological and environmental makeup of the region, leaving lasting imprints that challenge previous theories about gradual changes. Zanclean Megaflood A...

Excavations at an ancient Iraqi site called Shakhi Kora have revealed new clues about the origins of the world's earliest governing institutions, according to research led by the University of Glasgow.The research published in the journal Antiquity today (Wednesday 4 December 2024) suggests these early governing institutions emerged partly from their ability to provide large-scale meals, potentially as payment for labour. However, the later abandonment of these centralised structures, without signs of violent overthrow or environmental stress, points to a deliberate rejection of centralised forms of organisation that likely involved increasing top-down control...Shakhi Kora is a Late Chalcolithic site in...