Scientists have published the first range-wide genetic analysis of the bowhead whale using hundreds of samples from both modern populations and archaeological sites used by indigenous Arctic hunters thousands of years ago. In addition to using DNA samples collected from whales over the past 20 years, the team collected genetic samples from ancient specimens —extracted…
Global temperatures directly affect the acidity of the ocean, which in turn changes the acoustical properties of sea water. New research suggests that global warming may give Earth’s oceans the same hi-fi sound qualities they had more than 100 million years ago, during the Age of the Dinosaurs. The reason for this surprising communication upgrade…
A special issue of Nature examines the changing global landscape of research.
Cosmologists are uncovering relics from the dawn of time, letting them look back almost all the way to the Big Bang.
Extinctions during the early Triassic period left Earth a virtual wasteland, largely because life literally couldn’t take the heat, a new study suggests. Between 247 to 252 million years ago, Earth was reeling from a mass extinction called the end-Permian event. The die-off had wiped out most life on Earth, including most land plants. The…
Researchers from China’s Fudan University have found major prehistoric human population expansions may have begun before the Neolithic period, which probably led to the introduction of agriculture. Major prehistoric human population expansions in three continents may have begun before the Neolithic period — around 15-11,000 years ago in Africa, from around 13,000 years ago in…
A University of British Columbia and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics study has revealed that childhood poverty, stress as an adult, and demographics such as age, sex and ethnicity, all leave an imprint on a person’s genes. And, that this imprint could play a role in our immune response. The study was published in…
A California businessman chartered a fishing boat in July, loaded it with 100 tons of iron dust and cruised through Pacific waters off western Canada, spewing his cargo into the sea in an ecological experiment that has outraged scientists and government officials. The entrepreneur even duped the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United…
A nine-year study conducted in the Plum Island estuary indicates that sewage and fertilizers may be seriously damaging salt marshes. The study, published in the journal Nature, indicates salt marshes may be crumbling from the inside out, due to polluted waterways and runoff from people’s lawns. It’s a concern because the marshes are critical to…
Using its country-specific content-blocking tool for the first time, Twitter has shut down access to a neo-Nazi group’s account in Germany. “Never want to withhold content; good to have tools to do it narrowly & transparently,” Alex Macgillivray, Twitter’s general counsel, tweeted. “We announced the ability to withhold content back in Jan. We’re using it…