As many as two thirds of the species living in our oceans may still be unknown to science, say researchers, despite the fact that their calculations indicate that there are many fewer species than previously thought. The University of Auckland researchers reckon there are actually fewer than a million marine species, of which around 226,000…
Astronomers have detected an alien planet that may be capable of supporting life as we know it — and it’s just a stone’s throw from Earth in the cosmic scheme of things. The newfound exoplanet, a so-called “super-Earth” called HD 40307g, is located inside its host star’s habitable zone, a just-right range of distances where…
NASA’s Curiosity rover has gulped in Martian air but failed to find methane – a gas linked to living things. But it has turned up signs that Mars may have lost much of its original atmosphere. Since landing on the Red Planet’s surface Aug. 5, the Mars Science Laboratory rover has zapped rocks with its…
If we want to find intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, it might be wise to look for stars with asteroid belts similar the one in our own Solar System. According to the theory of punctuated equilibrium, evolution goes faster and further when life has to make rapid changes to survive new environments — and…
Nasa’s Curiosity rover has found soil on Mars to be similar to Hawaii’s after sifting and scanning its first sample on the Red Planet. The robot’s CheMin instrument shook out fine particles of soil and fired X-rays at them to determine their composition. These sandy samples should give clues about Mars’ recent geological history. As…
The Cretaceous Period of Earth history ended with a mass extinction that wiped out numerous species, most famously the dinosaurs. A new study now finds that the structure of North American ecosystems made the extinction worse than it might have been. Researchers published their findings online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The…
Researchers have observed in an experiment the exact steps bacterial genes take to evolve a new ability, unexpectedly adding a new twist on an old model
The European Space Agency has approved the first of its small science missions. Don’t let the description fool you, there is nothing small about the goals of Cheops. It’s a step towards finding habitable planets
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 at the University of Manchester say they have discovered a 16 million-year-old springtail hitchhiking on the wings of mayflies. Researchers say that a CT scan of amber has revealed the very first evidence of any creature hitchhiking on the wings of an adult mayfly. Tiny springtails are likely using mayflies for transportation today, researchers…