Biology

Sep 1st, 2025 - By Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Sauropod tooth wear reveals climate-driven diets and potential seasonal migration. species Jurassic The researchers examined 322 high-resolution 3D scans of sauropod teeth from three well-known fossil sites: the Lourinhã Formation in Portugal, the Morrison Formation in the United States, and the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. In total, 39 individual dinosaurs were represented, with samples taken directly from original teeth ... [Read More]

Aug 31st, 2025 - More than half a billion years ago, a tiny ancestor of today's arthropods scuttled along the floor of a shallow sea in what's now Yunnan, China. It had large grasping arms, stalked eyes, and a surprisingly modern-looking brain tucked into a head barely wider than the tip of a pencil. Now, a new look at this ancient fossil – Jianfengia multisegmentalis – is reshaping what scientists thought they knew about how these animals first branched into two major evolutionary paths. Arthropods ... [Read More]

Aug 31st, 2025 - Pollution, warm oceans and hungry urchins devastated Pacific kelp. Now, thanks to divers with hammers, one of the world's most successful rehabilitation projects has helped it rebound O n an overcast Tuesday in July, divers Mitch Johnson and Sean Taylor shimmy into their wetsuits on the back of the R/V Xenarcha, a 28ft boat floating off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes, south of Los Angeles. Behind them, the clear waters of the Pacific are dotted with a forest of army-green strands, waving like ... [Read More]

Aug 31st, 2025 - In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn't be able to: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time. Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park has the kind of chaotic chemistry—with both oxygen-rich and oxygen-free areas—that may support dual respiration. The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine . Take a deep breath. A flow of air has rushed into your lungs, where the oxygen moves into your ... [Read More]

Aug 31st, 2025 - By Estonian Research Council Genomic studies show Papua New Guineans are closely related to Asians, shaped by isolation, adaptation, and Denisovan heritage. Papua New Guineans are living proof of how isolation, ancient genetic mixing, and life on remote islands can preserve a distinct chapter of human history. A group of European scientists has recently clarified their genetic origins, applying advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods. Their findings show that Papua New Guineans are ... [Read More]

Aug 30th, 2025 - Turtles and tortoises are both reptiles with shells, but they're not exactly the same. So how can you tell them apart? What's the difference between a turtle and a tortoise? "All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises," Sydnee Fenn , a reptile keeper at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, told Live Science. Generally, the reptiles that people call turtles spend a great deal of time in the water, whereas tortoises live on land, according to Genius Vets in San Diego, California. Many of ... [Read More]

Aug 30th, 2025 - By A new study has identified a massive creature that hunted and ate dinosaurs 70 million years ago. It's called Kostensuchus atrox . The scholarly article , published on Aug. 27 in the journal PLOS One , reveals that the "crocodyliform specimen," which is the first of its kind discovered, was recovered in the Austral Basin in Patagonia, near the town of El Calafate in Argentina. Crocodyliforms are the ancestors of modern crocodiles. The K.atrox belonged to an extinct group of peirosaurid ... [Read More]

Aug 29th, 2025 - A pile of garden stones on Australia's Central Coast held more than landscaping material. Inside one slab lay an ancient Arenaerpeton fossil, also known as a Chinese Giant Salamander, that dates back 240 million years. This amphibian fossil, very well-preserved with skin outlines and an almost complete skeleton, was tucked away for decades before anyone realized what it was. Researchers have now given it a name: Arenaerpeton supinatus , Latin for supine sand creeper. The fossil captures a ... [Read More]

Aug 29th, 2025 - A new hypercarnivorous crocodyliform emerges from the sediments of Patagonia. In prehistoric Patagonia tens of millions of years ago, a fierce reptile stalked the land. It wasn't a dinosaur—but it hunted them. Scientists have discovered a remarkably well-preserved skeleton of a new 3.5-meter-long reptile with sharp, blade-like teeth and a skull built for crushing. It belonged to a now-extinct group of crocodile relatives called peirosaurids , and the find is reshaping what we know about ... [Read More]

Aug 29th, 2025 - Aug. 29 (UPI) -- An interdisciplinary team of specialists from Argentina's National Scientific and Technical Research Council, or CONICET, discovered most of the skeleton -- including the skull and jaws -- of a large hypercarnivorous crocodile that lived in southern Argentina about 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Hypercarnivorous animals are those whose diet consists of more than 70% meat, and that include eagles, vultures, toothed whales, spiders and scorpions. The ... [Read More]

Aug 29th, 2025 - Dinosaurs have long fascinated us for their size, diversity, and survival stories. Yet, their bones still reveal mysteries about their struggles. Recently, fossils discovered in Brazil added a surprising chapter. A set of sauropod remains from the Cretaceous period showed evidence of a fatal disease. These findings suggest that even giants of the past were not safe from infection. Discovery in Brazil The bones were found in Ibirá, São Paulo. Researchers supported by  FAPESP ... [Read More]

Aug 29th, 2025 - International researchers have taken an in-depth look at three Aotearoa New Zealand crested penguin species, revealing one is thriving while others face uncertain futures. Led by the Tawaki Project at the University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, the study provides what is believed to be the most comprehensive look yet at the population genetics of three Aotearoa crested penguin species—tawaki/Fiordland penguins, erect-crested penguins, and eastern rockhopper penguins. in ... [Read More]

Aug 29th, 2025 - The sight of a whale shark, the largest fish alive today, leaves most people humbled. Its slow, graceful movements and gentle nature often make them symbols of the ocean's mystery. Yet behind this serene image lies a struggle for survival. Populations have fallen sharply, and their biology makes recovery slow. The findings of a new study from Indonesian waters not only reveal the scale of human impacts but also highlight why protecting whale sharks is vital for ocean health. Whale shark decline ... [Read More]

Aug 28th, 2025 - A gigantic crocodile-like hypercarnivore likely hunted dinosaurs 70 million years ago in what is now Argentina, a new study reveals. Researchers discovered the fossilized skeleton from the extinct apex predator in southern Patagonia in 2020. It grew up to around 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) long and weighed about 550 pounds (250 kilograms). The creature is named Kostensuchus atrox after the Patagonian wind called "the Kosten" and the Egyptian crocodile-headed god Sobek, also known as Suchus. K. atrox ... [Read More]

Aug 28th, 2025 - Dr Ed Pyne snips a leaf from the Druids Oak, an 800-year-old tree that has watched over this woodland in Buckinghamshire for centuries, enduring droughts, storms, heatwaves and more. "We know that this tree is a survivor," he says, taking a leaf sample for DNA testing. "Is it just that it's got lucky? Has it led a stress-free life? Or is there something special about the genes of this tree?" The conservation scientist from the charity, The Woodland Trust, thinks the secrets of such remarkable ... [Read More]

Aug 28th, 2025 - About 100 miles south-west of Cairo, into the immeasurable landscape of Egypt's Western Desert, an eerie wilderness materializes that gazes at the passing humans from the eyes of a mysterious past. A 75 square-mile stretch enshrouded in a cover of sand as golden as the jewellery of the Egyptian princesses who once lived here. The valley hums with a sinister silence and ominous winds that slap the overlapping footprints visitors have printed in the sand. For miles and miles, grotesque rocks ... [Read More]