With words like "unprecedented" "remarkable," and "utterly unbelievable," scientists are raising the alarm about climatic developments that have already been unfolding in 2023."This is getting to be utterly unbelievable," University of Miami researcher Brian McNoldy said of sizzling sea surface temperatures. In a Twitter post, he noted that "North Atlantic SSTs have just set a new record anomaly on June 20, beating the previous one from June 10." The chances of this occurring are more than one i ...read more

Tanystropheus, a strange marine reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs, has puzzled paleontologists since its discovery in the mid-1800s. At first, scientists mistook the species for flying reptiles, due to their extremely elongated neck bones. Only later did they realize that the vertebrae framed a neck so long that it looked like evolution was trying to create a cartoon.Now, a new paper seeks to answer a nearly 170-year-old question: Wasn’t such a long and awkward neck a liability?Just How L ...read more

Determining what is and isn’t art is tough. Determining who did and didn’t make a particular art piece is tougher. That’s the problem that torments the paleoarchaeologists and paleoanthropologists who study prehistoric paintings, anyway. And though they typically agree about which ancient scrapes, scratches and marks were made by human artists and which were not, they sometimes struggle to attribute those ancient markings to specific human species.According to a new paper in PLOS ONE, howe ...read more

Dinosaurs roamed Earth for millions of years, during a major geologic era known as the Mesozoic. Fossils, scientific discoveries and tireless research efforts have gradually unveiled the mesmerizing tapestry of the dinosaur timeline. Their captivating tale begins in the Triassic period, reaches its peak during the well-known Jurassic period and comes to a dramatic end in the late Cretaceous period. Discover how each of these distinct periods served as a stage for the evolutionary dramas that unf ...read more

Whether you’re at the dog park or just taking a stroll around the block, you’ve surely seen this before: A pup who looks — almost uncannily — like a miniature version of the human holding its leash.Maybe it’s the muscular pit bull who resembles its similarly-buff owner. Or the prim-and-proper poodle whose coiffed fur is a perfect match for its human's stylish hairdo. You may have even suppressed a chuckle at the basset hound whose mellow demeanor mirrors that of its droopy-eyed handler ...read more

The search continues for the missing Titan submersible, which lost contact with its parent ship on the morning of June 18, 2023, 1 hour and 45 minutes into a planned multi-hour dive to the wreck of the Titanic. The capsule-shaped vessel belongs to the OceanGate company, which offers seats on the submersible, and a chance to visit the famous ocean liner, at a cost of $250,000 person.As the Boston Coast Guard leads a challenging rescue effort, details have begun to emerge about the cramped, exhila ...read more

For centuries, physicians were puzzled by a rare phenomenon. Children, often siblings, were born healthy to healthy parents. But around six years old, they began experiencing a cognitive decline. They lost their speech, sight and motor skills. They died within a few years.What Is Childhood Dementia?British scientist Frederick Batten described the condition in 1903 and named it after himself. In the last 50 years, scientists have further identified Batten’s disease as a juvenile form of a neu ...read more

Millions of years ago, our ancestors, like us today, had to contend with viruses. No doubt the infections were unpleasant for them at the time, but their suffering wasn’t for naught — some of those viruses left traces in our DNA. And, according to scientists at the Francis Crick Institute, these remnants may aid the body’s immune response to cancer today. Discovering Ancient VirusesWhile studying lung cancer in mice and in human tumor samples, the team found that immunotherapy treatment se ...read more

A mainstay of the December night sky, the Geminids meteor shower first appeared in the mid-1800s, and it’s grown more impressive in the ensuing years. It now features up to 120 meteorites an hour given clear skies. A new study may have found that the shower originated in some type of catastrophic collision. This differentiates it from most showers, which come from icy comets that pass close to the sun, that then melts and releases particles.Read More: The Asteroids We Should Watch Out ForAn As ...read more

Take one look at a fossilized Archaeopteryx, and you’re bound to be confused. While its sharp teeth, long snout and lengthy tail look like those of a dinosaur, its feathered wings are reminiscent of a bird. The mix of traits is so strange that even paleontologists have struggled to classify the creature.Having been described as both a birdish dinosaur and a dinosaur-like bird, Archaeopteryx, whose name translates to “old wing,” is best understood as one of many transitional forms that brid ...read more