About 100 million years ago, a previously unknown armored dinosaur wielding a clubbed tail lumbered through the Canadian Rockies. The species resembled the well-known ankylosaurus (Nodosaurid ankylosaurs) — but with two major differences. The first-ever identified footprints of this species sported only three toes (putting it into the ankylosaurid ankylosaurs category), instead of four (belonging to Tetrapodosaurus borealis). Also, the more known ankylosaurus swung its flexible tail to wield i ...read more
From the food we eat to the air we breathe, microplastics and their even smaller equivalent — nanoplastics — are just about everywhere. And while the body may expel some of the plastics we’ve consumed, there are still plenty that linger in our blood and organs, leading to other health issues. Recent research, as part of the FFG bridge project Nano-VISION, uses a new sensor platform that allows for a laser to be shone at clear, bodily fluids. Through this process, researchers can now deter ...read more
Pinpointing when animals became our companions is harder than it sounds. Every fossil find and genetic study tweaks what we think we know about the timeline or the circumstances under which domestication occurred. When it comes to cats, the story is still evolving. Scientists continue to debate where and how our feline friends first went from wild hunters to household companions.For a long time, ancient Egypt was thought to be the starting point — home of cat worship, divine felines, and famou ...read more
Key Take-Aways on Dark Oxygen: Dark oxygen is produced on the seafloor by a process other than photosynthesis.A new study published in Nature Geoscience in July 2024 suggests it’s unclear what causes dark oxygen, but a possible source could be polymetallic nodules.This discovery could rewrite our understanding of how aerobic (oxygen-respiring) life evolved on Earth. And it could even point to new possibilities for extraterrestrial life, perhaps on Saturn’s watery moons.The traditional story ...read more
Ever wished upon a shooting star? Though beautiful, shooting stars are also signs of the cosmic shooting range through which Earth is currently whizzing. The ammunition consists of countless space rocks, microscopic to mountainous, moving impossibly fast. The few that end up scoring a direct hit are called meteorites. Organizations like NASA's CNEOS track thousands of these near-Earth objects. Occasionally, candidates like the building-sized asteroid 2024 YR4 make headlines. In April 2025, it wa ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine