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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Space: Structures and Features
Published Insights into early snake evolution through brain analysis



Recent study sheds new light on the enigmatic early evolution of snakes by examining an unexpected source: their brains. The results emphasize the significance of studying both the soft parts of animals’ bodies and their bones for understanding how animals evolved.
Published Explosion in fish biodiversity due to genetic recycling



The rapid formation of 500 different species of fish in a single lake, each with specialized ecological roles, resulted from a small but genetically diverse hybrid population.
Published Timing plant evolution with a fast-ticking epigenetic clock



Recent discoveries in the field of epigenetics, the study of inheritance of traits that occur without changing the DNA sequence, have shown that chronological age in mammals correlates with epigenetic changes that accumulate during the lifetime of an individual. In humans, this observation has led to the development of epigenetic clocks, which are now extensively used as biomarkers of aging. While these clocks work accurately from birth until death, they are set back to zero in each new generation. Now, an international team shows that epigenetic clocks not only exist in plants, but that these clocks keep ticking accurately over many generations.
Published Did animal evolution begin with a predatory lifestyle?



Surprising findings on the development of sea anemones suggest that a predatory lifestyle molded their evolution and had a significant impact on the origin of their nervous system. The researchers were able to show that the young life stages (larvae) of the small sea anemone Aiptasia actively feed on living prey and are not dependent on algae. To capture its prey, the anemone larvae use specialized stinging cells and a simple neuronal network.
Published A turtle time capsule: DNA found in ancient shell



Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide.
Published Extreme weight loss: Star sheds unexpected amounts of mass just before going supernova



A newly discovered nearby supernova whose star ejected up to a full solar mass of material in the year prior to its explosion is challenging the standard theory of stellar evolution. The new observations are giving astronomers new insight into what happens in the final year prior to a star's death and explosion.
Published New proof for black hole spin



The supermassive black hole at the heart of galaxy M87, made famous by the first picture of a black hole shadow, has yielded another first: the jet shooting out from the black hole has been confirmed to wobble, providing direct proof that the black hole is spinning.
Published Study sheds new light on strange lava worlds


In a new study, scientists have shown that sweeping molten oceans have a large influence on the observed properties of hot rocky Super-Earths, such as their size and evolutionary path.
Published New insights into the atmosphere and star of an exoplanet


A new study of the intriguing TRAPPIST-1 exoplanetary system has demonstrated the complex interaction between the activity of the system's star and its planetary features.
Published Caribbean parrots thought to be endemic are actually relicts of millennial-scale extinction



For the first time, researchers have extracted ancient DNA from Caribbean parrot fossils and archaeological specimens, showing that species thought to be endemic to particular islands were historically more widespread and diverse.
Published Hidden supermassive black holes reveal their secrets through radio signals


Astronomers have found a striking link between the amount of dust surrounding a supermassive black hole and the strength of the radio emission produced in extremely bright galaxies.
Published Study shows birds that have evolved greater complexity are less biodiverse



Research shows that birds with more complex skeletons are more specialized and so are less species rich.
Published Colorful primates don't have better color vision, study finds



Primate species with better color vision are not more likely to have red skin or fur coloration, as previously thought.
Published Astronomers discover newborn galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope


With the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are now able to peer so far back in time that we are approaching the epoch where we think that the first galaxies were created. Throughout most of the history of the Universe, galaxies seemingly tend to follow a tight relation between how many stars they have formed, and how many heavy elements they have formed. But for the first time we now see signs that this relation between the amount of stars and elements does not hold for the earliest galaxies. The reason is likely that these galaxies simply are in the process of being created, and have not yet had the time to create the heavy elements.
Published AI increases precision in plant observation



Artificial intelligence (AI) can help plant scientists collect and analyze unprecedented volumes of data, which would not be possible using conventional methods. Researchers have now used big data, machine learning and field observations in the university's experimental garden to show how plants respond to changes in the environment.
Published Astronomers find abundance of Milky Way-like Galaxies in early Universe, rewriting cosmic evolution theories


Galaxies from the early Universe are more like our own Milky Way than previously thought, flipping the entire narrative of how scientists think about structure formation in the Universe, according to new research.
Published Researchers' analysis of perching birds points to new answers in evolutionary diversification



When Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands almost 200 years ago as a gentleman naturalist, he used the power of observation to develop his theory that species evolve over time.
Published This parasitic plant convinces hosts to grow into its own flesh--it's also an extreme example of genome shrinkage



Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a streamlined parasitic plant -- an extreme degree of genome shrinkage even among parasites. Along the way this subtropical plant developed the ability to induce the host plant to grow into the parasite's own flesh -- forming chimeric organs that mix host and parasite tissues.
Published Dinosaur feathers reveal traces of ancient proteins



Palaeontologists have discovered X-ray evidence of proteins in fossil feathers that sheds new light on feather evolution.
Published Shh! Quiet cables set to help reveal rare physics events


Newly developed ultra-low radiation cables reduce background noise for neutrino and dark matter detectors.