Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

All about the Benjamins: Researchers decipher the secrets of Benjamin Franklin's paper money      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

During his career, Benjamin Franklin printed nearly 2,500,000 money notes for the American Colonies using what the researchers have identified as highly original techniques.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves suffered from diseased joints      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves experienced a high incidence of bone disease in their joints, according to new research.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Why there are no kangaroos in Bali (and no tigers in Australia)      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are using a new model to clarify why millions of years ago more animal species from Asia made the leap to the Australian continent than vice versa. The climate in which the species evolved played an important role.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils reveal how ancient birds molted their feathers -- which could help explain why ancestors of modern birds survived when all the other dinosaurs died      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the asteroid-induced mass extinction 66 million years ago. But not all the birds alive at the time made it. Why the ancestors of modern birds lived while so many of their relatives died has been a mystery that paleontologists have been trying to solve for decades. Two new studies point to one possible factor: the differences between how modern birds and their ancient cousins molt their feathers.

Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Lasering lava to forecast volcanic eruptions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have optimized a new technique to help forecast how volcanoes will behave, which could save lives and property around the world.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: General
Published

Apex predator of the Cambrian likely sought soft over crunchy prey      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biomechanical studies on the arachnid-like front 'legs' of an extinct apex predator show that the 2-foot (60-centimeter) marine animal Anomalocaris canadensis was likely much weaker than once assumed. One of the largest animals to live during the Cambrian, it was probably agile and fast, darting after soft prey in the open water rather than pursuing hard-shelled creatures on the ocean floor.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes Paleontology: Climate
Published

Research reveals sources of CO2 from Aleutian-Alaska Arc volcanoes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have wondered what happens to the organic and inorganic carbon that Earth's Pacific Plate carries with it as it slides into the planet's interior along the volcano-studded Ring of Fire. A new study suggests a notable amount of such subducted carbon returns to the atmosphere rather than traveling deep into Earth's mantle.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate change will increase impacts of volcanic eruptions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Volcanic disasters have been studied since Pompeii was buried in 79 A.D., leading the public to believe that scientists already know why, where, when and how long volcanoes will erupt. But a volcanologist said these fundamental questions remain a mystery.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

How urea may have been the gateway to life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Newly discovered Jurassic fossils in Texas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have filled a major gap in the state's fossil record -- describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas. The weathered bone fragments are from the limbs and backbone of a plesiosaur, an extinct marine reptile.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Megalodon was no cold-blooded killer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How the megalodon, a shark that went extinct 3.6 million years ago, stayed warm was a matter of speculation among scientists. Using an analysis of tooth fossils from the megalodon and other sharks of the same period, a study suggests the animal was able to maintain a body temperature well above the temperature of the water in which it lived. The finding could help explain why the megalodon went extinct during the Pliocene Epoch.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that the cooling effect that volcanic eruptions have on Earth's surface temperature is likely underestimated by a factor of two, and potentially as much as a factor of four, in standard climate projections.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

'We're all Asgardians': New clues about the origin of complex life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

According to a new study, eukaryotes -- complex life forms with nuclei in their cells, including all the world's plants, animals, insects and fungi -- trace their roots to a common Asgard archaean ancestor. That means eukaryotes are, in the parlance of evolutionary biologists, a 'well-nested clade' within Asgard archaea, similar to how birds are one of several groups within a larger group called dinosaurs, sharing a common ancestor.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Scientists unearth 20 million years of 'hot spot' magmatism under Cocos plate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of scientists has observed past episodic intraplate magmatism and corroborated the existence of a partial melt channel at the base of the Cocos Plate. Situated 60 kilometers beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, the magma channel covers more than 100,000 square kilometers, and originated from the Galápagos Plume more than 20 million years ago, supplying melt for multiple magmatic events -- and persisting today.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Face of Anglo-Saxon teen VIP revealed with new evidence about her life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The face of a 16-year-old woman buried near Cambridge (UK) in the 7th century with an incredibly rare gold and garnet cross (the 'Trumpington Cross') has been reconstructed following analysis of her skull. The striking image is going on public display for the first time on 21st June, with new scientific evidence showing that she moved to England from Central Europe as a young girl, leading to an intriguing change in her diet.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

A Tongan volcano plume produced the most intense lightning rates ever detected      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research showed that the plume emitted by the Hunga Volcano eruption in 2022 created the highest lightning flash rates ever recorded on Earth, more than any storm ever documented.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

These long-necked reptiles were decapitated by their predators, fossil evidence confirms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the age of dinosaurs, many marine reptiles had extremely long necks compared to reptiles today. While it was clearly a successful evolutionary strategy, paleontologists have long suspected that their long-necked bodies made them vulnerable to predators. Now, after almost 200 years of continued research, direct fossil evidence confirms this scenario for the first time in the most graphic way imaginable.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: General
Published

First hominin muscle reconstruction shows 3.2 million-year-old 'Lucy' could stand as erect as we can      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Digital modelling of legendary fossil's soft tissue suggests Australopithecus afarensis had powerful leg and pelvic muscles suited to tree dwelling, but knee muscles that allowed fully erect walking.