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Categories: Geoscience: Severe Weather, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Blood sausages and yak milk: Bronze Age cuisine of Mongolian nomads unveiled
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bronze cauldrons were used by the inhabitants of the Mongolian steppe around 2,700 years ago to process animal blood and milk. This is shown by a protein analysis of archaeological finds from this period.
Published 'Missing' early sea sponges discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geobiologists reported a 550 million-year-old sea sponge that had been missing from the fossil record. The discovery sheds new light on a conundrum that has stumped zoologists and paleontologists for years.
Published Gigantic Jurassic pterosaur fossil unearthed in Oxfordshire, UK
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of palaeontologists has discovered a fossil of a gigantic flying reptile from the Jurassic period with an estimated wingspan of more than three metres -- making it one of the largest pterosaurs ever found from that era.
Published Food drove the evolution of giraffes' long neck
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study explores body proportions of Masai giraffes, lending insight into why giraffes have such long necks and how this trait might have evolved.
Published How sharks survived a major spike in Earth's temperature
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The sharks we know today as the open ocean's top predators evolved from stubby bottom dwellers during a dramatic episode of global warming millions of years ago.
Published An unlikely hero in evolution: Worms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source One of Earth's most consequential bursts of biodiversity -- a 30-million-year period of explosive evolutionary changes spawning innumerable new species -- may have the most modest of creatures to thank for the vital stage in life's history: worms.
Published Could the world famous Roman Baths help scientists counter the challenge of antibiotic resistance?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has uncovered a diverse array of microorganisms within the hot waters of the Roman Baths, regularly listed among the UK's most popular tourist attractions. Tests showed 15 of the isolated bacteria -- including examples of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes -- displayed varying levels of inhibition against human pathogens including E.coli, Staphylococcus Aureus and Shigella flexneri.
Published New coral disease forecasting system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research has led to a new tool for forecasting coral disease that could help conservationists step in at the right times with key interventions. Ecological forecasts are critical tools for conserving and managing marine ecosystems, but few forecasting systems can account for the wide range of ecological complexities in near-real-time.
Published 'Ugly' fossil places extinct saber-toothed cat on Texas coast
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source This fossil looks like a lumpy, rounded rock with a couple of exposed teeth that are a little worse for wear, having been submerged and tumbled along the floor of the Gulf of Mexico for thousands of years before washing up on a beach. But when it was X-rayed a doctoral student saw there was more to the fossil that met the eye: a hidden canine tooth that had not yet erupted from the jaw bone. It was just what researchers needed to identify the fossil as belonging to a Homotherium, a genus of large cat that roamed much of the Earth for millions of years.
Published Origins of 'Welsh dragons' finally exposed by experts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A large fossil discovery has helped shed light on the history of dinosaurs in Wales.
Published Local bright spot among melting glaciers: 2000 km of Antarctic ice-covered coastline has been stable for 85 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A whaler's forgotten aerial photos from 1937 have given researchers the most detailed picture of the ice evolution in East Antarctica to date. The results show that the ice has remained stable and even grown slightly over almost a century, though scientists observe early signs of weakening. The research offers new insights that enhance predictions of ice changes and sea level rise.
Published High groundwater depletion risk in South Korea in 2080s
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Team utilizes advanced statistical techniques to project the future groundwater depletion risk.
Published Electrochromic films -- like sunglasses for your windows?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Advances in electrochromic coatings may bring us closer to environmentally friendly ways to keep inside spaces cool. Like eyeglasses that darken to provide sun protection, the optical properties of these transparent films can be tuned with electricity to block out solar heat and light. Now, researchers report demonstrating a new electrochromic film design based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that quickly and reliably switch from transparent to glare-diminishing green to thermal-insulating red.
Published How killifish embryos use suspended animation to survive over 8 months of drought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The African turquoise killifish lives in ephemeral ponds in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. To survive the annual dry season, the fish's embryos enter a state of extreme suspended animation or 'diapause' for approximately 8 months. Now, researchers have uncovered the mechanisms that enabled the killifish to evolve this extreme survival state.
Published Florida fossil porcupine solves a prickly dilemma 10-million years in the making
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An exceptionally rare fossilized porcupine skeleton discovered in Florida has allowed researchers to trace the evolutionary history for one of North America's rarest mammals.
Published Warmer wetter climate predicted to bring societal and ecological impact to the Tibetan Plateau
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source According to a paper, climate and weather predictions of increased rainfall will lead to an exponential expansion of land-locked lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, resulting in major land loss and related economic, environmental and climatic impacts.
Published Entomologist sheds light on 250-year-old mystery of the German cockroach
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Entomologists have solved the 250-year-old origin puzzle of the most prevalent indoor urban pest insect on the planet: the German cockroach. The team's research findings, representing the genomic analyses of over 280 specimens from 17 countries and six continents, show that this species evolved some 2,100 years ago from an outdoor-living species in Asia.
Published Rising temperatures will significantly reduce streamflow in the upper Colorado river basin as groundwater levels fall
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Colorado River makes life possible in many Western cities and supports agriculture that sustains people throughout the country. Most of the river's water begins as snowmelt from the mountainous watersheds of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, and a warming climate will drastically reduce these streamflows, new research finds.
Published Social networks can influence perception of climate-change risk
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Short but severe episodes of flooding from hurricanes in Texas and Florida triggered a nationwide increase in flood insurance sign-ups depending on how socially connected a county was to the flooded counties.
Published Night-time heat significantly increases the risk of stroke
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers show that nocturnal heat significantly increases the risk of stroke. The findings can contribute to the development of preventive measures: With them, the population can better protect themselves against the risks of climate change with increasingly frequent hot nights. In addition, knowledge of the consequences of hot nights can improve patient care.