Scientists have spotted a deep-sea “ghost” white shark with a rare genetic disorder, shedding light on how such abnormalities affect endangered marine species living near the sea floor. They caught the critically endangered angular rough shark, Oxynotus centrina, with abnormal colouration off Albania’s coast. The angular rough shark is typicallyContinue Reading
In 79 AD, Italy’s Mount Vesuvius exploded, raining ash and volcanic debris down on the city of Pompeii and its tens of thousands of residents. In mere minutes, the giant cloud of ash and gases killed an estimated 2,000 people, many of whom were unearthed more than a thousand yearsContinue Reading
Vampire bats made to run on treadmills in a lab reveal secrets of the special metabolism fueling them from blood consumed only minutes before. The research, published in the journal Biology Letters, found that the bats, native to Mexico and Central and South America, burn amino acid molecules found inContinue Reading
Archaeologists have uncovered strangely deformed sheep skulls at an ancient Egyptian burial site, representing the oldest known example of humans modifying livestock horns. Researchers also found the remains of at least six large, castrated male sheep at the mortuary complex in Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt, dating to about 3,700 BC. TheContinue Reading
Kissing in humans evolved as a symbolic expression of love from grooming behaviours seen in ancestral great apes, a comprehensive new study says. The kiss has been a versatile way by which humans across civilisations and societies have shown affection, intimacy, or social bonding, most often in a way thatContinue Reading
Vampire bats made to run on treadmills in a lab reveal secrets of the special metabolism fueling them from blood consumed only minutes before. The research, published in the journal Biology Letters, found that the bats, native to Mexico and Central and South America, burn amino acid molecules found inContinue Reading
Researchers are learning more about ancient central European society thanks to stones from thousands of years ago. A team of international scientists analyzed markings made on more than 400 stone plaquettes that date back 15,800 years, and uncovered something not previously known during the final period of the Stone Age.Continue Reading
Researchers have made another major stride in understanding humanity’s origins of writing. In Mesopotamia, the birthplace of civilization, the earliest known writing system started around 3,000 BCE. Developed by the Sumerians and written on clay tablets, the first cuneiform is largely sourced back to the urban city of Uruk, orContinue Reading
A fossil, believed to be one of the oldest ever, could help explain the rise of the dinosaurs. Scientists in Brazil announced the discovery of the ancient reptile dating back some 237 million years. Named Gondwanax paraisensis, the four-legged reptile species was roughly the size of a small dog withContinue Reading
Cats are able to utilise an unusual awareness of their own body shape and size to fit into the tightest of spaces, scientists say, after conducting a study into how felines are effectively able to behave like liquid. Several animals are known to make decisions about their passability through spacesContinue Reading
