A study published in the American Journal of Primatology has provided new insights into the emergence of bipedalism in human ancestors. Using advanced 3D scanning techniques, researchers analysed fossil bones to investigate how early hominins moved, focusing on the transition from tree-dwelling locomotion to upright walking. The research was led by Professor Josep M. Potau from…
Chinese scientists are reportedly racing against time to protect potatoes, a vital global food crop, from the adverse effects of climate change. Research conducted under the International Potato Center (CIP) in Beijing is said to have revealed alarming reductions in potato yields when exposed to higher temperatures. Potatoes grown in simulated conditions, replicating future climate…
A gas giant exoplanet, estimated to be just 3 million years old, has been identified by researchers as one of the youngest planets ever observed. The planet, named TIDYE-1b, orbits a protostar located in the Taurus molecular cloud approximately 520 light-years from Earth. Scientists have described this discovery as a rare opportunity to examine planetary…
A discovery in Kenya has revealed that Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, two distinct hominin species, coexisted 1.5 million years ago, according to reports. According to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday, the footprints were uncovered at Koobi Fora near Lake Turkana in 2021. These findings suggest that these two species not…
A research paper published in the Scientific Reports journal has detailed the discovery of embalming practices by an aristocratic French family between the 16th and 17th centuries. A team from the Austrian Archaeological Institute, Université de Bordeaux, and Aix-Marseille Université uncovered remains of the dead in a shared crypt at Château des Milandes in Castelnaud-la-Chapelle,…
An asteroid, identified as 2022 WJ1, exploded in a bright green fireball above southern Ontario on November 19, 2022, according to a new study published in The Planetary Science Journal. The space rock, which was only 20 inches wide, is the smallest asteroid ever measured accurately, as confirmed by researchers. It was first detected just…
Astronomers have been perplexed by the existence of supermassive black holes detected during the universe’s earliest phases, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. Recent findings, as detailed in a study submitted to the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, suggest these cosmic giants may have originated as primordial “seeds” during the…
Seagrass meadows, which serve as critical marine ecosystems, have been mapped more accurately using satellite-tagged green turtles compared to conventional satellite imagery, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. These underwater habitats are vital for biodiversity, carbon storage, and stabilising seabeds. However, their mapping has remained a challenge due…
Recent studies, published in Physical Review D on September 16 and 17, have proposed that microscopic black holes may be present within the solar system, potentially affecting the paths of planets and satellites. These objects, referred to as primordial black holes, are thought to have formed during the early universe. Estimated to have asteroid-like masses…
New research has uncovered that the Ninetyeast Ridge, a 5,000-kilometre-long underwater mountain range in the Indian Ocean, was shaped by a moving hotspot rather than a stationary one. The study, published in Nature Communications, analysed mineral samples from the ridge and dated its formation to between 83 and 43 million years ago. This discovery challenges…
