Science

A close research of a meteorite from Mars, discovered in 2012, has revealed that some two billion years ago there was volcanic activity on the red planet, much earlier than previously believed. Shield volcanoes and lava plains formed from lava flowing over long distances, similar to the formation of the Hawaiian Islands. The largest Martian volcano, Olympus Mons, is nearly …

Scientists examining a whale carcass found 30 plastic bags in its stomach along with other human waste. “The whale’s stomach was full of plastic bags and packaging with labels in Danish and English,” Dr. Terje Lislevand, a zoologist, told the Daily Mail. “The findings are not surprising, but clearly it is sad to [have] discovered such large quantities.” Some estimates …

Researchers has confirmed that there was a lost continent under the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. They said the landmass( now dubbed as ‘Mauritia’) was left over after the Gondwana super-continent split about 200 to 300 million years ago. The fragment appears to have broken off from the island of Madagascar when Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctic spilt …

New Zealand researchers voiced concern for the future of international research on issues such as climate change and extreme weather following US President Donald Trump’s imposition of travel restrictions to the country. The Royal Society of New Zealand, the country’s leading science organisation, said the US hosted many international projects and conferences and there was a significant risk that the …

Scientists at the University at Buffalo have come up with a way of making solar-powered water purifiers cheaper and far more efficient. You’ve seen Bear Grylls turn foul water into drinking water with little more than sunlight and plastic. Now, academics have added a third element — carbon-dipped paper — that may turn this survival tactic into a highly efficient …

A group of international researchers in China have discovered what they say is the oldest known ancestor of humanity. The 540-million-year-old fossil is a microscopic sea animal, no larger than a millimetre in size, called a Saccothytus. It was discovered in central China. The creature was discovered by University of Cambridge paleobiologist Simon Conway Morris and colleagues, resembled an old …

A new crab species has been named after two “Harry Potter” characters, and its discovery is an interesting tale in the search for fantastic beasts. The new species of crab, dubbed Harryplax Severus, can be found when you apparate to the dead coral fragments along the coast of Guam, a US territory located in the western Pacific Ocean. Harry Conley, …

The name and logo collecting started on Aug. 23, 2016 and ended 80 days later. The websites of the China National Space Administration and China’s Lunar and Deep Space Exploration received and sorted out the names and logos coming from China as well as other countries and regions. “We have collected over 35,000 names and over 7,000 logos for the …

Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is responsible for approximately 16% of lung cancer deaths in Canada, which translates to more than 3,200 lung cancer deaths per year.1,2 As radon is colourless and odourless, testing is the only way to know if radon levels are elevated and remediation is required. Many organizations are working …

Ridges of various sizes have been located in many regions of the Martian surface, and scientists surmise that they originated in a variety of processes and events. Laura Kerber of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory conducted a detailed search for these ridges after discovering a network of polygon-shaped features in Medusae Fossae, a location close to Mars’ equator. The ridges of …

An alien-like fossil of an insect trapped in amber from the time of the dinosaurs does not fit into any of the 31 orders of insects that scientists know about – so it’s been put in another one all by itself. The 100-million-year-old specimen was examined by researchers at Oregon State University. The findings have been published in the journal …