Science

Researchers on Tuesday said that rising sea levels have likely extinguished the Bramble Cay melomys, a small rodent mammal species that lived on a tiny island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The rodent was known only to live on a small (4 ha) coral cay, just 340m long and 150m wide in the Torres Strait, between Queensland in Australia and …

Virtually every research expedition to Papahānaumokuākea yields new discoveries, including 22 historic shipwrecks, more than 70 new species of algae, 13 new seamounts—some of which are over 14,000 feet in elevation, the oldest marine organism in the world—a deep-sea black coral that can live up to 4,500 years, the world’s largest sponge, the largest gorgonian coral ever found, reefs with …

The French government is the first one to wholeheartedly approve of the UN climate pact. This shows its sincerity and level of engagement with the present-day concerns afflicting the global village. Announcing the move at a ceremony at the Élysée Palace President Francois Hollande joked that “signing is good, ratifying is better” and urged more nations to follow France in …

Researchers from the LIGO and Virgo collaborations announced today the observation of gravitational waves from a set of merging black holes. The international team spotted the phenomenon on Boxing Day but has only now made the news public. As with the earlier detection which stunned the world of physics in September 2015, the source was found to be two colliding …

A Nebraska family staying at a Disney resort in Florida was struck by tragedy yesterday (June 14) when an alligator snatched the family’s 2-year-old son and dragged him underwater, news sources reported. But despite the horrific incident, experts say it’s rare for alligators to attack people. It wasn’t too long ago that alligators were nearly hunted into extinction. About 40 …

Researchers have heralded the Antikythera mechanism, recovered in 1901 from a shipwreck dating to the first century B.C., as the world’s first computer. At first look, the sediment-encrusted mechanism was the least desirable item recovered from the mid-1st century shipwreck which included bronze and marble statues, glassware and ceramics. However, after 12 years of research, scientists have unlocked some of …

Scientists have found a monumental structure buried under the sands of Petra, according to a new study that drew on satellite imagery to scan the ancient city. Found not 2,150 years too soon, researchers recently discovered the monument with the help of drones, satellites and ground surveys. “This monumental platform has no parallels at Petra or in its hinterlands at …

The researchers from the University of Illinois and U.S. Geological Survey have discovered that the hostile carps that threaten the Great Lakes basin respond strongly to carbon dioxide. Bighead carp and silver carp are species of invasive Asian carp that threaten the Great Lakes. Researchers with the University of Illinois and U.S. Geological Survey tested the effectiveness of infusing water …

Researchers using NASA’s Kepler space telescope have discovered Kepler-1647b, the largest known planet to orbit two stars (aka a circumbinary planet). The newly found world, about the size of Jupiter, is 3,700 light years from Earth. A light-year is nearly six trillion miles. It was detected by a team led by Nasa and San Diego State University using the planet-hunting …

As global warming heats the Arctic, carbon dioxide emissions from melting permafrost could play a bigger role in worsening climate change than previously thought, according to a study in Nature Climate Change led by Northern Arizona University assistant research professor Christina Schädel. Schädel’s meta-analysis of 25 Arctic soil incubation studies found that both temperature and soil conditions affected the quantity …

According to a new analysis by The Guardian, Peabody Energy, the U.S.’s largest coal mining company, has been funding dozens of different climate change-denying organizations for years. A Guardian analysis of the company’s filings reveal that Peabody gave money to at least two dozen companies including trade associations, lobbying groups, conservative think tanks, and other organizations that campaigned against climate …