Science

Trees droop and sleep? Trees have been seen to go to sleep and relax their branches for certain periods of time. Experts from Austria, Finland and Hungary are employing laser scanners to calculate the day-night rhythms of trees. As strange as it may seem, trees do go to sleep and need periodic rest time. Researchers have been studying the day …

Canada is an active global leader in advancing environmental protection, sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, and climate change. Canadian Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna has returned from a successful G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Toyama, Japan. Working with Canada’s international partners and discussing environmental issues filled the two-day agenda. During her trip, Minister McKenna met with her American, European …

Skywatchers are in for a treat this weekend as spring’s third full moon will neighbor a bright red Mars in Saturday’s night sky. According to EarthSky, the May 21 full moon is known as a “blue moon,” not because it’s the second of two full moons in a month (as is usually dubbed a blue moon), but because it’s the …

Far from the toothy, snarling monster we’ve come to know and love, Tyrannosaurus rex—and other theropods like it—might have sported a pair of lips, argues Robert Reisz, a paleontologist at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, who’s presenting his theory on Friday at the annual Canadian Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting. “When we see dinosaurs in popular culture, such as …

One-third of North American bird species are “in crisis” and another half face serious trouble says the first analysis of all the birds in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna released the State of North America’s Birds report on behalf of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. She presented the report at the …

An amateur fossil collector has accidentally discovered a new dinosaur species the size of an adult African elephant, and given it the name Judith. Bill Shipp, a nuclear physicist and Montana landowner, went out prospecting for fossils on his property and found Judith’s leg bone sticking out of the earth on his first search. That was in 2005. Although it …

‘Finding Dory’ has highlighted a serious concern among researchers with regards to the possible further decline of the wild clownfish population as well as the regal blue tangs. Scientists from the University of Queensland and Flinders University have teamed up in an effort to ensure Nemo can be found exactly where he should be – in his sea anemone home …

The rise of oxygen in the Earth’s air was a consequence of the formation of continents in the presence of life and plate tectonics, suggest researchers, offering a new answer to the long-standing question of how our planet acquired its oxygenated atmosphere. The findings of Earth researchers from Rice University, Yale University and the University of Tokyo offer a new …

Inspired by spider’s silk, the new liquid wire material acts both solid and liquid. It extends like solid and compress like a liquid. Pulling on a sticky thread in a garden spider’s orb web and letting it snap back reveals that the thread never sags but always stays taut – even when stretched to many times its original length. This …

The waxing gibbous moon will swell to full on Saturday, and while this is a near monthly occurrence, this lunar cycle is special. May 21 Blue Moon will be near red Mars. This full Blue Moon and the red planet Mars will shine together all night long, from dusk May 21 until dawn May 22. Of course, the moon will …

Construction to a Roman subway line has unearthed an ancient military neighbourhood buried beneath the city. The 39-room, 1st-century complex is the latest headache for city officials who have already put plans for two other stations on hold after archaeological ­discoveries, meaning the line risks running under the centre of Rome without stopping to pick up passengers. The latest find …