Discoveries Timeline

Dead Male Guppies Continue To Reproduce After They Die

Dead Male Guppies Continue To Reproduce After They Die

A team of evolutionary biologists led by David Reznick, professor of biology at the University of California, have discovered that dead guppies reproduce even after death. After studying the reproductive behaviors of these particular guppies, biologists discovered that the females can store sperm from their dead counterparts for up to 10 months, meaning that, by… Read more »

Several Black Holes Discovered In Andromeda Galaxy

Black holes discovered in Andromeda.

The largest collection of potential black holes ever found outside of our own galaxy have been discovered by astronomers in the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy. Scientists found at least 26 possible new black holes in the galaxy. A black hole is a region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation… Read more »

Amazon Fires Destroying Rainforest At Troubling Rate

Amazon fires killing rainforest

Amazon fires are destroying the rainforest at a rate of three percent every 10 years. NASA scientists recently calculated that slow-burning fires in the rainforests have led to a major loss of lush vegetation and an increased output of carbon dioxide. Scientists admit that the Amazon fires are not easy to detect because they creep… Read more »

Nuclear Bomb Fallout Key To Proof That Adults Grow New Brain Cells

nuclear bomb fallout brain cells

The fallout from nuclear bomb tests has led to a technique to prove that adults may grow new brain cells, at least in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. A study published Thursday in Cell described how researchers tracked an isotope called C-14 to confront the old claim that humans are born with… Read more »

400-Year-Old Plants Come Back To Life

Scientists discovered the moss in Northern Canada.

400-year-old plants that were found by scientists in a glacier in Canada have come back to life. In a study led by University of Alberta biologist Catherine La Farge, the plants were originally found in the Teardrop glacier in Canada’s Ellsmere Island. The research was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of… Read more »

Scientists Uncover Possible Brazilian Atlantis

Scientists Find Brazilian Atlantis

Scientists have uncovered what they are calling the “Brazilian Atlantis,” a reference to the sunken island thought to lay between Africa and South America. Discovering Atlantis has been the subject of numerous studies, books, and movies throughout the years, though no sign of the mythical island was found — until now. Geologists in Brazil, working… Read more »

Robot Discovers Burial Chambers Under Ancient Temple

Robot Burial Chambers Under Temple

A robot the size of a lawnmower discovered three burial chambers under the ancient Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Mexico. The temple, an ancient pyramid, is part of the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, a massive complex of temples and pyramids about 31 miles northeast of Mexico City. The team expected to find just one… Read more »

Ancient Lake Hides Mysterious Structure

Sea Of Galilee Structure

Scientists surveying an ancient lake have discovered a mysterious structure in its depths. The investigators made the discovery while scanning the bottom of the Sea of Galilee in Israel using sonar equipment. Although the discovery was made almost a decade ago, scientists still aren’t quite sure what it is. Tel Aviv University geophysicist Shmuel Marco… Read more »

Child Witnesses Can Be Easily Manipulated, New Study

child witnesses

Child witnesses can be remarkably easy to manipulate, according to research from the UK’s University of Hertfordshire, which will be presented this week at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference. Based on their findings, you could almost say that it’s child’s play to get the kid to give you the description that you’re looking for…. Read more »

Female Moa Tallest Bird Ever At 12 Feet, Twice Her Mate’s Size

female moa is tallest bird

The female moa, the world’s tallest bird that ever lived, could stand as tall as 12 feet — up to 150 percent as tall as her mate. Indeed, the size difference is so great that, in years gone by, fossil hunters wrongly placed male and female skeletons into different species. Researchers from the Zoological Society… Read more »

Dinosaurs Were Strong Swimmers, New Evidence

dinosaurs

Dinosaurs were good swimmers, or at least they were halfway decent dog paddlers. An international team of researchers including Canada’s University of Alberta Scott Persons has been taking a closer look at the footprints found on the bottom of what was once a waterway in Szechuan, China. A trackway is a place where dinosaurs once… Read more »

Gate To Hell Discovered In Turkey

gate to hell

The gate to hell has been discovered in Turkey. And no, this doesn’t appear to be an April Fool’s Day prank. According to USA Today, a team of Italian archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient mythological cave, known as Pluto’s Gate, which has also been described by Cicero and Greek geographer Strabo as… Read more »

Dead Forests Not Dumping Greenhouse Gas Into Air

dead forests not dumping greenhouse gas into air

The forests are dead and dying all over North America, with billions of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle since 2000. Horrific as the sight of our forests turning brown has been, it could have been worse. A new study released this month in Ecology Letters by a University of Arizona team showed that… Read more »

New Wasp Species Name Inspired By Kill Bill Character

New Wasp Species Name Inspired By Kill Bill Character

Three newly discovered species of parasitoid wasps (Braconidae, Rogadinae) found in Thailand and Papua New Guinea have been formally named. Parasitoid (also referred to as endoparasitoid) wasps are known to implant their eggs inside of another insect, and, as the parasitic larvae grow, they devour the host from the inside out. There are an estimated… Read more »

Neanderthal Genome Published As Open Source

neanderthal genome released as open source

A high-quality full Neanderthal genome has been sequenced for the first time, and the open source data is now available to everyone. That’s the exciting announcement today from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. The team, led by paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo, used material from a toe bone found in 2010 in a… Read more »

Chimps Can Team Up, Watch Out, World [Video]

chimps use teamwork

Chimpanzees can team up to get what they want, and a fresh study from European researchers provides new proof that the problem-solving primates intentionally put their heads — and their tools — together to work toward a common goal. At least they will if the goal is a tasty bunch of grapes. And if the… Read more »