Headlines
24-million-year-old Kevda fossil leaves discovered in Assam reveal ancient tropical forests of India |

24-million-year-old Kevda fossil leaves discovered in Assam reveal ancient tropical forests of India |

pc: Study: Fossil leaves of Pandanaceae from India suggest Paleogene persistence of the family in South Asia For most people, Kevda is recognised by its unmistakable fragrance. Its flowers are distilled into the aromatic essence used in sweets, perfumes, religious offerings and traditional remedies across India. Yet the plant has quietly carried a far older…

Read More
International Space Station’s $23 million toilet does far more than collect waste. It helps recycle about 98% of the station’s water into drinking water |

International Space Station’s $23 million toilet does far more than collect waste. It helps recycle about 98% of the station’s water into drinking water |

Life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) depends on making the most of every available resource, especially water. Transporting supplies from Earth is enormously expensive, so astronauts cannot simply rely on regular deliveries for drinking water. Instead, the ISS uses one of the most sophisticated recycling systems ever built. At the heart of that system…

Read More
Scientists discover a new beetle genus named after One Piece’s Luffy, and its unusually long body parts explain why |

Scientists discover a new beetle genus named after One Piece’s Luffy, and its unusually long body parts explain why |

A scientific paper describing a previously unknown group of rove beetles has produced an unusual meeting point between taxonomy and popular culture. Researchers have introduced a new beetle genus named Luffy, borrowing the name of Monkey D. Luffy, the central character from the long-running manga and anime series One Piece. While the choice may appear…

Read More
A tapeworm infects worker ants and makes them live several times longer by turning their bodies more like those of queens

A tapeworm infects worker ants and makes them live several times longer by turning their bodies more like those of queens

A worker ant of the species Temnothorax nylanderi infected with the tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis, recognizable by its yellowish coloration, alongside an uninfected worker (Credit: Susanne Foitzik) Deep inside the damp leaf litter of the Lenneberg Forest near Mainz, Germany, tiny worker ants of the species Temnothorax nylanderi are living surprisingly long lives. While a normal…

Read More
Gunaikurnai Rituals: Grass burned for magic, healing and cursing: 25,000-year-old cave discovery reveals ancient Australian rituals

Gunaikurnai Rituals: Grass burned for magic, healing and cursing: 25,000-year-old cave discovery reveals ancient Australian rituals

For 25,000 years, the GunaiKurnai (an Australian Aboriginal nation) people carried grass into Cloggs Cave and burned it. Archaeologists have finally found physical evidence that proves the ritual existed. These people burned the grass as part of rituals tied to magic, healing and the spiritual realm. Researchers unearthed layers of ash rich in phytoliths, microscopic…

Read More
Warm ocean water is melting a giant Antarctic glacier from below. Scientists want to stop it with an 80km underwater curtain |

Warm ocean water is melting a giant Antarctic glacier from below. Scientists want to stop it with an 80km underwater curtain |

Scientists are checking if an underwater curtain is what will keep an Antarctic glacier from slowly melting due to warm water. The proposal is to install an underwater curtain about 80 kilometres long and up to 150 metres high in front of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Between January and March 2026, an expedition…

Read More

A silent coral reef came back to life after scientists played recordings of healthy reefs underwater |

The decline of coral reefs is often described through bleaching events, rising sea temperatures and fading marine life. Less attention is paid to something that disappears at the same time: sound. A healthy reef is rarely quiet. Snapping shrimp, feeding fish and countless other marine animals create a constant underwater backdrop that helps young fish…

Read More
Feral cats erased 11 native species from this Australian island. Scientists are bringing back two truffle-eating marsupials to rebuild it |

Feral cats erased 11 native species from this Australian island. Scientists are bringing back two truffle-eating marsupials to rebuild it |

Two threatened marsupials are being reintroduced to the Shark Bay World Heritage area in order to advance species conservation and ecosystem restoration. A new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) confirmed that the presence of fungal food resources is important for supporting this effort.The study published in the journal Ecosystems and led by Edith Cowan…

Read More
AI can become more biased than humans while choosing who gets hired; study finds |

AI can become more biased than humans while choosing who gets hired; study finds |

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being trusted to help employers screen CVs, rank candidates and even conduct early-stage interviews. The promise is simple: AI can process thousands of applications quickly, reduce administrative workloads and, in theory, make hiring decisions more objective than humans. According to a recent review by MIT Technology, based on the 2024 study…

Read More