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Ornithologists Identify Two New Species of Toxic Birds

The rufous-naped bellbird (Aleadryas rufinucha). Image credit: Knud Jønsson.
Apr 3, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Most people are familiar with South and Central America’s iconic poison dart frogs, especially the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), that carry the potent neurotoxic alkaloid batrachotoxin. The discovery of two new poisonous bird species in New Guinea — which carry the same toxin in their skin and feathers — demonstrates that batrachotoxin is more widespread than once believed. The rufous-naped bellbird (Aleadryas rufinucha)....

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The 10th-century BCE inscribed pithos from the Ophel, Israel. Image credit: Daniel Vainstub / Eilat Mazar.

Sabaean Inscription Points to Connections between King Solomon’s Israel and Kingdom of Sheba

Apr 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

During the 2012 excavations in Jerusalem, Israel, a partially preserved inscription engraved on the shoulder of a pithos was found in a context dated to...

To investigate plants’ airborne sound emissions, Khait et al. constructed a reliable recording system, where each plant is recorded simultaneously by two microphones; first, they recorded plants within an acoustic box and developed machine learning algorithms to classify the recorded sounds; then they tested the system in a greenhouse, while monitoring physiological parameters of the recorded plants. Image credit: Kie-Ker.

Plants Emit Ultrasonic Sounds When Stressed, Groundbreaking Study Shows

Mar 31, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, biologists at Tel Aviv University recorded ultrasonic sounds emitted by tomato and tobacco plants inside an acoustic chamber, and in a...

An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis living in central Australia that was much greener 25 million years ago. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Strange Wombat Relative Once Lived in Australia

Mar 30, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Mukupirna fortidentata looked a bit like a modern wombat crossed with a marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex). An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis...

This map shows shield volcanoes on Venus. Image credit: Rebecca Hahn, Washington University in St. Louis.

Venus is Home to At Least 85,000 Volcanoes, Planetary Researchers Say

Mar 30, 2023 by News Staff

There are many thousands of volcanoes on the surface of Venus. These volcanoes provide clues into the interior properties of the planet, properties that...

Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus (top left), a relative of Chunia pledgei, and the marsupial lion Wakaleo oldfieldi (right). Image credit: Peter Schouten / CC BY-SA.

Bizarre Possum Species Lived in Australia 25 Million Years Ago

Mar 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of ektopodontid possum has been described from Oligocene-age fossils found in central Australia. Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus...

This image shows the strong-lensing galaxy Abell 1201 BCG and a gravitational arc. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Nightingale et al., doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad587.

Astronomers Discover Ultramassive Black Hole in Abell 1201

Mar 29, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The newly-discovered ultramassive black hole has a mass of 32.7 billion solar masses and resides in the center of Abell 1201 BCG, a massive elliptical...

A large stream of meltwater (about 5 to 10 m in width) emerges from an upstream supraglacial lake in the Greenlandic ice on July, 21 2012. The darker shapes are minor streams covered by cryoconite (a mix of dust particles, soot, meteorite dust and organic material) which covers the ice sheet. Cracks cutting through the streams are visible. Along these cracks water can flow through, enlarging them and, eventually, generating moulins that can deliver meltwater through the ice. Image credit: M. Tedesco / CCNY / NASA ICE.

Greenland Ice Sheet Very Close to Melting Point of No Return, Scientists Say

Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

With ongoing carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, the atmosphere of Earth heats up, which has dramatic consequences for the ice sheets....

The TRAPPIST-1 system is remarkable for its seven planets that are similar in size, mass, density, and stellar heating to the rocky planets Venus, Earth, and Mars in our own Solar System. This illustration shows what the rocky planet TRAPPIST-1b could look like based on the new study. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / J. Olmsted, STScI.

Webb Measures Temperature of TRAPPIST-1b

Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

The dayside of TRAPPIST-1b, the innermost planet in the seven-planet system TRAPPIST-1, has a temperature of about 227 degrees Celsius (441 degrees Fahrenheit),...

Life reconstruction of Dama celiae in the Manzanares valley, Spain; other species present are Anas platyrhynchos, Equus ferus, Elephas antiquus, Mauremys leprosa, Bison sp., Bos primigenius, and Stephanorhinus hemitoechus. Image credit: J. Gamarra.

Fallow Deer with Two-Pointed Antlers Lived alongside Neanderthals

Mar 27, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described an extinct species of the fallow deer genus Dama from fossils found in Spain. Life reconstruction of Dama celiae in the...

The lavender-blushed dartfish (Nemateleotris lavandula), underwater photograph from Siaes Tunnel, Palau. Image credit: Yi-Kai Tea & Helen Larson, doi: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0019.

Colorful New Species of Dartfish Discovered in Pacific Ocean

Mar 22, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Scientists from the Australian Museum Research Institute, the University of Sydney and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory have described...

Oba et al. report the detection of uracil, one of the four nucleobases in ribonucleic acid, in aqueous extracts from Ryugu samples. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / JAXA / Dan Gallagher.

Scientists Find Vitamin B3 and Uracil in Samples from Asteroid Ryugu

Mar 22, 2023 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has detected nicotinic acid (also known as vitamin B3 or niacin) and uracil, one of the four nucleobases in ribonucleic...

Life reconstruction of Thylacosmilus atrox. Image credit: Jorge Blanco.

Study: Thylacosmilus atrox Adapted to View the World in Unique Way

Mar 22, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists from the American Museum of Natural History, the Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales and CONICET investigated...

Life reconstruction of Alienopterix santonicus with hypothetical greenish-reddish coloration. Image credit: Márton Zsoldos.

Enigmatic Metallic Cockroach Lived alongside Dinosaurs

Mar 20, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Alienopterix santonicus was found preserved in a piece of ajkaite, a unique Late Cretaceous type of amber from western Hungary. Life reconstruction of...

A relict glacier near Mars’ equator. Image credit: Lee et al. / LPSC 2023 / NASA.

Relict Glacier Spotted near Martian Equator

Mar 20, 2023 by News Staff

A so-called light-toned deposit (LTD) in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus, about 160 km (99.4 miles) north-west of Oudemans crater near Mars’ equator, presents...

The Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) attacking two moas. Image credit: John Megahan / PLoS Biology, doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030020.

Giant Eagle Species Lived in Australia More Than 50,000 Years Ago

Mar 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of giant accipitrid bird being named Dynatoaetus gaffae has been identified from fossil remains found South Australia. The Haast’s...

The Godlewski’s bunting (Emberiza godlewskii) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Image credit: Jargal Lamjav / CC BY 2.0.

Cryptic New Species of Songbird Identified in China

Mar 14, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

The northern and southern populations of a songbird species called the Godlewski’s bunting (Emberiza godlewskii) should be treated as two independent...

The structure of the bacteriophage P74-26. Image credit: Leonora Martinez-Nunez.

‘Rapunzel Bacteriophage’ Has Extremely Long Tail, Researchers Say

Mar 14, 2023 by News Staff

A bacteriophage (bacteria-infecting virus) called P74-26 and nicknamed ‘Rapunzel bacteriophage’ lives in inhospitable hot springs and preys on Thermus...

Reconstruction of the earliest ichthyosaur and the 250-million-year-old ecosystem found on Spitsbergen. Image credit: Esther van Hulsen.

Earliest Triassic Ichthyosaur Fossils Unearthed on Spitsbergen

Mar 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from Uppsala University and the University of Oslo have found the 250-million-year-old fossilized ichthyosaur remains in the Vikinghøgda...

Life reconstruction of Edowa zuniensis. Image credit: Brenton Adrian.

Dinosaur-Era Fossil Bridges Gap in Evolution of Extinct Baenid Turtles

Mar 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Edowa zuniensis is the first species of baenid turtle described from the Turonian age of North America. Life reconstruction of Edowa zuniensis. Image credit:...

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