Each year during Central America’s dry season (generally between December and April), strong northern trade winds help drive an important ocean process in the Gulf of Panama. These winds push surface waters in a way that allows colder, nutrient-rich water from deep below to rise toward the surface. This process, known as upwelling, plays a…
Despite decades of effort, scientists have never recovered dinosaur DNA. Most paleontology research today still focuses on searching for traces of original organic material in fossils, but DNA has not survived the passage of time. Much of what we understand about dinosaurs comes from fossilized bones and teeth. These durable remains preserve well, but they…
Eastern Africa’s Turkana Rift is known both for its rich record of early human fossils and for intense volcanic activity driven by shifting tectonic plates. Now, scientists report that the crust beneath this region has thinned far more than previously understood, pointing to the long term breakup of the African continent and offering a fresh…
Scientists have increasingly recognized that the gut microbiome plays an important role in overall health, including the brain. However, researchers are still working to identify which specific bacteria are involved in disease and exactly how they influence the body. One bacterium in particular, Morganella morganii, has been linked in several studies to major depressive disorder….
One of my favourite pieces of scientific equipment is something called a retrospectroscope. I admit that it only exists in my imagination, but it has turned out to be a very useful bit of kit. It allows me to look back through the years of my life and analyse the journey so far. And what…
Explorers sent a robot two miles under the ocean’s surface near Alaska to look for odd creatures, and unexpectedly struck gold. To be more specific, they found a golden blob, smooth and shiny with a perplexing hole in it, stuck to a rock on the seafloor. Was it coral? A sea sponge? An alien? No,…
With its bright yellow, cushion-like caps, the golden oyster mushroom has become a favorite among home growers and food lovers. It is widely available in grow-your-own kits and sold in grocery stores, farmers markets, and specialty shops. However, a University of Florida researcher warns that this appealing mushroom is quietly spreading into natural forests and…
A remarkably preserved fossil from Argentina is helping scientists sharpen the picture of how snakes evolved. The specimen belongs to Najash rionegrina, an ancient rear-limbed snake that lived nearly 100 million years ago. Its skull shows that these early snakes still had a cheekbone, also called the jugal bone, a feature that has almost completely…
For more than 25 years, researchers at Northwestern Medicine have been studying people age 80 and older known as “SuperAgers” to understand how some individuals maintain exceptional mental sharpness late in life. These individuals consistently perform on memory tests at levels similar to people at least 30 years younger, challenging the long-standing belief that cognitive…
Changes in eyesight are one of the most common signs of aging. Sit in a dimly lit restaurant with someone over 60, and you will likely hear them say, “Hold on — let me pull out my cell phone. I need more light to read the menu!” But what if that gradual decline in vision…
