Researchers have sequenced analyzed the genome of the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), a small auk with a large head and a colorful bill. Using the genome-wide resequencing data, they’ve also identified four main puffin population clusters consisting of (i) Spitsbergen (High Arctic), (ii) Canada, (iii) Isle of May, and (iv) …

(Photo: Brian McGowan/Unsplash)NASA has announced it’s reshuffling its human spaceflight directorate to better accommodate low Earth orbit (LEO) operations and deep space exploration. The agency stated its Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate would be broken into two new divisions, one of which will prepare future operations on the moon …

NASA has chosen the western edge of Nobile Crater at the Moon’s south pole as the landing site for its upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). An illustration of NASA’s VIPER lunar rover. Image credit: NASA / Ames Research Center / Daniel Rutter. NASA’s VIPER rover will land near …

Paleontologists have unearthed and described the fragmentary fossilized remains of a non-pterodactyloid pterosaur in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Life reconstruction of a rhamphorhynchine pterosaur from the Cerro Campamento Formation, Chile. Image credit: Universidad de Chile. The newly-described pterosaur inhabited the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana some 160 million years ago …

On the evening of Sept. 13, something hit Jupiter, producing an explosion and a flash of light visible even to amateur astronomers with off-the-shelf telescopes. Now, the hunt is on to figure out what the impactor could have been. The collision was first reported by Brazilian amateur astronomer José Luis …

A new study in mice shows that normally, the immune system keeps potentially pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans in check, targeting them when they switch into a state that can cause harm; when the system is off-balance, disease is more likely to occur. Candida albicans. Image credit: Stephanie Rossow …

Paleontologists have uncovered seven well-preserved teeth from the extinct shark genus Petalodus in Shanxi province, China. Life restoration of Petalodus sharks. Image credit: Dinghua Yang. Petalodus is a small genus of Petalodontiformes, a intriguing group of extinct marine cartilaginous fish that flourished from the Carboniferous to the Permian period. First …

A new genus and species of palaeoscolecid worm has been identified from two specimens found in the Burgess Shale-type deposits in Utah, the United States. Arrakiscolex aasei. Image credit: University of Missouri. Palaeoscolecida is a group of extinct ecdysozoan worms that existed from the Ealy Cambrian to the Late Silurian …

A new species of large-sized penguin being named Kairuku waewaeroa has been identified from the fossilized bones found in Kawhia Harbour on the North Island of New Zealand. Life reconstruction of giant penguins. Image credit: Simone Giovanardi. Kairuku waewaeroa roamed Earth during the Oligocene epoch, between 27 and 35 million …

Processings…Please wait. Google has confirmed that it not only made a change to what title it shows in the search results but also disclosed how much of a change it actually was. For the past few weeks, Google said it was using your chosen HTML title tag 80% of the …