Science

A prehistoric monster worm that terrorized the Devonian seas some 400 million years ago has been identified by an international team of paleontologists from the University of Bristol, Lund University and the Royal Ontario Museum. This is an artistic reconstruction showing Websteroprion armstrongi attacking a fish in the Devonian sea. …

Adult and juvenile fossil specimens of Isostylomys laurdillardi, a giant rodent that lived in South America between 9 and 6.8 million years ago (Miocene epoch), have been found by paleontologists, raising questions about classification within the rodent family Dinomyidae. Isostylomys laurdillardi. Image credit: Andres Rinderknecht et al. Dr. Andres Rinderknecht …

An international team of paleobiologists has uncovered the fossil of a 105-million-year-old gymnosperm pollinating beetle, named Darwinylus marcosi. The fossil, encased in a piece of amber from Spain, is shedding new light on the various ways insects pollinated plants during the mid-Mesozoic era. Reconstruction of Darwinylus marcosi on a gymnosperm …

An international team of paleontologists has discovered in Quebec, Canada, the oldest physical evidence of life on Earth — fossils that date back 3.77 billion years. The discovery was reported online today in the journal Nature. Hematite tubes from the NSB hydrothermal vent deposits that represent the oldest microfossils and …

The fossilized leg bones of a giant penguin that lived 61 million years ago have been discovered in New Zealand. Artist’s impression of a group of Waimanu penguins on a beach in Paleocene Canterbury. Image credit: Chris Gaskin, Geology Museum, University of Otago. The fossil was found by amateur fossil …

Seven new species of the genus Nyctibatrachus (Night frogs) have been discovered in the Western Ghats global biodiversity hotspot in India. Seven new species of night frogs from the Western Ghats, India. Image credit: SD Biju. The genus Nyctibatrachus (family Nyctibatrachidae) is endemic to the Western Ghats and represents an …

A study led by Carnegie Mellon University researchers provides the first biological evidence to explain how marriage impacts health. According to Brian Chin et al, married people have lower cortisol levels and steeper slopes than the unmarried ones. Image credit: Olessya. Carnegie Mellon University Professor Sheldon Cohen and co-authors found …

A research team led by Scripps Research Institute scientist Dr. Supriya Srinivasan has identified a brain hormone that appears to trigger fat burning in the gut. Model depicting the FLP-7/NPR-22 neuroendocrine axis that underlies the 5-HTergic control of body fat loss. In the nervous system, an integrated 5-HT and octopaminergic …

A bizarre new species of the fish-scale gecko genus Geckolepis has been found living in the ‘tsingy’ karst formations of northern Madagascar. Geckolepis megalepis in life. Image credit: Frank Glaw. The Geckolepis fish-scale geckos are small- to medium sized arboreal and nocturnal lizards endemic to Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. …

The green-tea polyphenol Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) may be of particular benefit to patients struggling with amyloidosis and multiple myeloma, according to an international team of researchers led by Washington University in St. Louis. The research is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. According to Kathrin Andrich et al, the …