The Cronica universalis, written in Latin by the Milanese friar Galvaneus Flamma (in Italian, Galvano Fiamma, 1283 – c. 1345), contains an astonishing reference to a land named Marckalada (terra que dicitur Marckalada), situated west from Greenland. This land is recognizable as the Markland mentioned by some Icelandic sources and …
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Fenchol, a natural compound commonly present in some plants including basil (Ocimum basilicum), decreases Alzheimer’s disease pathology by activating the free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) signaling, according to new research published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Fenchol, a plant-derived compound that gives basil its aromatic scent, can …
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Scientists have isolated a new orthonairovirus from two patients showing acute febrile illness with thrombocytopenia and leukopenia after tick bite in Hokkaido, Japan. Transmission electron microscopy of YEZV particles negatively stained with 2% phosphotungstic acid. Image credit: Kodama et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25857-0. Orthonairoviruses are tick-borne viruses in the genus Orthonairovirus, …
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Using a new gene-analyzing technique, researchers from MIT and elsewhere have found that all extant species of cyanobacteria can be traced back to a common ancestor that evolved around 2.9 billion years ago. They’ve also found that the ancestors of cyanobacteria branched off from other bacteria around 3.4 billion years …
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Paleontologists have found a million-year-old hippo tooth at the site of Westbury Cave in Somerset, England. This fossil constitutes the earliest bona fide record of Hippopotamus in the United Kingdom. The left first upper molar of Hippopotamus antiquus from the Early Pleistocene Siliceous Member in Westbury Cave, Somerset, England. Image …
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Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of coelophysoid theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic deposits of Pant-y-ffynnon in southern Wales. Life reconstruction of Pendraig milnerae among the fissures of Pant-y-ffynnon and three individuals of the rhynchocephalian lepidosaur Clevosaurus cambrica during the Late Triassic epoch. Image credit: James Robbins. …
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New research published in the journal Scientific Reports provides the first direct evidence of omnivory in an ancient sloth species. Reconstruction of the Darwin’s ground sloth (Mylodon darwinii) feeding on the carcass of the hoofed native herbivore Macrauchenia. These extinct mammals roamed the Pleistocene landscape of Patagonia and other parts …
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Eograminis balticus, a new species of grass found in a piece of 40-50-million-year-old amber, represents the first definite grass to be described from Baltic amber as well as the first fossil member of Arundinoideae, a subfamily of the widespread Poaceae family that includes cereal grasses, bamboos and many species found …
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Predation of wildlife by domestic cats (Felis catus) presents a threat to biodiversity conservation in some ecological contexts. The proportions of wild prey captured and eaten by domestic cats and thus the contributions of wild prey to cat diets are hard to quantify. In a new study published in the …
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Trilobites are extinct arthropods that dominated the faunas of the Paleozoic Era. Since their appearance 523 million years ago, they were equipped with elaborate compound eyes. While most of them possessed apposition compound eyes, comparable to the compound eyes of many crustaceans and insects living today, trilobites of the suborder …
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