Science

The exceptionally preserved fossils of the oldest species of scorpion ever found have been unearthed in Wisconsin, the United States. Reconstruction of Parioscorpio venator. Structures outlined in gray are inferred based on Proscorpius osborni. Structures highlighted with gray infilling are the preserved elements of the pulmonary-cardiovascular system. Image credit: Wendruff …

In a series of experiments, a duo of researchers from the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University has observed eight-week-old wolf puppies spontaneously responding to social-communicative behaviors from an unfamiliar person by retrieving a ball. These observations come as a surprise because it had been hypothesized that the cognitive abilities …

A team of scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WSC), the CADIC-CONICET and Argentina’s National Parks Administration has discovered a new colony of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) on a remote island in Argentina. A Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) on a bluff on Isla de los Estados, Argentina. Image credit: Ulises …

  SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made waves a while back with an ambitious plan to begin ferrying people to Mars within the next several years. He was understandably vague on details, but now he’s got a bit more to share. It still sounds like we’re a long way from colonizing …

Paleontologists in China have identified a new species of microraptorine dromaeosaur closely related to the famous dinosaur Velociraptor. An artist’s rendering of what Wulong bohaiensis might have looked like. Image credit: Erick Toussaint. The newly-discovered dinosaur lived during the Cretaceous period, approximately 120 million years ago. Named Wulong bohaiensis, the …

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has captured a new image of the icy cap at the Martian north pole, complete with bright swathes of ice, dark troughs and depressions, and signs of strong winds. This HRSC image shows plumes of dust clouds over the …

  Scientists used to wonder how common planets were throughout the universe, and now we know — they’re everywhere. Even with our relatively rudimentary methods of detecting exoplanets, we’ve identified thousands of alien worlds, including some in our own backyard. In 2016, astronomers discovered an exoplanet around Proxima Centauri, the …

  We’re still a long way from Star Trek-style tricorders that can instantly diagnose disease, but medical startup Nanox is hoping to bring a little of the 24th century to a hospital near you. The company has unveiled a new low-cost X-ray scanner called the Nanox.Arc. It hopes to deploy …

Shell fishing was a common activity of Neanderthals, according to new research led by University of Colorado, Boulder archaeologists. Homo neanderthalensis by Charles R. Knight. In 1949, archaeologists working at the site of Grotta dei Moscerini, a cave in the Latium region of central Italy, found a large collection of …

An international team of scientists has sequenced the genome of the giant squid (Architeuthis dux), the species which has inspired generations to tell tales of the fabled Kraken. The Architeuthis dux genome allowed the team to investigate the unique traits of this species, including its gigantism and key adaptations to deep-sea …