A study has revealed for the first time the ancient origins of one of the world's most important ecosystems by unlocking the mechanism which determined the evolution of its mountains and how they shaped the weather there ...
Evolution
Jan 27, 2021
2
183
Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet supporting an estimated 25 percent of all marine species. These biologically rich ecosystems are threatened by multiple stressors, from warming ocean temperatures ...
Environment
Dec 14, 2020
0
153
A new study of an ancient period that is considered the closest natural analog to the era of modern human carbon emissions has found that massive volcanism sent great waves of carbon into the oceans over thousands of years—but ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 14, 2020
15
206
A fossil called Tanystropheus was first described in 1852, and it's been puzzling scientists ever since. At one point, paleontologists thought it was a flying pterosaur, like a pterodactyl, and that its long, hollow bones ...
Archaeology
Aug 6, 2020
0
5537
Sea snakes first entered the marine environment 15 million years ago and have been evolving ever since to survive in its changing light conditions, according to a new study.
Plants & Animals
May 28, 2020
0
402
A new study led by Yale University confirms a long-held theory about the last great mass extinction event in history and how it affected Earth's oceans. The findings may also answer questions about how marine life eventually ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 21, 2019
12
2981
The largest extinction in Earth's history marked the end of the Permian period, some 252 million years ago. Long before dinosaurs, our planet was populated with plants and animals that were mostly obliterated after a series ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 6, 2018
36
2767
In the past 540 million years, the Earth has endured five mass extinction events, each involving processes that upended the normal cycling of carbon through the atmosphere and oceans. These globally fatal perturbations in ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 20, 2017
70
9265
(Phys.org)—Paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Steven Stanley of the University of Hawaii has challenged the notion that the Permian-Triassic mass extinction event 252 million years ago killed off up to 96 percent ...
The oceans are home to innumerable and diverse species of marine life. A new paper, published in Nature, suggests that the watery medium that nourishes and protects this life may also promote the spread of certain cancers, ...
Ecology
Jun 22, 2016
3
506
