UCL A cluster of Scottish islands could help solve one of our planet’s greatest mysteries, scientists say. The Garvellach islands off the west coast of Scotland are the best record of Earth entering its biggest ever ice age around 720 million years ago, researchers have discovered. The big freeze, which covered nearly all the globe […]
Dawn Pummintr/BBC Stonehenge now has stones from all over Great Britain The six-tonne Altar Stone at the heart of Stonehenge came from the far north of Scotland rather than south-west Wales as previously thought, new analysis has found. The discovery shows the construction of Stonehenge was a far greater collaborative effort than scientists realised. It […]
The saga of the large invasive Joro spiders that parachute through the air isn’t over. A new study found that the critters with 4-inch-long legs are truly built differently, with hearts that are able to withstand the loud and bustling noises of big cities. University of Georgia researcher Andy Davis made the discovery while conducting cardiac […]
A blockchain entrepreneur, a cinematographer, a polar adventurer and a robotics researcher plan to fly around Earth’s poles aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule by the end of the year, becoming the first humans to observe the ice caps and extreme polar environments from orbit, SpaceX announced Monday. The historic flight, launched from the Kennedy […]
Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars – deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet. The findings come from a new analysis of data from Nasa’s Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018. The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years’ of vibrations – […]
Last month, two young paddleboarders found themselves stranded in the ocean, pushed 2,000 feet from the shore by strong winds and currents. Thanks to the deployment of a drone, rescuers kept an eye on them the whole time and safely brought them aboard a rescue boat within minutes. In North Carolina, the Oak Island Fire […]
As NASA debates the safety of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in the wake of multiple helium leaks and thruster issues, the agency is “getting more serious” about a backup plan to bring the ship’s two crew members back to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, officials said Wednesday. In that case — and no final decisions […]
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg There have been five mass coral-bleaching events at the Great Barrier Reef over the past nine years A study of samples taken from inside the bodies of centuries-old coral has revealed the threat climate change now poses to the Great Barrier Reef. Researchers in Australia say temperatures in and around the vast coral […]
Twenty years ago on an Indonesian island, scientists discovered fossils of an early human species that stood at about 3 1/2 feet tall, earning them the nickname “hobbits.” Now a new study suggests ancestors of the hobbits were even slightly shorter. “We did not expect that we would find smaller individuals from such an old […]
Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water face £168m fines by the industry regulator over historic sewage spills. The proposal will now go to public consultation and is part of Ofwat’s largest ever investigation into water company performance. The announcement comes amid growing public anger over the environmental and financial performance of some water companies. […]