Researchers investigating crops grown in soil contaminated by the 2015 mining disaster in Brazil discovered that toxic metals are moving from the earth into edible plants. Bananas, cassava, and cocoa were found to absorb elements like lead and cadmium, with bananas showing a potential health risk for children under six....
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Ancient DNA solves 12,000-year-old mystery of rare genetic growth disorder
An Ice Age double burial in Italy has yielded a stunning genetic revelation. DNA from a mother and daughter who lived over 12,000 years ago shows that the younger had a rare inherited growth disorder, confirmed through mutations in a key bone-growth gene. Her mother carried a milder version of...
Massive magma surge sparked 28,000 Santorini earthquakes
When tens of thousands of earthquakes shook Santorini, the cause wasn’t just shifting tectonic plates—it was rising magma. Scientists tracked about 300 million cubic meters of molten rock pushing up through the crust, triggering intense seismic swarms as it fractured the surrounding rock. Advanced AI analysis and seafloor instruments revealed...
The human exposome could change everything we know about disease
Scientists are launching an ambitious global effort to map the “human exposome” — the lifelong mix of environmental and chemical exposures that drive most diseases. Backed by new partnerships with governments, UNESCO, and international science advisory bodies, the initiative is rapidly expanding across continents. Powered by AI and advanced data...
Roman mosaic in Britain reveals a 2,000 year old Trojan War secret
A remarkable Roman mosaic found in Rutland turns out to tell a forgotten version of the Trojan War. Rather than Homer’s famous epic, it reflects a lost Greek tragedy by Aeschylus, featuring vivid scenes of Achilles and Hector. Its artistic patterns echo designs from across the ancient Mediterranean, some dating...
60,000 years ago humans were already using poisoned arrows
Sixty thousand years ago, humans in southern Africa were already mastering nature’s chemistry. Scientists have discovered chemical traces of poison from the deadly gifbol plant on ancient quartz arrowheads found in South Africa — the oldest direct evidence of arrow poison ever identified. The find reveals that these early hunters...
Sea Turtles are Nesting Earlier – but Producing Fewer Eggs, Less Often: New Research
A new 17-year study of loggerhead sea turtles nesting in Cabo Verde reveals exactly this tension.
How can we Reverse Biodiversity Loss?
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, highlights the importance of climate policies in reversing biodiversity loss across the planet, and points to amphibians as the group of vertebrates particularly affected by the combined effects of multiple threats.
Corals in Extreme Coastal Bays Show Greater Resilience to Climate Stress
Corals living in coastal bays with strongly fluctuating temperatures and environmental conditions are better able to withstand heat and other stressors than their counterparts on more stable reefs.
New Research Reveals How Warming Climate Is Changing “Troublesome” Glacier Behaviour
A global analysis of glacier surging, led by the University of Portsmouth, reveals the hazards they cause, and how climate change is making their behaviour increasingly difficult to predict.