A new study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is overturning a decades-old belief that Indigenous Hawaiians hunted native waterbirds to extinction. Instead, researchers found no scientific evidence supporting this claim and propose a more complex explanation involving climate change, invasive species, and shifts in land use—many occurring before...
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Mammal ancestors laid eggs, and this 250-million-year-old fossil finally proves it
In the aftermath of Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event, one unlikely survivor rose to dominate a shattered world: Lystrosaurus. Now, a stunning fossil discovery—an ancient egg containing a curled-up embryo—has finally answered a decades-old mystery about whether mammal ancestors laid eggs. Using advanced imaging technology, scientists confirmed that these resilient...
Scientists finally know where the Colorado River’s missing water is going
For years, water managers have been puzzled as the Colorado River kept delivering less water than expected—even when snowpack levels looked promising. New research reveals the missing piece: spring rain, or rather, the lack of it. Warmer, drier springs mean plants are soaking up more snowmelt before it can reach...
Parasitic Tapeworm — A Risk to Domestic Dogs and Humans — Found in Washington Coyotes
New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest.
Canadian Peatland Data Portal Debuts as a Landmark Tool for Climate Research and Policy
Peatlands cover upwards of 12 per cent of Canada’s landscape and store more carbon than all other ecosystems in the country combined, making them one of Canada’s most powerful natural climate allies.
Non-Producing Oil and Gas Wells Emit Microbial Methane at Rates 1,000 Times Higher Than Previously Estimated
Microbial methane leaking from non-producing oil and gas wells is being emitted at rates about 1,000 times higher than previously estimated, according to a new study led by McGill University researchers.
Africa’s forests have flipped from carbon sink to carbon source
Africa’s forests have undergone a shocking reversal, switching from carbon absorbers to carbon emitters after 2010. Researchers found that heavy deforestation in tropical regions has led to massive biomass losses, far outweighing any gains from regrowth elsewhere. This change could seriously undermine global efforts to slow climate change. Scientists warn...
Gray whales are entering San Francisco Bay and many aren’t surviving
Gray whales are beginning to break their long-established migration patterns, venturing into risky new territory like San Francisco Bay as climate change disrupts their Arctic food supply. But this unexpected detour is proving deadly: nearly one in five whales that enter the Bay don’t survive, with many struck by ships...
Light makes plants stronger but also holds them back
Light doesn’t just help plants grow—it may also quietly hold them back. Researchers have uncovered a surprising mechanism where light strengthens the “glue” between a plant’s outer skin and its inner tissues. This tighter bond, driven by a compound called p-coumaric acid, reinforces cell walls but also restricts how much...
110,000-year-old discovery rewrites human history: Neanderthals and Homo sapiens worked together
The first-ever published research on Tinshemet Cave reveals that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in the mid-Middle Paleolithic Levant not only coexisted but actively interacted, sharing technology, lifestyles, and burial customs. These interactions fostered cultural exchange, social complexity, and behavioral innovations, such as formal burial practices and the symbolic use of...