In what could represent a milestone in ecological restoration, researchers have implemented a method capable of restoring peatlands at tens of thousands of oil and gas exploration sites in Western Canada. The project involves lowering the surface of these decommissioned sites, known as well pads, and transplanting native moss onto...
One of Earth’s ancient volcanic mysteries solved
A new study traces a 120-million-year-old 'super-eruption' to its source, offering new insights into Earth's complex geological history.
Landmark experiment sheds new light on the origins of consciousness
An experiment seven years in the making has uncovered new insights into the nature of consciousness and challenges two prominent, competing scientific theories: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT). The findings mark a pivotal moment in the goal to understand the elusive origins consciousness.
Giant croclike carnivore fossils found in the Caribbean
Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound -- that's a sebecid. Standing tall, with some species reaching 20 feet in length, they dominated South American landscapes after the extinction of dinosaurs until about 11 million years ago. Or at least, that's what paleontologists thought. A new study shows the Caribbean...
Global study links consumption of ultraprocessed foods to preventable premature deaths
A study analyzing data from nationally representative dietary surveys and mortality data from eight countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, United Kingdom, and United States) shows that premature deaths attributable to consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) increase significantly according to their share in individuals' total energy intake. The new...
Rainfall triggers extreme humid heat in tropics and subtropics
Scientists believe they have found a way to improve warning systems for vulnerable communities threatened by humid heatwaves, which are on the rise due to climate change and can be damaging and even fatal to human health. The study analysed how patterns of recent rainfall can interact with dry or...
Heart disease deaths worldwide linked to chemical widely used in plastics
Daily exposure to certain chemicals used to make plastic household items could be linked to more than 356,000 global deaths from heart disease in 2018 alone, a new analysis of population surveys shows. While the chemicals, called phthalates, are in widespread use globally, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia,...
Less intensive farming works best for agricultural soil
The less intensively you manage the soil, the better the soil can function. Such as not plowing as often or using more grass-clover mixtures as cover crops. Surprisingly, it applies to both conventional and organic farming.
Animal energy usage made visible through video
Strong methods do exist for measuring animal movement in the context of energy expenditure, but these are limited by the physical size of the equipment used. Now, in a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers from the Marine Biophysics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and...
Affordable hydrogen fuel production using surface reconstruction strategy
Researchers found a strategy to create catalysts that make the production of hydrogen for clean fuel more efficient and affordable.