Tag: Science Daily

In 1954, a powerful earthquake shook Northern California near Humboldt Bay, baffling scientists for decades. Most quakes in the region come from the Gorda Plate, but this one didn’t fit the pattern. After digging through old records, modern models, and eyewitness accounts, researchers now believe the quake originated on the...

Scientists have identified a new giant lizard, Bolg amondol, from Utah’s Kaiparowits Formation, named after Tolkien’s goblin prince. Part of the monstersaur lineage, Bolg reveals that multiple large lizards coexisted with dinosaurs, suggesting a thriving ecosystem. Its discovery in long-stored fossils underscores how museums hold hidden scientific gems.

In just one afternoon, scientists used a nanoparticle “megalibrary” to find a catalyst that matches or exceeds iridium’s performance in hydrogen fuel production, at a fraction of the cost.

Researchers demonstrated how amino acids could spontaneously attach to RNA under early Earth-like conditions using thioesters, providing a long-sought clue to the origins of protein synthesis. This finding bridges the “RNA world” and “thioester world” theories and suggests how life’s earliest peptides may have formed.

Whale sharks in Indonesia are suffering widespread injuries, with a majority scarred by human activity. Researchers found bagans and boats to be the biggest threats, especially as shark tourism grows. Protecting these gentle giants may be as simple as redesigning fishing gear and boat equipment.

In Taiwan’s forests, researchers discovered a clever hunting trick by the sheet web spider Psechrus clavis. Instead of immediately devouring captured fireflies, the spiders allow them to glow in the web, luring other insects, sometimes even more fireflies, into the trap. Experiments with LED lights confirmed this eerie strategy: webs...

Scientists have discovered that waxworm caterpillars can break down polyethylene plastic, one of the most common and persistent pollutants on Earth. These “plastivores” metabolize plastic into body fat within days, offering a striking potential solution to the global waste crisis. But there’s a twist: on a plastic-only diet, the caterpillars...

Deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, a bright yellow worm thrives where no other animals dare, in toxic hydrothermal vents saturated with arsenic and sulfide. By cleverly turning these poisons into a golden mineral once prized by Renaissance painters, the worm neutralizes the deadly threat and survives in one of Earth’s...

Ancient forests may have fueled a deep-sea oxygen boost nearly 390 million years ago, unlocking evolutionary opportunities for jawed fish and larger marine animals. New isotopic evidence shows that this permanent oxygenation marked a turning point in Earth’s history — a reminder of how fragile the ocean’s oxygen balance remains...

Even sharks’ famous tooth-regrowing ability may not save them from ocean acidification. Researchers found that future acidic waters cause shark teeth to corrode, crack, and weaken, threatening their effectiveness as hunting weapons and highlighting hidden dangers for ocean ecosystems.