credit – Rene Martin / American Museum of Natural History Birds-of-paradise have long dazzled us with their incredibly vibrant and varied plumage, but researchers studying the group have recently made an even more incredible discovery. Plumage on 37 of 45 birds-of-paradise species emit biofluorescence meaning molecules inside the feathers absorb UV light and release it … Read more
New lanternfly discovered in India – SWNS New species are being discovered at a faster rate than ever, suggests a new study—more than 16,000 every year—and the trend shows no sign of slowing. Scientists are predicting that the biodiversity among some groups, such as plants, fungi, arachnids, fish, and amphibians, is richer than previously believed. … Read more
An illustraion of the lemon world – credit, NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) An exoplanet located 2,000 light years from Earth is so unusual it’s given astronomers the idea that it could be a totally new type of object. That’s because it’s shaped like a lemon, with a small tip just like the fruit … Read more
– credit, Lazaro Viñola López via SWNS Burrowing bees generally prefer to make their nests in the open, but some 20,000 years ago their ancestors lived in a cave where they used the bones of prey animals rather than soft soil. The groundbreaking discovery was made in a Caribbean cave that narrowly escaped being turned … Read more
Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, one of the world’s largest mines, and supplier of half of US copper – Eric Prado Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Below the soil of a mining concession in Utah, a recent drill survey has discovered what might be North America’s largest-known deposit of so-called “critical minerals.” Turning up evidence … Read more
The submersible Fendouzhe being deployed off a Chinese icebreaker in the Arctic Ocean. Credit: Courtesy of the Fendouzhe Research Team One of the most remote and unexplored parts of the planet has been visited by a submersible crewed by Chinese geophysicists and marine scientists for the first time ever. Having been researched from the surface … Read more
Superman #1 via CGC and Heritage Auctions Their mother often boasted to her three sons that she had very valuable comic books upstairs, but they never sought to verify or explore her claim. Now, her Superman No.1 comic book has become the most valuable one ever auctioned, after hauling in $9.1 million on November 20th. … Read more
– credit, Thomas Bruen Olsen / University Museum of Bergen A hiker in Norway discovered a one-of-a-kind wild reindeer trap that Iron age inhabitants would have used to catch their dinner en masse. Alongside the large wooden trap was a trove of hunting supplies and other artifacts, revealing a wealth of information about the culture and … Read more
Two musical pieces written by Johann Sebastian Bach were recently performed for the first time ever, more than 300 years after they were composed. Both written for the organ, they are believed to date from the great composer’s very early career, when he worked as a organ tutor in Thuringia. Germany’s Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer … Read more
Dunpharlain, CC license Among the world’s manifold disease burdens, antibiotic resistant bacteria hold a special place of concern. But recent evidence points to the malaria parasite also developing resistance to drugs that have been working to killed it off for the last quarter-century. Therefore, news that a major drug trial looking at the efficacy of … Read more