(Newswise)–Ankylosaurs likely regulated their body temperature with convoluted nasal passages that acted as heat exchangers between air and body, according to a study published December 19 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jason Bourke from Ohio University, USA, and colleagues. Modern mammals and birds have long, convoluted nasal passages called turbinates that function as […]
Anchor Discovery Provides Clues In The Search For The Lost Ships Of Cortés
(Newswise)–In July of 1519, in a brazen act that would upend history, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered his men to sink all but one of the 11 ships they sailed from Cuba to Mexico on a supposed exploratory mission. Nearly five hundred years later, the fleet’s final resting place remains undiscovered. But an international collaboration […]
NASA’s Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm
PASADENA–New images from NASA’s Mars InSight lander show its robotic arm is ready to do some lifting. With a reach of nearly 6 feet (2 meters), the arm will be used to pick up science instruments from the lander’s deck, gently setting them on the Martian surface at Elysium Planitia, the lava plain where InSight […]
Explore Where the Sea Meets the Shore
LA JOLLA–Shorter days and lower tides mean Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is kicking off Tidepooling Adventure season. December through March offers the best times for tidepooling in Southern California as minus tides get lower and expose the hardy creatures that call the intersection of land and sea home. On […]
Amazonian Peatlands May Soon Switch From A Carbon Sink To A Carbon Source
(Newswise)–Until humans can find a way to geoengineer ourselves out of the climate disaster we’ve created, we must rely on natural carbon sinks, such as oceans and forests, to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. These ecosystems are deteriorating at the hand of climate change. Once destroyed, they may not only stop absorbing carbon […]
NASA Sends New Research, Hardware To Space Station On SpaceX Mission
Experiments in forest observation, protein crystal growth and in-space fuel transfer demonstration are heading to the International Space Station following the launch Wednesday of SpaceX’s 16th mission for NASA under the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The company’s Dragon spacecraft lifted off at 1:16 p.m. EST on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex […]
NASA InSight Lander Arrives On Martian Surface To Learn What Lies Beneath
Mars has just received its newest robotic resident. NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander successfully touched down on the Red Planet after an almost seven-month, 300-million-mile journey from Earth. InSight’s two-year mission will be to study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all celestial bodies with rocky […]
Scientists Find Corals in Deeper Waters Under Stress Too
LA JOLLA–(Newswise)–Coral reefs around the world are threatened by warming ocean temperatures, a major driver of coral bleaching. Scientists routinely use sea-surface temperature data collected by satellites to predict the temperature-driven stress on reef communities, but new research shows that surface measurements alone may not accurately predict the full extent of thermal stress on deeper […]
Archaeologists Identify Ancient North American Mounds Using New Image Analysis Technique
Binghamton, N.Y. (Newswise)–Researchers at Binghamton University, State University at New York have used a new image-based analysis technique to identify once-hidden North American mounds, which could reveal valuable information about pre-contact Native Americans. “Across the East Coast of the United States, some of the most visible forms for pre-contact Native American material culture can be […]
Previously Overlooked “Coral Ticks” Weaken Degraded Reefs
(Newswise)–A previously overlooked predator— a thumbnail-sized snail—could be increasing the pressure on coral reefs already weakened by the effects of overfishing, rising ocean temperatures, pollution and other threats. The snail attacks a key coral species that may offer the last hope for bringing back degraded Pacific reefs. The snail damages coral by sucking fluid from […]