/ en-us Â鶹ŇůÔş internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ŇůÔşics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the natural world's most iconic sites. /news/2025-07-fossil-discovery-reveals-grand-canyon.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Jul 2025 14:00:07 EDT news672478890 Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks—essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate 'rocks' in the surrounding soil. /news/2025-07-fig-trees-atmospheric-stone-reveals.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 07 Jul 2025 08:49:04 EDT news671096942 The calcitic layers of the eggshells of archosaurs (including crocodilians and birds) and turtles are composed of distinctive crystalline structures known as eggshell units. Those growing from the shell membrane are called primary eggshell units (PEUs), while those forming within the calcitic layer are called secondary eggshell units (SEUs). Although rare in modern bird eggs, SEUs are common in dinosaur eggs. Due to the lack of in-depth research on this structure, however, scientists are uncertain whether they are biogenic or abiogenic in origin. /news/2025-05-dinosaur-eggshell-biogenic-secondary.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 30 May 2025 14:16:02 EDT news667833361 Sharks have been evolving for more than 450 million years, developing skeletons not from bone, but from a tough, mineralized form of cartilage. These creatures are more than just fast swimmers—they're built for efficiency. Their spines act like natural springs, storing and releasing energy with each tailbeat, allowing them to move through the water with smooth, powerful grace. /news/2025-05-sharkitecture-nanoscale-blacktip-shark-skeleton.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 20 May 2025 11:01:04 EDT news666957661 A research team has developed an innovative biomimetic dual-mode magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) nanoprobe for detecting early-stage liver fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). /news/2025-04-dual-mode-mri-nanoprobe-mimics.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:01:03 EDT news664545661 New research reveals that PET-based glitter microplastics can actively influence biomineralization processes in marine environments, raising fresh concerns about the long-term environmental impact of microplastic pollution on marine ecosystems. /news/2025-04-microplastics-pollution-glitter-disrupt-marine.html Environment Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:30:00 EDT news662729393 International scientists have uncovered the oldest known phosphatic stromatoporoid sponge, dating back approximately 480 million years to the Early Ordovician, in South China. /news/2025-03-oldest-phosphatic-stromatoporoid-sponge-south.html Plants & Animals Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:30:01 EDT news662656871 A study led by researchers at the American Museum of Natural History presents the oldest known example in the fossil record of an evolutionary arms race. These 517-million-year-old predator-prey interactions occurred in the ocean covering what is now South Australia between a small, shelled animal distantly related to brachiopods and an unknown marine animal capable of piercing its shell. /news/2025-01-fossil-reveals-oldest-evolutionary-arms.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 03 Jan 2025 11:00:01 EST news655115041 New findings, published in Royal Society Open Science, have revealed that changes in ocean density have a significant impact on the rate at which marine plankton incorporate carbon into their shells. This has profound implications for carbon cycling and the ocean's ability to absorb atmospheric CO2 in response to climate change. /news/2024-12-ocean-density-key-driver-carbon.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 04 Dec 2024 09:08:14 EST news652525689 Polymetallic nodules are potato-sized formations on the ocean floor that are rich in minerals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Their concentration of rare, economically important minerals has made the nodules the focus of controversial deep-sea mining enterprises. /news/2024-09-unexpected-role-magnetic-microbes-deep.html Earth Sciences Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:28:03 EDT news646583282 When we think about bacteria, we may imagine single cells swimming in solution. However, similarly to humans, bacterial cells often socialize, using surfaces to coalesce into complex heterogeneous communities called biofilms. Within a group, bacteria in the biofilm are extremely robust in resisting various environmental stresses—a crucial feature making biofilm-associated infections extremely difficult to treat with antibiotics. /news/2024-09-bacteria-passive-physics-biofilms.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 13 Sep 2024 11:10:32 EDT news645444626 A study led by the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an innovative method that overcomes the limitations of traditional additive manufacturing (3D printing), significantly simplifying and accelerating the production of geometrically complex cellular ceramics. /news/2024-09-method-cellular-ceramic.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 10 Sep 2024 14:23:04 EDT news645196982 Ancient ocean temperatures are most commonly reconstructed by analyzing the ratio of different oxygen atoms in the calcium carbonate remains of fossils. However, this presents many challenges, including a combination of biological processes known as "vital effects" which are very noticeable in corals and can affect the data. /news/2024-08-perspectives-corals-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Aug 2024 07:34:27 EDT news641716464 The Cambrian fossil record indicates that most animal phyla had diversified and inhabited the Earth's oceans approximately 518 million years ago. But even though chordates—the group that includes vertebrates like humans—were part of this early animal diversification, they make up a relatively small portion of fossils from more than 50 Cambrian sites worldwide. /news/2024-07-soft-needle-oceanic-haystack-scientists.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:22:03 EDT news641128921 Biomineralized columns, stacked in layers like a sandwich gave Cambrian brachiopod shells their strength and flexibility 520 million years ago. /news/2024-04-scientists-organo-phosphatic-shells-brachiopods.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 18 Apr 2024 09:53:02 EDT news632652781 Exactly how does coral make its skeleton, a sea urchin grow a spine, or an abalone form the mother-of-pearl in its shell? A new study at the Advanced Light Source at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) revealed that this process of biomineralization, which sea creatures use to lock carbon away in their bodies, is more complex and diverse than previously thought. /news/2024-03-nanoscale-shells-coral-reveals-biomineralization.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 26 Mar 2024 13:06:03 EDT news630677161 In a bit of biological magic, some tiny, jellyfish-like creatures learned eons ago how to weave seawater into durable, life-sustaining, rocky coral reefs, which provide billions in economic benefits. /news/2024-03-technique-scientists-stave-coral-reef.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:04:03 EST news629046241 Many organisms can produce minerals or mineralized tissue. A well-known example is nacre, which is used in jewelry because of its iridescent colors. Chemically speaking, its formation begins with a mollusk extracting calcium and carbonate ions from water. However, the exact processes and conditions that lead to nacre, a composite of biopolymers and platelets of crystalline calcium carbonate, are the subject of intense debate among experts, and different theories exist. /news/2024-01-deciphers-biomineralization-mechanism.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Fri, 12 Jan 2024 13:12:07 EST news624287524 A team of evolutionary biologists at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, has learned more about how trilobites curled themselves into a ball based on a rare find in the museum's collection. In their paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes how the unique specimen was found and how it was studied to learn more about its characteristics. /news/2023-12-rare-museum-specimen-reveals-insights.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 20 Dec 2023 11:20:01 EST news622293219 A study published in Nature Chemistry reveals a remarkable leap in the synthesis of artificial cells using synthetic materials, which was achieved by an international team led by Dr. Andrea Belluati, Prof. Nico Bruns (both TU Darmstadt) and Dr. Sètuhn Jimaja (University of Fribourg). /news/2023-12-breakthrough-synthesis-artificial-cells.html Biochemistry Polymers Tue, 05 Dec 2023 10:13:41 EST news620993619 Magnetotactic bacteria can form magnetofossils like magnetic nanocrystals as observed in the Martian meteorite ALH84001, which held a special place in the field of astrobiology primarily in the early 90s. While the flourishing of interest in magnetotactic bacteria has waned over time, a resurgence of magnetosome formation has led to a renaissance of magnetotactic bacteria (abbreviated as MTB) in astrobiology. /news/2023-10-renaissance-magnetotactic-bacteria-astrobiology.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 02 Oct 2023 09:50:01 EDT news615458522 Life on Earth began from a single-celled microbe, while the rise to the multicellular world in which we live arose due a vital chemical process known as biomineralization, during which living organisms produce hardened mineralized tissue, such as skeletons. Not only did this phenomenon give rise to the plethora of body plans we see today, but it also had a major impact on the planet's carbon cycle. /news/2023-09-ediacaran-fossils-reveal-biomineralization-expansion.html Earth Sciences Sun, 24 Sep 2023 06:00:01 EDT news614602339 Researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the University of Chicago have discovered semiconductor nanocluster precipitation within the periplasmic space of Gram-negative bacteria for efficient solar-driven chemical production. The findings were published in Science Advances on July 21. /news/2023-07-exploring-potential-periplasmic-biosynthesis-efficient.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:14:03 EDT news609754441 For the first time ever, researchers have been able to study the form of microorganisms from the early days of evolution some 1.5 billion years ago. These microorganisms are of exceptional importance for our understanding of the development of early life. /news/2023-07-discovery-oldest-3d-preserved-microorganisms.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:52:51 EDT news609414767 A team of chemists has developed an entirely new method for generating critically important fluorochemicals that bypasses the hazardous product hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas. The findings, published in Science, could achieve an immense impact in improving the safety and carbon footprint of a growing global industry. The srticle is titled "Fluorochemicals from fluorspar via a phosphate-enabled mechanochemical process that bypasses HF." /news/2023-07-nature-breakthrough-hazard-free-production-fluorochemicals.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 20 Jul 2023 14:00:01 EDT news609069016 Although technically challenging, space experiments are a scientifically important aspect of astrobiology and astrochemistry investigations. The international space station (ISS) offers an excellent example of a long-term research platform orbiting the Earth, with highly successful advances to implement experiments in space, which has contributed to a wealth of scientific data in the past few decades. Future space platforms present additional opportunities for experiments in astrobiology and astrochemistry. /news/2023-06-future-space-platforms-astrobiology-astrochemistry.html Space Exploration Astrobiology Thu, 29 Jun 2023 09:43:10 EDT news607250585 Recently, flexible and foldable devices have developed at a dramatic rate. More and more foldable devices appear in people's lives. Long-term service requires the folded parts to endure repeated deformation which might cause fatigue damage to the devices. Consequently, the damage will affect the normal function of the devices. /news/2023-06-scientists-fatigue-resistance-materials-bivalve.html Materials Science Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:00:04 EDT news606646177 An international research team led by Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, determined that Troodon, a dinosaur very close to modern birds, was a warm-blooded animal (an endotherm), but had a reproductive system similar to that of modern reptiles. /news/2023-04-analysis-dinosaur-eggshells-bird-like-troodon.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 03 Apr 2023 15:10:01 EDT news599746422 A Rutgers-led team of scientists studying virus-host interactions of a globally abundant, armor-plated marine algae, Emiliania huxleyi, has found that the circular, chalk plates the algae produce can act as catalysts for viral infection, which has vast consequences for trillions of microscopic oceanic creatures and the global carbon cycle. /news/2023-03-microscopic-chalk-discs-oceans-play.html Environment Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:04:41 EST news597341078 Nearly 100 million years ago, the Earth experienced an extreme environmental disruption that choked oxygen from the oceans and led to elevated marine extinction levels that affected the entire globe. /news/2023-01-malformed-seashells-ancient-sediment-clues.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 19 Jan 2023 11:00:04 EST news593333500