The Great Dying, Earth’s largest-ever mass extinction, wiped out 90 percent of life on Earth 250 million years ago, but this devastating period was followed by ‘a dramatic rebirth of life’ where animals evolved to be faster and smarter than their dead ancestors , according to a new study. A team of paleontologists, led by … Read more
A meteorite that hit Earth more than 200 years ago could fundamentally change our understanding of how Mars was formed. Most of what we know about the Red Planet’s interior comes from three space rocks that landed on our planet after being blasted off Mars by impacts. They include the Chassingy meteorite, which came down … Read more
When you think about precious crown jewels, a 400-year-old gallstone is probably not what springs to mind! However, a team of scientists have found something very valuable inside calcified balls extracted from a 16th century Italian prince’s gallbladder. Remnants of early E. Coli were found to be present, and researchers from McMaster University in Canada … Read more
The fastest nova star explosion ever seen has been recorded by astronomers. They watched as a white dwarf star ‘stole’ gas from a nearby red giant and triggered a blast bright enough to be witnessed from Earth with binoculars. Named V1674 Hercules, the nova explosion occurred 100 light-years away on June 12 last year but … Read more
When Jules Verne wrote ‘A Journey to the Center of the Earth’ over 150 years ago, he imagined a land of glowing crystals, turbulent seas, prehistoric animals and giant mushrooms. But what actually lies beneath our feet remains a mystery – even today we know more about the rings of Saturn than the interior of … Read more
