A recent assessment of glacier flow in Western Palmer Land on the Antarctic Peninsula reveals that sea-ice loss in the region isn’t as drastic as previously reported. Using five different satellites, researchers tracked changes in the speed of more than 30 glaciers over the past 25 years. Their findings provide evidence that Western Palmer Land […]
Category: Paper of Interest
Newly discovered feathered dinosaur sheds light on the evolution of flight 
A newly discovered troodontid species is the earliest example of a bird-like dinosaur with asymmetric feathers—a physical trait associated with the evolution of flight. The new species, named Jianianhualong tengi, was described from a nearly complete skeleton with preserved feathers. The fossil dates from the Early Cretaceous period— approximately 100-145 million years ago—and was found in north-eastern […]
Burgess Shale fossil helps trace the evolution of the mandible
The mandibulates, who get their name from their distinctive jaws, make up the largest group of arthropods. But the evolutionary origin of their unique bodies has remained murky until a recent discovery at the Burgess Shale Formation in British Columbia. A Tokummia katalepsis fossil found in the 508-million-year-old Marble Canyon deposit possesses physical traits typical […]
Surviving outside the womb: how an artificial womb supported preemie lambs for a month
The development of premature lambs was supported in an external artificial womb environment for four weeks – the longest animal survival outside of the uterus recorded to date. Researchers have constructed an extra-uterine environment which comprises a polyethylene film bag with an oxygen circuit via an umbilical cord interface, which mimics the environment inside the […]
Fossil groundwater is still vulnerable to modern contaminants
Water that has been stored in the Earth’s crust for thousands of years can still be contaminated by modern chemicals, a new analysis suggests. Researchers analyzed groundwater from over 6,000 wells around the world, and concluded that old groundwater accounts for the majority of groundwater from wells deeper than 250 meters. But the team made […]
The most comprehensive evolutionary map of dog breeds
Researchers have assembled the most comprehensive map of dog breeds to date, using genetic sequences from 161 modern breeds. The largest evolutionary tree also reveals new information about the original purposes for breeding certain types of dogs; tells the story of the dogs that accompanied humans across the Bering land bridge; and the map could […]
How common murre parents signal to each other it’s their turn to babysit
Common murre pairs (also known as the common guillemot, and found in abundance off the coast of Newfoundland) have an equal share in parenting duties: whether it’s brooding the chick in the nest or foraging for fish, parents take turns doing their part. A new study sheds light on the significance of the so-called nest […]
Egyptian fossil leads to discovery of new extinct carnivore species
A 34-million-year-old Egyptian fossil has identified a new member of the ancient carnivore species, hyaenodonts. Researchers gave the new species the name Masrasector nananubis, referring to Anubis, the dog-headed Egyptian god of mummification and afterlife. Masrasector nananubis were likely fast-moving, terrestrial meat-eaters about the size of a modern skunk. This is a significant discovery to […]
Survey charts meltwater and streams across Antarctica
For the first time ever, researchers have mapped out the movement of water across Antarctica in an intricate network of lakes and streams. Researchers catalogued satellite images and aerial photographs of the continent starting from the late 1940s. In their analysis of the images, researchers found nearly 700 seasonal systems of interconnected ponds, channels and […]
Feathers tell stories of North American ducks’ habitat and travels
A recent analysis of feathers collected from five duck species indicated a boreal habitat origin place, and confirmed the importance of the Saskatchewan River Delta as a key migration stopover for North American waterfowl. This research involved extensive collaboration between scientists and hunters. Hunters collected feather samples from 236 ducks around the delta during migration […]
Natural and anthropogenic influences led to mountain snow loss in Western United States
Both natural and anthropogenic factors have led to the decrease of snowcaps on the Western US mountains, a recent study concludes. Study authors simulated snowpack conditions by using a climate model in two configurations: one with contributions only from natural variability; and a second with contributions from both natural variability and anthropogenic activities. Researchers found the […]
Late Pleistocene extinction of large animals driven by excessive moisture
Analysis of ancient bones holds the key to the cause of extinction of many megafaunal animals—such as giant sloths and saber-toothed cats—over 11,000 years ago. A new study suggests that a sudden rapid increase in moisture, possibly resulting from melting permafrost and glaciers, occurred right before these large animals became extinct. An international team of […]
More children are diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in Canada than in most countries in the world
Rates of inflammatory bowel disease in Canadian children are among the highest in the world, and they have risen annually over the past decade. A new study identified children under 16 in five Canadian provinces who were diagnosed with IBD between 1999 to 2010. In those 11 years, cases of IBD in children five and […]
Retreating glacier is making a Yukon river disappear
The melting of a massive glacier is changing the course of a Yukon river, new study finds. Meltwater from the retreating Kaskawulsh Glacier, which used to flow through the Slims River in Kluane National Park, is now flowing through a different river. This is the first modern case of “river piracy,” a phenomenon where the […]
Coral reef death forces local fish species to learn new behaviours
Death and degradation of coral reefs bring about a major lifestyle change for the entire ecosystem; some local fish are then learn new behaviours from their peers, as results of a new study suggest. Researchers studied six species of damselfish, two of which lived in live coral, two inhabited rubble (dead coral), and others could […]
Fossil leads to recognition of birdlike reptiles that preceded early dinosaurs
Certain physical traits previously thought to be unique to dinosaurs evolved much earlier, a new study suggests. Fossil analysis of a newly described species, named Teleocrater rhadinus, places this carnivorous animal in a new spot on the evolutionary tree, directly after the split between birds and crocodilians. Teleocrater marks the first of an entirely new clade […]
