Youngsters can take to the water as early as 2 days old Open water swimming is not for the fainthearted, especially when air and water temperatures are frigid. So how do furry Weddell seal pups born on the Antarctic sea ice keep on swimming? Although their blanket of fluffy insulation works fine when dry, as […]
An international team of astronomers observed 2020 XL5 and confirmed it is an Earth Trojan asteroid orbiting the sun along the same path as Earth. 2020 XL5 is the second, and larger, Earth Trojan asteroid discovered. The team of U.S. National Science Foundation researchers used images of the sky’s horizon at daybreak, captured by the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope […]
Permafrost — ground that has been permanently frozen for two or more years — makes up a large part of the Earth, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere. Permafrost is important for the planet’s climate, containing large amounts of biomass stored as methane and carbon dioxide, making tundra soil a carbon sink. However, permafrost’s innate […]
Genes evolved under intense poaching pressure In regions of Africa wracked by heavy poaching, scientists have observed an increasing number of African elephants without their iconic white tusks, prized in the multibillion-dollar wildlife black market. But there has been no direct evidence indicating how this was happening or why this trait was occurring exclusively in […]