7,844 results
7,844 results for: Geology
- Life
Flamboyant fishes evolved an explosion of color as seas rose and fell
Fluctuations in sea level due to cycling ice ages may have powered an engine in tropical seas that pumped out gaudy fish species.
- Archaeology
Stone Age culture bloomed inland, not just along Africa’s coasts
Homo sapiens living more than 600 kilometers from the coast around 105,000 years ago collected crystals that may have had ritual meaning.
- Paleontology
The dinosaur-killing asteroid impact radically altered Earth’s tropical forests
The asteroid impact fundamentally reset the nature of Earth’s tropical rainforests, decreasing diversity at first and making them permanently darker.
- Space
Crushed space rocks hint at exoplanets’ early atmospheric makeup
Experiments that heat crushed-up meteorites are helping astronomers understand what to look for in exoplanet atmospheres.
- Science & Society
2,500 years ago, the philosopher Anaxagoras brought science’s spirit to Athens
Natural philosopher Anaxagoras promoted the view that phenomena should be explained by natural processes, not attributed to the actions of the gods.
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Materials that made us
From our homes and cities to our electronics and clothing, the stuff of daily life is dramatically different from decades ago.
- Earth
Reawakened Yellowstone geyser isn’t a sign of imminent explosion
The 2018 reactivation of Yellowstone’s Steamboat Geyser isn’t a portent of dangerous volcanic or hydrothermal eruptions, scientists say.
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Other worlds
The past century of astronomy has been a series of revolutions, each one kicking Earth a bit farther to the margins of the universe.
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- Humans
Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands
Satellite-tracked buoys suggest that long ago, a remote Japanese archipelago was reached by explorers on purpose, not accidentally.
- Life
Giant worms may have burrowed into the ancient seafloor to ambush prey
20-million-year-old tunnels unearthed in Taiwan may have been home to creatures that ambushed prey similar to today’s monstrous bobbit worms.
- Humans
Fossils and ancient DNA paint a vibrant picture of human origins
Paleoanthropologists have sketched a rough timeline of how human evolution played out, centering the early action in Africa.
