The long-held origin story for our species is that we descended from ancestral hominids that emerged 200,000 years ago from a region of Africa. However, some scientists are now arguing that we evolved from hominids in Africa in a complicated fashion that involves the entire continent, and not one particular region, writes Ed Yong for The Atlantic. The biggest evidence for … [Read more...] about Archaeologists Update the Story of Human Origins
Scientists Estimate That a Quadrillion Diamonds Are Hidden Within Earth
A new study in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems reveals that the value of diamonds would be very different if humans had better access to subterranean rock, reports Sarah Sloat for Inverse. Roberta Rudnick, an earth science professor at the University of California is part of an international team that discovered there may be more than a quadrillion tons of diamonds … [Read more...] about Scientists Estimate That a Quadrillion Diamonds Are Hidden Within Earth
Ocean Circulation Is the Weakest It’s Been in 1,500 Years
The Atlantic Meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)—a key conveyor belt for ocean water and air, creating the weather—is slowing down, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Seth Borenstein reports for AP on the slowdown in circulation, a crucial part of Earth’s climate. Warm water moves north from the tropics, off the U.S. East Coast and … [Read more...] about Ocean Circulation Is the Weakest It’s Been in 1,500 Years
Biologists Uncover a Great White Shark Nursery
As fascinating and awe-inspiring as they may be, we know very little about great white sharks. Basic facts like where they mate, where the females go to birth, and where the pups live before swimming to rejoin the adults in the open ocean is still a mystery, even to biologists, writes Peter Hess for Inverse. Now, a team of scientists led by evolutionary biologist Toby … [Read more...] about Biologists Uncover a Great White Shark Nursery
Scientists Transfer Memory Between Snails Using Strings of RNA
Scientists successfully transfer long-term memory between snails by injecting strings of RNA into a group of mollusks. RNA, a chain of nucleic acids that carries information cells need to create proteins, was the subject of a study conducted by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles. The team set out to discover whether RNA can transfer memories from one … [Read more...] about Scientists Transfer Memory Between Snails Using Strings of RNA