Science

Representative Image (AI-generated) Its appearance told one story; its DNA tells another. For decades, the extinct Miracinonyx trumani was known as the “American cheetah” because its long legs, slender body and adaptations for speed made it look remarkably similar to Africa’s modern cheetahs. But a new genetic study has overturned that long-held picture. Published in…

The system is called WHOLISTIC, short form for Whole Organism Live Imaging System for recording Tissue and IntraCellular activity. The body is never truly quiet. Even when an animal appears to be resting, billions of cells are sending signals, responding to changes and coordinating with organs far beyond their immediate surroundings. For scientists, the challenge…

A busy bird feeding station. Image Credit: Tim Felce/Wikimedia Commons Food and water stations intended to help wild birds may also help a potentially deadly parasite spread between species, according to a study published in Molecular Ecology. Researchers found that Trichomonas gallinae, a parasite that causes trichomonosis, was widespread among birds and in shared food…

Glacier in Antarctica. Image Credit: Jason Auch/Wikipedia Scientists have directly linked surface meltwater to a sudden increase in the speed of an Antarctic glacier, after drilling deep into Langhovde Glacier in East Antarctica. The study titled ‘Acceleration of an Antarctic outlet glacier driven by surface meltwater input to the base,’ found that water from melting…

PC: Study: Shell-Dense Island Off Culasawani, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji: Midden or Muddle? Archaeologists investigating Fiji’s Vanua Levu have identified a small coastal island whose sediments are made up largely of discarded shellfish remains. The site, near Culasawani on the island’s north coast, covers about 3,000 square metres and contains a shell-rich deposit that makes…

Coconut Husk. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Royal Society of Chemistry(RSC) Advances published a study which found that green coconut husk waste could remove 95.5% of Congo red dye from water within 80 minutes. The researchers modified the coconut-derived lignin by adding nitrogen-containing groups, creating what they called aminated lignin. Under the best conditions tested, only…

A former NASA engineer claims he has found a way to overcome Earth’s gravity, and all ears have perked up. Exodus Propulsion Technologies, a private company co-founded by Charles Buhler, an electrostatics specialist has made the claim, according to a report by Popular Mechanics. With Buhler having worked for NASA and Kennedy Space Centre, his…

A diver in a kelp forest off the coast of California. Image Credit: Ed Bierman/Wikipedia A school-led restoration project in Orange County, California, has helped bring back kelp forests while turning thousands of students into active participants in marine conservation. Since 2009, the organisation ‘Get Inspired’ has involved schools and volunteer scuba divers in efforts…

In an experiment, scientists shook living earthworms at high frequencies to see how their flexible bodies responded to vibration. What they found was unexpected: the worms developed waves that oscillated at half the frequency of the force driving them. According to the 2019 study published in Nature, titled ‘Excitation of Faraday-like body waves in vibrated…

A feral goat. Image Credit: Scott Bauer/Wikimedia commons The introduction of goats to Seychelles islands created a long-term conservation problem, with one of the earliest eradication efforts recorded on Aride Island in 1920. The study titled ‘Introduced mammals on Western Indian Ocean islands’ documents how introduced mammals became targets of conservation programmes across the Western…