Scientists from Japan and Taiwan may have solved an old mystery: how did ancient people with simple tools and little scientific knowledge make long, dangerous ocean trips to new places? To test their ideas, the researchers made a trip of their own in a canoe they built from a tree using stone tools.
Published in “Archives: Articles”
The world's smallest snake - the Barbados threadsnake - hadn't been seen in almost 20 years. Scientists were beginning to think that the tiny snake might be extinct. But in March, researchers searching a forest in Barbados found one of the snakes under a rock.
Last Wednesday, the United Nations' highest court ruled that countries must protect people from the "urgent" threat of the climate crisis. The court said countries which don't take steps to fight global warming might have to pay for the damage they've done. The court's opinion could lead to more lawsuits over the climate crisis.
Scott Shaffer is a biologist who studies birds. In 2018, he was studying data from a tracking device he had placed on a gull. He was surprised to find that the bird had gone for an 80-mile (129-kilometer) ride on a truck carrying food scraps. And the bird had done it twice in just one week.
If you feel like yesterday just flew by, you're not wrong. Yesterday was the second shortest day this year - about a thousandth of a second faster than normal. For a number of reasons, the Earth will spin slightly faster on several days this summer.
On Saturday, China began building what is expected to be the world's largest dam. The dam, which is in Tibet, will produce massive amounts of electricity. But it has upset people in India and Bangladesh, who are worried about how the dam will affect them.
Scientists at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom have created what they call "the world's smallest violin". The violin is made of metal and is so tiny that it can only be seen with a powerful microscope. The project was designed to test new technology for building extremely small things.
Scientists studying a black "goo" found on a research ship in the Great Lakes have learned that the goo wasn't just unusual - it actually contained a life form never heard of before. The slime still has scientists puzzling over several mysteries.
The US Congress is deciding this week whether it will go along with a request from US President Donald Trump to cut over $1 billion in support for public radio and TV stations in the US. The deadline for the decision is Friday, July 18.
Librarians at Harvard Law School have learned that they own an original version of one of the world's most important documents – the Magna Carta. Until recently, Harvard thought that the document, which it bought for just $27.50, was a copy. Instead, It's a valuable historical document worth millions of dollars.
Scientists have made a surprising discovery about one of Australia's migrating moths - Bogong moths use the stars to help guide them on their long trips across Australia. The moths are the first insects known to use the stars as a guide while migrating.