The earliest known date of human habitation in North America has been pushed back thousands of years, after the discovery of much older footprints that upended common belief. The fossilized footprints were discovered at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, and will force scientists to rethink their understanding of just when in history human beings inhabited the continent.
Humanity has developed many mind-blowing inventions throughout the course of history, but many of those owe their inspiration to Mother Nature. Some are even literally copying nature, learning from the invisible genius behind the evolution of plants and animals. That's true not just for structures like buildings or robot fish, but now even for tiny microchips. Engineers at Northwestern University have, in fact, made the world's smallest flying man-made structures that almost literally copy certain airborne seeds.
Impossible Foods released their first commercially available Impossible Pork product today. This is the latest meat-like products from the company, Impossible Port Made From Plants. The first place this food will be available is at the Momofuku Ssäm Bar at Pier 17 in New York City, NY, USA, as served by Chef David Chang. After that, it'll be available in places like Hong Kong starting on October, and Singapore later this year.
Climate change isn't just making some species extinct, but forcing others to "shape shift" in order to better handle rising global temperatures. While the vast majority of experts warn that, unless humans tackle factors like emissions and fossil fuel use, Earth's environment will be irreversibly altered, new research suggests the animal kingdom is turning to new physical characteristics in order to better deal with excess heat.
Australia, you've done it again! A study published this month studied the behaviors of invasive populations of cane toads in Australia. These toads, it would seem, have evolved to target not only competition in other species, but in their own. Scientists have shown that these toads - in their tadpole stage - have evolved "both a strong behavioral attraction to the vulnerable hatchling stage and an increased propensity to cannibalize these younger conspecifics."
Nerf made a blaster for catnip discs that could've been so much more spectacular than it turned out to be. It's made to be as basic as possible, delivering an experience to the user (and their cat) for approximately $15. Unfortunate for the user, the idea has far more potential than what's actually in the package.
According to newly published research, dogs are sensitive to lies. More specifically, evidence was found that pet dogs have mechanisms underlying sensitivity to others' beliefs. It seems likely that dogs have what it takes to sense whether a person speaking with them is being deceptive, whether they believe what they are saying is true. Tests were run on a group of 260 dogs to see if they were able to distinguish between human true (TB) and false beliefs (FB).
A newly published video shows a swarm of mosquitoes form into a literal cyclone of buzzing chaos as they terrorize a remote eastern Russian village. Though dramatic in its visual nature and beyond annoying, the mosquitoes weren't actually a danger to nearby people. Instead, the insects were worked up into a massive mating frenzy spurred, in part, by climate change.
Were it not for a mysterious near mass-extinction event roughly 19 million years ago, the oceans could be filled with a whole lot more sharks than they are today. Those prone to galeophobica should probably look away, because a new study of deep sea shark tooth remains suggest populations could've been exponentially higher had the marine predators not faced a dinosaur-style wipeout.
Darwin's Arch, an iconic rock formation in the Pacific Ocean near the Galapagos Islands, has collapsed. The structure was notable for its jutting, squared pillars, and rounded tunnel-like entrance, making it a popular photography attraction and sightseeing destination for tourists. Officials believe the arch collapsed due to natural erosion.
The skull you're looking at was in pieces when it was discovered. After a whole heck of a lot of work, the physical remnants were put together again for this photo. But it's the tiniest of pieces we care about today. It's the DNA this 45,000 year old skull provided that's placed it in the headlines this week.
Elon Musk's Neuralink may be busy implanting brain chips in animals, but the co-founder of the brain-computer interface startup is also thinking of rather more outlandish experiments, including a real-life "Jurassic Park." Unlike the movie, the goal wouldn't be resurrecting ancient dino DNA, however, and fingers-crossed it also wouldn't involve loosed-lizard rampages.