Ancient larvae built predator-thwarting mazes
Science News, November 2015Modern animals such as rodents and platypuses dig underground labyrinths to confound predators. So did ancient insect larvae, new research suggests.
New recipe for diamonds: Just add acid
Science News, November 2015A boost in acidity deep inside Earth may yield some serious bling.
Eocene temperature spike caused by half as much CO2 as once thought
Science News, November 2015The hottest time since dinosaurs roamed the planet was caused by nearly half as much carbon dioxide in the air as previously thought, crystals from Earth’s past suggest.
Vampire microbes sucked some ancient life dry
Science News, November 2015Microscopic vampires may have prowled the ancient seas around 750 million years ago. The fossilized remains of their punctured victims may be the oldest direct evidence of predators hunting eukaryotes, a domain of complex organisms that includes plants and animals.
Adapted for Science News for Students.
How to melt an ice cave
Science News, November 2015If you want to keep an ice cave cold, don’t shut the door.
Probes unveil three hidden blemishes on moon’s face
Science News, October 2015Gravitational tugs on a pair of spacecraft have revealed previously unseen blemishes on the moon’s face.
New fascination with Earth’s ‘Boring Billion’
Science News, October 2015Earth’s long history starts with an epic preamble: A collision with a Mars-sized space rock rips into the young planet and jettisons debris that forms the moon. Over the next few billion years, plot twists abound. The oceans form. Life appears. Solar-powered microbes breathe oxygen into the air. Colossal environmental shifts reshape the planet’s surface and drive the evolution of early life.
A feature article on Earth's so-called boring billion, a seemingly uneventful time in the planet's history that's now the setting of a fierce debate between scientists over what delayed the rise of animals: evolution or the environment.
Wi-Fi threatens weather forecasts
Science News, October 2015Wireless technology dangerously clutters the airwaves that meteorologists rely on to monitor thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornadoes, blacking out large swaths of weather radar maps.
Hurricane Patricia’s howling winds smash records
Science News, October 2015Hurricane Patricia is now the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, with maximum sustained wind speeds reaching 325 kilometers per hour (200 miles per hour), the National Hurricane Center reports.
4.1-billion-year-old crystal may hold earliest signs of life
Science News, October 2015New evidence suggests that life on Earth arose before 4.1 billion years ago, 300 million years earlier than previous estimates.
Adapted for Science News for Students.