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Ancient elephant-sized mammal ancestor gave dinosaurs a run for their money

Michael Irving November 22, 2018

While dinosaurs were the biggest land animals ever, mammals were mostly rat-sized critters running around underfoot. But now palaeontologists have described a mammal ancestor from the Triassic Period that grew to the size of an elephant, giving those early dinosaurs a run for their money.

An artist's reconstruction of Lisowicia bojani, an elephant-sized ancestor of mammals that lived during the Triassic

Physics

X-ray laser boils water into strange plasma state hotter than Earth's core

Michael Irving May 15, 2018

Waiting for water to boil is a minor inconvenience that we’ve all experienced. Maybe next time try the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, which has now been used to boil water to 100,000° C in 75 millionths of a billionth of a second, turning it into a new plasma-like state of matter in the process.

A simulated image of the water molecules after being struck with an intense X-ray pulse, as ...

Science

Mysterious fossil footprints may cast doubt on human evolution timeline

Michael Irving September 1, 2017

Researchers have found human-like footprints dating back 5.7 million years – a time when our ancestors were thought to still be getting around on ape-like feet. More mysteriously, these prints were found in the Greek islands, implying hominins left Africa much earlier than previously thought.

A set of fossilized human-like footprints in Greece may end up rewriting the story of human ...

Science

New species of ancient marine reptile is the oldest of its kind

Michael Irving August 29, 2017

Museum specimens may have already been “discovered,” but important new details can still turn up on closer study. A new investigation into an old plesiosaur skeleton in a German museum discovered that not only did the bones belong to a new species, but the animal was the oldest of its kind.

An artist's rendition of the new species of plesiosaur, dubbed Lagenanectes richterae

Medical

Dried blood diagnosed as viable alternative to liquid samples

David Szondy May 23, 2017

Taking and storing liquid blood samples is expensive and time consuming. To bring down costs and broaden the use of samples, researchers are studying the potential for using millimeter-wide drops of dried blood on filter paper as an alternative means of collecting and storing samples.

A new study indicates that dried blood samples could replace frozen liquid samples in diagnosis and ...

Environment

Researchers gaze into crystals to unravel supervolcano secrets

Lisa-Ann Lee January 30, 2017

Death by supervolcano is not what most people have in mind when they talk about going out in a blaze of glory. But these magma cauldrons exist among us and they are very much alive. A new study tells us what might trigger one of these sleeping giants.

The Toba caldera in Sumatra, Indonesia, site of the grand daddy of all super-eruptions

Biology

Chew on this: How our jaws are related to an ancient armored fish

Lisa-Ann Lee October 24, 2016

Forget apes. Scientists say that we owe our jaws to a prehistoric fish that lived 423 million years ago.

The Qilinyu lived 423 millions years ago during the Silurian era. What it lacked in looks ...

Electronics

Recycled Li-ion batteries made with alfalfa seeds and pine resin

Colin Jeffrey October 2, 2014

Researchers at Uppsala University’s Ångström Laboratory have combined the salvaged remnants of a Li-ion battery with completely organic materials derived from alfalfa and pine resin, to create a recycled biomaterial Li-ion hybrid battery.

Researchers have combined materials derived from alfalfa and pine resin to create a recycled Li-ion hybrid ...

Science

Scientists make "Impossible Material" ... by accident

Lakshmi Sandhana July 30, 2013

Scientists have accidentally created a new material thought for more than 100 years to be impossible. A single gram of Upsalite has a surface area of 800 sq m, equivalent to the sail of a megayacht.

Science

Researchers alleviate PTSD in mice while they sleep

Adam Williams October 19, 2012

Researchers at Stanford University have successfully alleviated PTSD in mice, while the rodents slept – offering hope that a similar method may be used for humans in the future.

Researchers at Stanford University have successfully alleviated PTSD in sleeping mice (Photo: Melinda Fawver/Shutterstock)</a.