Month: February 2021

Is There Life on Mars? 

“Is there life on Mars?” is a question people have asked for more than a century. But in order to finally get the answer, we have to know what to look for and where to go on the planet to look for evidence of past life. With the succesful landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars on February 18, 2021, we are finally in a position to know where to go, what to look for, and knowing whether there is, or ever was, life on the Red Planet.

Source: Is There Life on Mars? | Portside

Did teenage ‘tyrants’ outcompete other dinosaurs? Researchers examine how carnivorous dinosaur offspring reduced species diversity 

Paleo-ecologists have demonstrated that the offspring of enormous carnivorous dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex may have fundamentally re-shaped their communities by out-competing smaller rival species.

Source: Did teenage ‘tyrants’ outcompete other dinosaurs? Researchers examine how carnivorous dinosaur offspring reduced species diversity — ScienceDaily

Scientists identify more than 140,000 virus species in the human gut: Study opens up new research avenues for understanding how viruses living in the gut affect human health — 

Viruses are the most numerous biological entities on the planet. Now researchers have identified over 140,000 viral species living in the human gut, more than half of which have never been seen before.

Source: Scientists identify more than 140,000 virus species in the human gut: Study opens up new research avenues for understanding how viruses living in the gut affect human health — ScienceDaily

The Milky Way may be swarming with planets with oceans and continents like here on Earth 

According to a new study, Earth, Venus and Mars were created from small dust particles containing ice and carbon. The discovery opens up the possibility that the Milky Way may be filled with aquatic planets.

Source: The Milky Way may be swarming with planets with oceans and continents like here on Earth — ScienceDaily

Climate change likely drove the extinction of North America’s largest animals — 

A new study suggests that the extinction of North America’s largest mammals was not driven by over-hunting by rapidly expanding human populations following their entrance into the Americas. Instead, the findings, based on a new statistical modelling approach, suggest that populations of large mammals fluctuated in response to climate change, with drastic decreases of temperatures around 13,000 years ago initiating the decline and extinction of these massive creatures.

Source: Climate change likely drove the extinction of North America’s largest animals — ScienceDaily

The cataclysm that killed the dinosaurs: New theory explains possible origin of plummeting Chicxulub impactor that struck off Mexico 

Scientists have put forth a new theory that could explain the origin and journey of the comet that killed the Chicxulub impactor and others like it.

Source: The cataclysm that killed the dinosaurs: New theory explains possible origin of plummeting Chicxulub impactor that struck off Mexico — ScienceDaily

Study Finds Climate Crisis Driving Great White Sharks Into Colder Waters, With Devastating Effect on Wildlife 

“Climate change is scrambling our ocean ecosystems and sometimes it produces surprises with a whole lot of teeth,” said one marine researcher.

Source: Study Finds Climate Crisis Driving Great White Sharks Into Colder Waters, With Devastating Effect on Wildlife | Common Dreams News