A new study claims that life on earth is ahead of the curve, and life on other planets won’t develop for a very long time. This new information challenges the usual assumptions about intelligent life. An important distinction between our…
The Endangered Species Act is changing the conservation game, even when species aren’t added to the list. The act encourages states, federal agencies, and landowners to work together to stop species from needing to be added to the endangered species…
In Minnesota, and other parts of the Upper Midwest, the population of the endangered piping plovers is rebounding, thanks to the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The bird species was nearly whipped out and now there are now at…
The governor of Massachusetts gave a boost to the offshore wind industry. It requires utilities to get 1,600 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind farms in about 10 years. The offshore wind energy industry is still in its early stages,…
California will require 50 percent of it’s energy to be renewable by 2030. This new requirement, however, creates complications in practice. A new line that would transport solar energy would likely either run though a wildlife refuge or a small…
Scientists saw a whale skeleton, called a "whale fall" on the ocean floor, which is unusual because whale falls are rare to spot. Researchers intentionally sink most whale falls because they feed sea creatures. Many sea animals will benefit from…
While exploring the ocean, researchers found a purple creature that they did not recognize. They collected the creature, which separated to show two lobes. While researchers cannot yet identify the creature, they speculate that it may belong to an animal…
Researchers are searching for the Last Universal Common Ancestor, or the being from which all others descended. They have identified 355 genes that were likely present in this creature. The creature likely lived around hydrothermal vents, which are very hot.…
While many consider Africa to be the "cradle of humanity," there’s some evidence to suggest that humanity first evolved in Asia. China has recently increased its efforts to discover the remains and evidence of early humans in their country. This…
New fossil footprints have lead researchers to the discovery that Homo erectus, an ancestor of modern humans, walked on two feet. Scientists used new analytic techniques to make the discovery and concluded that Homo erectus also lived in social groups…