After the age of dinosaurs came the age of ant farmers
Panama City, Panama (SPX) Jul 21, 2016 -
A group of South American ants has farmed fungi since shortly after the dinosaurs died out, according to an international research team including Smithsonian scientists. The genes of the ant farmers and their fungal crops reveal a surprisingly ancient history of mutual adaptations. This evolutionary give-and-take has led to some species - the leafcutter ants - developing industrial-scale farming ...
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How meltwater from the ice sheets disturbed the climate 10,000 years ago
Bochum, Germany (SPX) Jul 22, 2016 -
Today, a negative correlation is observed in the amount of rainfall in north-western Africa and north-western Europe. If a humid winter climate prevails in north-western Europe, the climate in north-western Africa is dry. Due to melting ice sheets, this correlation was reversed in the early Holocene period; this resulted in both regions being humid respectively dry at the same time. Radical clim ...
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Oceans May be Large, Overlooked Source of Hydrogen Gas
Durham NC (SPX) Jul 22, 2016 -
Rocks formed beneath the ocean floor by fast-spreading tectonic plates may be a large and previously overlooked source of free hydrogen gas (H2), a new Duke University study suggests.
The finding could have far-ranging implications since scientists believe H2 might be the fuel source responsible for triggering life on Earth. And, if it were found in large enough quantities, some experts sp ...
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Human eyes can detect the smallest units of light
New York (UPI) Jul 21, 2016 -
New research suggest the human eye is remarkably sensitive to light. In a recent study, participants were able to detect the presence of a single photon inside a pitch black room.
"If you imagine this, it is remarkable: a photon, the smallest physical entity with quantum properties of which light consists, is interacting with a biological system consisting of billions of cells, all in a ...
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Ancient rocks reveal how Earth recovered from mass extinction
Edinburgh UK (SPX) Jul 21, 2016 -
Scientists have shed light on why life on Earth took millions of years to recover from the greatest mass extinction of all time.
The study provides fresh insight into how Earth's oceans became starved of oxygen in the wake of the event 252 million years ago, delaying the recovery of life by five million years.
Findings from the study are helping scientists to better understand how en ...
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Protests as S. Korea president defends US anti-missile system
Seoul (AFP) July 21, 2016 -
Several thousand South Koreans staged an angry protest Thursday against the planned deployment of a US anti-missile system near their hometown, but President Park Geun-Hye insisted the move was a national security imperative.
South Korea's defence ministry announced last week the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, will be installed in Seongju - a rural county about 200 ki ...
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Satellite constructed on schedule for Inmarsat's 'ground-breaking' European Aviation Network
London, UK (SPX) Jul 22, 2016 -
Inmarsat, the world's leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, announced today that construction and associated sub-system tests of the satellite for its market-changing European Aviation Network (EAN) in-flight connectivity solution has been completed on schedule by Thales Alenia Space.
The key milestone was achieved on schedule following an extensive two-year build pro ...
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