Animal Life news stories

Stars could be invisible within 20 years as light pollution brightens night skies
30th May 2023 | theguardian.com | Animal Life, Earth, Humans

The increased use of light-emitting diodes is obscuring our view of the Milky Way as well as taking a toll on human and wildlife health.

More than 5,000 new species found in ‘pristine’ deep-sea wilderness. But they could soon be wiped out.
25th May 2023 | livescience.com | Animal Life, Earth, Humans, Weird

More than 5,000 undescribed animal species have been discovered in the depths of a massive “pristine wilderness” in the Pacific Ocean, a new study shows. But researchers warn they could soon be wiped out by deep-sea mining.

 

Saddle unearthed in China may be oldest ever found
25th May 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

An international team of archaeologists has found what may be the earliest known saddle at a dig site in China. In their paper published in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia, the group describes where the ancient saddle was found, its condition and how it was made.

The Sonoran Desert toad can alter your mind — it’s not the only animal
15th May 2023 | sciencenews.org | Animal Life, Earth, Humans

We at Science News heard the PSA loud and clear: Just leave this toad alone. But we couldn’t help but wonder: What other amazing animals may have psychedelic potential? Join us on a tour, by land and sea, of some of the world’s mind-altering fauna.

Rhino-like ‘thunder beasts’ grew massive in the evolutionary blink of an eye after dinos died off
12th May 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Animal Life

Rhino-like horse relatives that had lived in the shadow of the dinosaurs became gigantic “thunder beasts” as suddenly as an evolutionary lightning strike,  new research published Thursday (May 11) in the journal Science shows.

Researchers discover largest ‘raptor’ dinosaurs lived millions of years earlier than we knew
5th May 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

A geological study of the rock formation that encased a fossilized example of the world’s biggest “raptor” shows it’s 10 million years older than previously understood.

One of the world’s greatest fossil finds made in Wales
1st May 2023 | independent.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

A large number of extraordinary new fossils, including many soft-bodied creatures, have been discovered near Llandrindod Wells in Powys.

Worms crave junk food after consuming cannabis, study suggests
21st April 2023 | theguardian.com | Animal Life, Humans

It is not just humans that get the munchies: worms also display the same craving for their favourite snacks after consuming cannabis, new research has found.

Sleeping beauties: the evolutionary innovations that wait millions of years to come good
19th April 2023 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Humans

What are the most successful organisms on the planet? Some people might think of apex predators like lions and great white sharks. For others, insects or bacteria might come to mind. But few would mention a family of plants that we see around us every day: grasses.

Ancient DNA Sheds Light on Wooly Mammoth Evolution, And They Weren’t Always So Fluffy
19th April 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life

As wooly mammoths grazed frigid Siberian steppes for more than half a million years, they evolved increasingly fluffy fur, large fat deposits, and smaller ears, according to a new study.

Cave diving detectives search for fossils in hidden depths to shed light on giant life forms
12th April 2023 | abc.net.au | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

In the depths of a network of underwater caves, Julien Louys has been on the trail of some rather unusual animals. Despite the sunken setting, these creatures weren’t forms of marine life — they were giant marsupials, and they became extinct tens of thousands of years ago.

Got milk? The ancient Tibetans did, according to study
12th April 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

New research into ancient populations that resided on the Tibetan Plateau has found that dairy pastoralism was being practiced far earlier than previously thought and may have been key to long-term settlement of the region’s extreme environment.

52 million-year-old bat skeleton is the oldest ever found and belongs to a never-before-seen species
12th April 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Animal Life

The bat skeletons unearthed in southwest Wyoming are the oldest ever found, and their discovery has sparked a reshuffle in the bat family tree. See the research here.

An ancient gene stolen from bacteria set the stage for human sight
11th April 2023 | science.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Humans

The eye is so complex that even Charles Darwin was at a loss to explain how it could have arisen. Now, it turns out that the evolution of the vertebrate eye got an unexpected boost—from bacteria, which contributed a key gene involved in the retina’s response to light.

What did Homo sapiens eat 170,000 years ago? Roasted, supersized land snails
3rd April 2023 | sciencenews.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

Until now, the oldest evidence of Homo sapiens eating land snails dated to roughly 49,000 years ago in Africa and 36,000 years ago in Europe. But tens of thousands of years earlier, people at a southern African rock shelter roasted these slimy, chewy — and nutritious — creepers that can grow as big as an adult’s hand, researchers report in the April 15 Quaternary Science Reviews.

Horses Transformed Native American Life Far Earlier Than We Thought, New Study Reveals
3rd April 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

Native American people integrated horses into their communities much earlier than European colonial records suggest, according to an innovative study that combined archaeological and genetic analysis with Indigenous oral traditions.

News stories covering Animal Science, bacterial life, DNA.