Earth Optimism

The newly deciphered genome, T2T-CHM13, added 200 million base pairs to the 2013 version of the human genome and found 115 new genes.

Scientists Are on the Cusp of Finally Deciphering the Entire Human Genome

After 20 years of work, the pursuit is nearly complete, but the team still has to sequence a Y chromosome

A pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) crosses the Indian Ocean and passes near Mirissa, Sri Lanka.

Using Nuclear Bomb Detectors, Scientists Overhear the Secret Songs of a Never-Before-Seen Pygmy Blue Whale Population

The new group is named 'Chagos' after the islands close to where the melodies were detected

While observing the crayfish, the research team saw that the crustaceans exposed to low levels of the antidepressant were more adventurous and twice more likely to pop out of their shelters and explore their surroundings.

Crayfish Exposed to Antidepressants Are More Adventurous

While the traces of drugs found in waterways alter the crustacean's behaviors, it may leave them more vulnerable to predation

Sometime between 30-40 seconds after the diver was swallowed, the whale began to move its head from side to side and then resurfaced.

A Cape Cod Lobster Diver Was Swallowed by a Humpback Whale—and Then Spat Back Out

Except for severe bruising and a dislocated knee, the survivor is in good health and ready to return to work, he says

The snow’s red hue may also create a ‘snowball’ effect that harms ecosystems because red-tinged snow does not reflect as effectively as white snow and will melt faster.

What 'Glacier Blood' on the French Alps Tells Scientists About Climate Change at High Elevations

The red hue is produced by snow algae blooms. The color most likely shields the algae from damaging ultraviolet rays

The Southern Ocean is defined by a swift undertow called the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that flows from West to East around Antarctica.

National Geographic Officially Recognizes the Southern Ocean as World's Fifth Ocean

The organization's cartographers will now label a total of five oceans on their maps and atlases

Tinier whales threaten the species’ survival because smaller whales do not have as many offspring. Nursing mothers who entangle themselves in nets also produce smaller calves.

Humans, We've Shrunk the Whales

North Atlantic right whales born today are three feet shorter on average than whales born in 1980—and commercial fishing could be to blame

Using growth layers on the bear's skull, the researchers dated the remains at 35,000 years old and concluded that the cave bear was an adult around ten years old when it died.

This 35,000-Year-Old Skull Could Be the First Evidence of Humans Hunting Small Cave Bears

The hole in the specimen may have been from injuries inflicted with a spear or during a postmortem ritual

It took over a decade to identify the dinosaur bones because of the remote location of the bones, the fragile state they were in, and their massive size and weight that at times require a forklift to move.

Two Farmers Found the Largest Dinosaur Ever Unearthed in Australia

The long-necked herbivore's length measured the span of a basketball court, stood at two stories, and weighed an estimated 70 tons

Streaked across Ganymede's surface are bright light-colored regions of ridges and grooves that overlap darker-colored terrains along the icy shell. The textured scar-like areas suggest that the moon's surface underwent extreme geologic changes over time.

NASA's Juno Space Probe Zooms by Largest Moon in the Solar System

The flyby will be the closest any spacecraft has flown near Ganymede in over two decades

While most open ocean sharks disappeared after the event, coastal sharks survived, and today's sharks most likely ascended from the survivors.

A Puzzling Extinction Event Almost Wiped Sharks Out of Existence 19 Million Years Ago

Sediment cores show that shark populations declined by 90% during the Miocene, but no one knows why

The find suggests that the two frog species diverged 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago during the Pliocene Epoch, before Australia and New Guinea were separated by water, causing the two species to become distinct from one another.

Scientists Discover 'Chocolate Frog' in New Guinea

Despite its distinct cocoa color, the new species is related to the green tree frog

Around 1,200 residents stopped by to touch, photograph, and view the Alameda corpse flower. (Not pictured)

Corpse Flower Steals the Spotlight at Abandoned California Gas Station

A local nursery owner grew the rare botanical wonder and shared the bloom with the community, where they could touch and interact with the plant

Fernanda, the Fernandina Giant Tortoise was found in 2019 on an expedition. (Pictured here) The tortoises on Fernandina Island were thought to have gone extinct from volcanic eruptions.

Meet Fernanda, the Galápagos Tortoise Lost for Over a Century

Now that researchers have confirmed the animal belongs to the previously vanished species, conservationists are planning to search the islands for a mate

A wild giant otter photographed in the Bermejo River in Argentina's El Impenetrable National Park. This is the first time the species has been seen in Argentina in more than 30 years.

Giant River Otter Spotted in Argentina for First Time in Decades

The first wild sighting of the species in Argentina since the 1980s, this surprise offers hope to conservationists looking to bring the otters back

Red-handed tamarins have greater vocal flexibility, using calls ranging from territorial long calls to chirps to trills to communicate, whereas pied tamarins use long whistle-like calls.

Red-Handed Tamarins Can Mimic Other Species' Accents

The South American primates change their calls to communicate with other tamarin species living in shared territories

The bubbles the anole lizards use may act as a "physical gill" that can pull oxygen from the water while accumulated carbon dioxide escapes into the water over the surface of the bubble in a process known as diffusion.

Diving Anole Lizards Use Bubbles to Breathe Underwater

Like a natural form of scuba gear, the semi-aquatic lizard can stay submerged underwater for up to 18 minutes using the clever trick

While other flowers deceive pollinators with gorgeous blossoms, A. microstoma isn't as extravagant. The plant has small brown bulb-like flowers that look similar to the bowl of a tobacco pipe.

This Stinky Plant Smells Like Dead Bugs to Attract Coffin Flies

The plant attracts corpse flies to its opening with the aroma of rotting insects

Researchers found that the bears could withstand an impact of up to 900 meters per second and shock pressures of up to 1.14 gigapascals (GPa). Any higher than those speeds, the seemingly invincible water bears turned to mush.

Water Bears Can Survive Impact Speeds of 1,845 Miles Per Hour

Tardigrades thrive in a variety of extreme conditions, so researchers wanted to know if they could withstand simulated space landing impacts

While erosion is a natural occurrence that happens over time, the Galàpagos Islands are more at risk to threats of erosion because of climate change.

Iconic Natural Rock Feature in the Galápagos Islands Crumbles Into the Ocean

The top of the Darwin’s Arch, a natural stone archway, fell as a result of natural erosion

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