By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — Modern humans are evolutionary survivors, thriving generation after generation while our ancient relatives died out. Now, new research into our brain chemistry suggests that an enzyme unique to Homo sapiens may have made us more efficient water seekers than our closest extinct relatives. About 600,000 years ago, modern humans
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By Issy Ronald, CNN Paleontologists have discovered a new dinosaur species with a very distinctive feature, a sail-like structure running down its back, the Natural History Museum in London announced on Friday. The bones of Istiorachis macarthurae, named in honor of record-breaking British sailor Ellen MacArthur, were uncovered on the Isle of Wight, a small
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By Gina Park, CNN (CNN) — The moon goes by many names. August saw the full sturgeon moon while in March sky-gazers may have witnessed the blood moon, which occurs when the satellite appears to turn red during a lunar eclipse. You may have also heard of a blue moon, the second full moon to
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By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Astronomers using the powerful eye of the James Webb Space Telescope have spotted a previously unknown moon whirling around Uranus, according to NASA. The discovery boosts the number of moons known to be orbiting the ice giant to 29 — and there are likely more waiting to be found.
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By Gina Park, CNN (CNN) — Archaeologists say they have discovered the ruins of what they believe are the boundaries of an ancient temple belonging to the mysterious Andean society of Tiwanaku that disappeared around AD 1000. The research team unearthed the immense temple complex in the highlands of what is now Bolivia’s municipality of
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By Chris Mooney (CNN) — The contiguous United States has endured another searing summer. June was unusually warm, and a major heatwave afflicted nearly a third of the population late in the month, and July offered little relief. This is hardly a surprise: Summers in the Lower 48 are now 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer on
Continue ReadingBy Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Ancient, fossilized teeth, uncovered during a decades-long archaeology project in northeastern Ethiopia, indicate that two different kinds of hominins, or human ancestors, lived in the same place between 2.6 million and 2.8 million years ago — and one of them may be a previously unknown species. The discovery provides
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By Jacopo Prisco, CNN (CNN) — It stands to reason that a 95 million-year-old tooth shipped to my home would have a rich past. But what ensued after I bought it online for about $100 revealed how, for such relics and those who covet them, the present is in some ways much more complicated. I
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By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Talks to finalize the world’s first treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, Switzerland collapsed in failure Friday as countries remained bitterly divided how to tackle the crisis. The summit, held at the United Nations headquarters and attended by delegates from more than 180 countries, was supposed to end Thursday
Continue ReadingBy Anna Tunkova, CNN (CNN) — Bats have a bad reputation. Myths, folk tales, and negative media coverage mean people often link these flying mammals to vampires or blame them for disease outbreaks. But bat populations around the world are in decline, and without them, ecosystems lose key benefits like pest control, pollination and seed
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By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — Satellites, including those used for GPS and communications, will face greater risks in coming decades during solar-triggered geomagnetic storms because of the effect climate pollution has on Earth’s atmosphere, a new study found. The increasing volume of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere is likely to make the
Continue ReadingBy Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — Time is running out for US consumers to get money back for rooftop solar installations, electric vehicles, energy efficient appliances and more after President Donald Trump and Republicans slashed clean energy out of the tax code last month. And the potential savings are steep. The federal tax credit alone
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By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — The once-thriving Roman city of Pompeii resembles an eerie time capsule, seemingly unoccupied since a catastrophic volcanic eruption in AD 79, with the remains of its inhabitants forever frozen under a blanket of ash. But a closer look may reveal another bleak chapter in the tragedy’s aftermath, according to
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By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — A rare Martian meteorite, billed as the largest piece of Mars on Earth, captured attention when it fetched millions from an anonymous bidder at a recent Sotheby’s auction. But the move has caused Niger, the country in West Africa where the space rock was initially found, to question the
Continue ReadingBy Lex Harvey, CNN (CNN) — From the rainforests of Central and South America to the savannas of northern Australia, the world’s equatorial regions are home to thousands of unique bird species, from macaws to toucans to hummingbirds, who thrive in hot and humid environments. But as climate change accelerates, tropical regions are seeing ten
Continue ReadingBy Taylor Nicioli (CNN) — For thousands of years, a disease repeatedly struck ancient Eurasia, quickly spreading far and wide. The bite of infected fleas that lived on rats passed on the plague in its most infamous form — the Black Death of the 14th century — to humans, and remains its most common form
Continue ReadingBy Laura Paddison, Luke Snyder, CNN (CNN) — Europe is on track for its worst wildfire season on record as swaths of the continent — including France, Spain, Albania, Portugal and Greece — battle raging, deadly fires as temperature soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Wildfires are not unusual in Europe but the climate crisis is
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By Gina Park, CNN (CNN) — It’s finally time to watch one of the best meteor showers of the year: the brilliant display known as the Perseids. The Perseid meteor shower, which is known for producing dozens of bright meteors that leave long streaks in their wake, peaked at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday. In previous
Continue Reading CNN By Gina Park, CNN (CNN) — It’s finally time to watch one of the best meteor showers of the year: the brilliant display known as the Perseids. The Perseid meteor shower, which is known for producing dozens of bright meteors that leave long streaks in their wake, peaked at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday. In
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By Marlowe Starling, CNN (CNN) — Marine researchers exploring extreme depths say they have discovered an astonishing deep-sea ecosystem of chemosynthetic life that’s fueled by gases escaping from fractures in the ocean bed. The expedition revealed methane-producing microbes and marine invertebrates that make their home in unforgiving conditions where the sun’s rays don’t reach, according
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