Odd Creatures: Earth & Climate

June 8, 2025

Top Headlines

How Outdated Phones Can Power Smart Cities and Save the Seas

June 8, 2025 — In a world where over a billion smartphones are produced yearly, a team of researchers is flipping the script on electronic waste. Instead of tossing out older phones, they ve demonstrated a groundbreaking approach: turning outdated smartphones into ...

First Direct Observation of the Trapped Waves That Shook the World in 2023

June 3, 2025 — A new study has finally confirmed the theory that the cause of extraordinary global tremors in September -- October 2023 was indeed two mega tsunamis in Greenland that became trapped standing waves. Using a brand-new type of satellite altimetry, the ...

Long Shot Science Leads to Revised Age for Land-Animal Ancestor

May 29, 2025 — The fossils of ancient salamander-like creatures in Scotland are among the most well-preserved examples of early stem tetrapods -- some of the first animals to make the transition from water to land. Thanks to new research, scientists believe that ...

Birds Nested in Arctic Alongside Dinosaurs

May 29, 2025 — Spring in the Arctic brings forth a plethora of peeps and downy hatchlings as millions of birds gather to raise their young. The same was true 73 million years ago, according to a new article. The paper documents the earliest-known example of birds ...

Europe's Most Complete Stegosaurian Skull Unearthed in Teruel, Spain

May 28, 2025 — Palaeontologists have analyzed the most complete stegosaurian skull ever found in Europe and rewritten the evolutionary history of this iconic group of ...

Chemists Recreate How RNA Might Have Reproduced for First Time

May 28, 2025 — Chemists have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth -- a key process in the origin of ...

Forest in Sync: Spruce Trees May Communicate During a Solar Eclipse

Apr. 29, 2025 — Regular light-dark cycles greatly affect organisms, and events like eclipses induce distinctive physiological and behavioral shifts. While well-documented in animals, plant behavior during eclipses remains largely unexplored. Scientists monitored ...

Cryogenic Hydrogen Storage and Delivery System for Next-Generation Aircraft

May 27, 2025 — Researchers have designed a liquid hydrogen storage and delivery system that could help make zero-emission aviation a reality. Their work outlines a scalable, integrated system that addresses several engineering challenges at once by enabling ...

Oldest Whale Bone Tools Discovered

May 27, 2025 — Humans were making tools from whale bones as far back as 20,000 years ago, according to a new study. This discovery broadens our understanding of early human use of whale remains and offers valuable insight into the marine ecology of the ...

Why Some Spiders Are More Venomous Than Others

May 21, 2025 — A new study has revealed why some spiders possess venom that is far more potent than others. By analyzing the venoms of more than 70 different spider species, the team explored whether factors such as body size, prey type, and hunting method, ...

Extreme Weather Cycles Change Underwater Light at Lake Tahoe

May 21, 2025 — Large shifts in UV radiation at Lake Tahoe are associated with wet and dry climate extremes, finds a new ...

A Head and a Hundred Tails: How a Branching Worm Manages Reproductive Complexity

May 19, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean's most bizarre animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and reproduces in ...

Latest Headlines

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Nimble Dimples: Agile Underwater Vehicles Inspired by Golf Balls

May 19, 2025 — Underwater or aerial vehicles with dimples like golf balls could be more efficient and maneuverable, a new prototype has ...

Light-to-Electricity Nanodevice Reveals How Earth's Oldest Surviving Cyanobacteria Worked

May 16, 2025 — Scientists have decoded the atomic structure of Photosystem I from a 3-billion-year-old cyanobacteria lineage, offering a unique look at early ...

Dual Associations With Two Fungi Improve Tree Fitness

May 15, 2025 — When trees and soil fungi form close associations with each other, both partners benefit. Many tree species have further enhanced this cooperation by forming a concurrent symbiosis with two different ...

Dexterity and Climbing Ability: How Ancient Human Relatives Used Their Hands

May 14, 2025 — Scientists have found new evidence for how our fossil human relatives in South Africa may have used their hands. Researchers investigated variation ...

An Ink That Boosts Coral Reef Settlement by 20 Times

May 14, 2025 — With coral reefs in crisis due to climate change, scientists have engineered a bio-ink that could help promote coral larvae settlement and restore these underwater ecosystems before it's too late. ...

Submarine Robot Catches an Underwater Wave

May 12, 2025 — Engineers have taught a simple submarine robot to take advantage of turbulent forces to propel itself through ...

Urine, Not Water for Efficient Production of Green Hydrogen

May 9, 2025 — Researchers have developed two unique energy-efficient and cost-effective systems that use urea found in urine and wastewater to generate hydrogen. The unique systems reveal new pathways to ...

Scottish Shrimp Study Illuminates New Potential for Bait-Less Fishing

May 8, 2025 — Fishing pots fitted with LED lights catch significantly more shrimp and fish, new research ...

Eco-Friendly Aquatic Robot Is Made from Fish Food

May 8, 2025 — An edible robot leverages a combination of biodegradable fuel and surface tension to zip around the water's surface, creating a safe -- and nutritious -- alternative to environmental monitoring ...

Satellites Observe Glacier Committing 'Ice Piracy'

May 8, 2025 — A glacier in Antarctica is committing 'ice piracy' -- stealing ice from a neighbor -- in a phenomenon that has never been observed in such a short time frame, say ...

Waxing and Waning Prairie: New Study Unravels Causes of Ancient Climate Changes

May 8, 2025 — A long period of drought in North America has been recognized by scientists for decades. A new study links the severe climate to a change in Earth's ...

All of the Biggest U.S. Cities Are Sinking

May 8, 2025 — A new study of the 28 most populous U.S. cities finds that all are sinking to one degree or another. The cities include not just those on the coasts, where relative sea level is a concern, but many ...

Feat of 'Dung-Gineering' Turns Cow Manure Into One of World's Most Used Materials

May 7, 2025 — A new technique to extract tiny cellulose strands from cow dung and turn them into manufacturing-grade cellulose, currently used to make everything from surgical masks to food packaging, has been ...

Is Virtual-Only Couture the New Clothing Craze?

May 7, 2025 — As fast fashion continues to fill wardrobes and landfills at a staggering pace, new research suggests that the future of fashion might lie not in fabric, but in ...

Cracking the Code: Deciphering How Concrete Can Heal Itself

May 7, 2025 — Lichen is an understated presence in our everyday world, often found clinging to trees and rocks. Its true beauty lies in its unique symbiotic system of fungi and algae, or cyanobacteria, that form a ...

Two New Crocodile Species Discovered

May 6, 2025 — Biologists have discovered two previously unknown species of crocodiles, one living on the island of Cozumel and the other on the atoll of Banco Chinchorro, both off the Yucat n Peninsula. The ...

Blue Tips Are Red Algae's Red Flags

May 5, 2025 — Some red algae exhibit structural color that gives their growth tips a blue hue and the rest of their bodies including their fruiting structures a white hue. Moreover, since the color-producing ...

Ancient Poems Tell the Story of Charismatic River Porpoise's Decline Over the Past 1,400 Years

May 5, 2025 — Endemic to China's Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise is known for its intelligence and charismatic appearance; it looks like it has a perpetual smile on its face. To track how this ...

Space Junk Falling to Earth Needs to Be Tracked: Meteoroid Sounds Can Help

May 2, 2025 — Space junk and meteoroids are falling to Earth every year, posing a growing risk as they re-enter the atmosphere at high speeds. Researchers are using infrasound sensors to track these objects, ...

Rhythmically Trained Sea Lion Returns for an Encore -- And Performs as Well as Humans

May 1, 2025 — Animal research on biomusicality, which looks at whether different species are capable of behaving in ways that show they recognize aspects of music, including rhythm and beat, remains a tantalizing ...

Oceans Are Heating Faster in Two Bands Stretching Around Globe

May 1, 2025 — The world's oceans are heating faster in two bands stretching around the globe, one in the southern hemisphere and one in the north, according to climate ...

Zoo Life Boosts Object Exploration in Orangutans

Apr. 30, 2025 — A new study comparing wild and zoo-housed Sumatran orangutans reveals that life in a zoo significantly alters how orangutans interact with their environment. Researchers analyzed over 12,000 ...

Juvenile Salmon Roam Between Salt and Fresh Water While Exploring Coast and Rivers, New Research Finds

Apr. 30, 2025 — The well-known salmon life cycle has long been described as going only one way at a time. Juvenile salmon hatch and swim down rivers to the ocean, where they grow and mature before returning to the ...

Seasonal Changes Affect Alcohol Tolerance and Your Waistline

Apr. 30, 2025 — Researchers have found that drug effectiveness, alcohol tolerance, and carbohydrate metabolism change with the seasons. Their findings are based on a comprehensive seasonal gene expression map, which ...

Palatable Versus Poisonous: Eavesdropping Bats Must Learn to Identify Which Prey Is Safe to Eat

Apr. 29, 2025 — Scientists found that the fringe-lipped bat, known to eavesdrop on frog and toad mating calls to find its prey, learns to distinguish between palatable and unpalatable frogs and toads through ...

Social 'Hippie' Spiders Don't Believe in Labels: Study Challenges Long-Held Assumptions About Animal Personalities

Apr. 28, 2025 — Scientists suggest social spiders are more about going with the flow than sticking to a role, after new research challenges the idea of fixed ...

Elephant Instead of Wild Boar? What Could Have Been in Europe

Apr. 28, 2025 — Even under today's climatic conditions, the long-extinct straight-tusked elephant could still live in Europe. This is the conclusion of a recent study. For this finding, the research group ...

Geoengineering Technique Could Cool Planet Using Existing Aircraft

Apr. 28, 2025 — A technique to cool the planet, in which particles are added to the atmosphere to reflect sunlight, would not require developing special aircraft but could be achieved using existing large planes, ...

Anatomy of a 'Zombie' Volcano: Investigating the Cause of Unrest Inside Uturuncu

Apr. 28, 2025 — Scientists have collaborated to analyze the inner workings of Bolivia's 'zombie' volcano, Uturuncu. By combining seismology, physics models and analysis of rock composition, ...

Female Bonobos Keep Males in Check -- Not With Strength, but With Solidarity

Apr. 24, 2025 — Female bonobos team up to suppress male aggression against them -- the first evidence of animals deploying this strategy. In 85% of observed coalitions, females collectively targeted males, forcing ...