The natural world has undergone an almost unimaginable regime change, reflecting the vast and growing dominance of humanity on our planet’s most important resource: freshwater. Researchers say this is the first global survey of human effects on the water cycle. Scientists have used NASA’s satellite measurements to remotely measure the …
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The mineral hackmanite (or tenacious sodalite) is an amazing natural phenomenon that has long been a mystery to scientists – even though we can now engineer synthetic materials that glow in the dark more effectively than anything in nature. Geologists first described the mineral in the 1800s, with its tendency …
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Rama’s horn shell is small, delicate spiral structures beech omb mbers can usually find all over the world. Despite their ubiquity, the original owners of these shells are extremely elusive. To date, we have never had a single footage in the forest. In the twilight zone of our oceans, at …
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As a species, humans have inhabited almost every corner of the globe. We have developed the technologies and cultures that shape the world we live in. ‘Natural selection’ or ‘survival idea’ is understood in Stone Age times when we were fighting over the scrap of meat, but does it still …
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From bird feathers to fruit skins, there are two main ways to display color in the natural world: by pigment substances that provide selective color absorption, or by structural color – using microscopic compositions to control light reflection. Now scientists have created a computer model that explains why the brightest …
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