You heard right, compadre. Parthenogenesis — reproduction without benefit of sex — occurs spontaneously in a handful of species, most of them fairly simple but some surprisingly complex. The turkey is the foremost example of the latter group, with the virgin birth rate in some breeds approaching 40 percent. Parthenogenesis also occurs in some lizards. The…
Kilauea volcano is erupting, sending lava and thread-like pieces of volcanic glass, known as Pele’s hair, into Hawaii’s skies, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Weather Service. (Image credit: M. Patrick/USGS) The eruption began at about 3:20 p.m. local Hawaii time Wednesday (Sept. 29), when the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected…
The melting of Earth’s polar ice is warping the planet’s crust. This shape change in Earth’s crust is subtle, but it occurs many hundreds of miles away from the ice sheets. Researchers may be able to monitor the shift as part of research to understand how climate change will affect sea level; understanding the warping…
Arctic sea ice has passed its minimum extent for this year, shrinking to 4.72 million square kilometres on 16 September, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has reported. Owing to a cool and cloudy Arctic summer, this year’s annual minimum was the highest since 2014 — ice covered nearly 1 million square…
The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, also found that adding plants and trees to the landscapes near factories and other pollution sources could reduce air pollution by an average of 27 per cent. Plants and trees may be better and cheaper options than technology to mitigate air pollution, says a new…
New astronaut and satellite images of an active volcano on the island of La Palma reveal the frightening beauty of the eruption, as well as its dangerous proximity to humans. La Palma Volcano Lava began gushing out of the Cumbre Vieja crater on the island, which is located off the coast of northwestern Africa and…
