South Africa’s biodiversity isn’t simply a cache of exotic species, it’s also a living repository of cultural history. For decades, scientific literature has compiled frogs and reptiles in Latin names, so the Indigenous nomenclature for these animals is dispersed and unrecorded. And now, in a trailblazing research led by zoologist Fortunate Phaka, the first comprehensive ...
A new species of mosasaur named Tylosaurus rex – twice the length of a great white shark, with finely serrated teeth and evidence of violent combat against its own kind – has just been identified from 80-million-year-old Texas fossils that had been sitting in museums for decades – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: ...
July 2026: What’s in the Southern Hemisphere sky this month? – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Pixabay) Sky watchers across the Southern Hemisphere can expect a striking sight as July 2026 opens. Three planets appear in the early evening sky, with Venus standing out as the brightest. The planet reaches magnitude –4.1 and ...
There’s a New T. Rex in Town – and It Swims – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Flickr) Eighty million years ago, a vast inland sea divided North America and teemed with marine life. Among its top predators lurked a newly identified species of mosasaur now formally named Tylosaurus rex. Researchers uncovered the ...
How the Great Pyramid of Giza has survived 4,500 years of Egyptian earthquakes – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash) The Great Pyramid of Giza has stood for more than 4,500 years as one of the most enduring structures ever built. Earthquakes have repeatedly tested the monument and the surrounding region, yet its ...
Cosmic crystal ball reveals an ancient dying star | Space photo of the day for May 22, 2026 – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash) Astronomers have released a fresh view of NGC 1514, a planetary nebula in Taurus that marks the final chapter for a star similar to the Sun. The image, ...
Scientists discover a strange hidden state in “sandwich” molecules – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash) Researchers have identified a fleeting intermediate that forms during the assembly of metallocenes, the sandwich-shaped molecules central to many catalytic and medical applications. The structure involves a rare double ring-slip, in which both carbon rings loosen their ...
Scientists thought Jupiter’s moon Europa was ejecting water. Now they’re not so sure – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash) Hubble Space Telescope observations from more than a decade ago once pointed to faint water vapor rising from Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Those signals were interpreted as evidence of intermittent plumes linked to ...
Can AI really simulate human thinking? Research casts doubt on an influential study, suggesting an advanced model was just really good at memorizing patterns. – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash) Interest in artificial intelligence systems that appear to forecast how people will act has grown steadily in recent years. One model in ...
Animal behavior is a fascinating field that offers insights into how organisms interact with their environment, each other, and themselves. While external factors such as environment and experience play vital roles, genetics also significantly guide many behaviors observed in the animal kingdom. Understanding how genes influence animal behaviors can provide insights into both evolution and ...
