Science

Titan has four seasons much like Earth’s, but there is one very strange catch to them A single winter on Saturn’s largest moon lasts long enough for a newborn on Earth to grow into an eight-year-old child.Titan, the second-largest moon in the solar system, has active weather with clouds, rain, rivers, and changing seasons that…

At first sight, Pando appears to be an ordinary forest of thousands of trembling aspen trees stretching across Utah’s Fishlake National Forest. As reported by PBS, the reality beneath the ground is far more unusual. Those estimated 47,000 trunks are not separate trees competing for space, but parts of a single living organism connected by…

For decades, the extinction of the dinosaurs has usually been pictured as a slow collapse. An asteroid struck Earth, sunlight faded behind dust, temperatures changed, and ecosystems gradually unravelled. That broad sequence still stands, yet a new study argues that the first chapter of the catastrophe may have unfolded far more quickly than many imagined….

For centuries, flamingos were recognised by their vivid pink feathers, yet the reason behind that striking colour remained uncertain. Early naturalists could describe what they saw, but they could not explain why young flamingos emerged from the nest in muted shades before gradually becoming brighter as they matured. The answer only began to take shape…

In the autumn of 1898, visitors at Madison Square Garden witnessed something that looked impossible. A small metal boat moved across a pool without a visible person guiding it. It changed direction, responded to commands, and appeared to act with a mind of its own. The demonstration came from Nikola Tesla, an inventor already known…

In 1823, British explorers Hugh Clapperton, Dixon Denham and Walter Oudney were some of the first Europeans to document the lake and the surrounding kingdoms. He was struck at the sight of one of Africa’s largest inland lakes. But two centuries later, about 905 of the lake’s surface area has shrunk, leaving only a sliver…

Image(s): Left/MSU/Right/Canva For decades, scientists have searched for cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, looking everywhere from algae and bacteria to agricultural waste. In 2008, one of the most unexpected discoveries came from deep inside the South American rainforest. Researchers identified a microscopic fungus living quietly within the tissues of a tree that produced a mixture…

For years, the disappearance of the last woolly mammoths seemed to have a straightforward explanation. A tiny population became isolated, interbred for thousands of years and eventually reached a point where its own genetics made survival impossible. That idea found its way into documentaries, textbooks and scientific discussions alike. A study published in Cell, titled…

Peter Beck never earned a university degree or landed the aerospace job he hoped would launch his career. Instead, the New Zealand engineer turned rejection into an opportunity that reshaped his future. After an unsuccessful trip to the United States in 2006, where attempts to gain experience with organisations including NASA and Boeing fell short,…

Every year, as the seasons change, millions of birds undertake one of nature’s greatest journeys. Some travel only a few hundred kilometres, while others fly thousands without recognising political borders or national boundaries. Instead, they follow ancient migration routes known as flyways, natural aerial corridors shaped by geography, climate and the availability of food and…