Science

February 24, 2022

Fossil of Flying Reptile From 170 Million Years Ago Found on Scotland’s Isle of Skye

Scotland's Isle of Skye is known for its beautiful rocky cliffs and brilliant green fields. It was upon one of the island's rocky beaches that a team of scientists made a shocking discovery in 2017. The expedition—funded by the National Geographic Society—discovered a large jawbone poking out of a rock. The jawbone turned out to be part of an enormous pterosaur fossil, a type of winged reptile from the Jurassic Period.

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February 9, 2022

Paralyzed Patients Walk and Swim Again After Receiving a Spinal Cord Implant

The spine is critical to human mobility. The spinal cord connects the brain to the branches of the nervous system throughout the body. To move the legs, for example, a signal is sent by the brain's motor cortex through the spinal cord to the muscles of the legs. When the spine is severed, this communication becomes impossible, resulting in paralysis.

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February 2, 2022

NASA Celebrates James Webb Space Telescope Successfully Reaching Its Destination

NASA is in celebration mode. Its James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed, positioning itself almost one million miles from Earth. Folded within a rocket and launched on Christmas Day, the telescope promises to photograph the origins of the universe. Before it can search for ancient light, however, the craft had to unfold a sun shield the size of almost three tennis courts and align its golden mirrors.

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January 26, 2022

Researchers Discover That Humans Are 33,000 Years Older Than We Thought

How old is our human species? This question is a tricky one. Our genus Homo evolved from the more ancient Australopithecus around 2.8 million years ago. Scientists examining fossils believe modern humans—scientifically known as Homo sapiens—only emerged around 300,000 years ago. They continue to learn more about this process by examining the fossil record. A new study published in Nature is an example of such continuing study.

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