Browsing Category
Nature
841 posts
As grandiose as we might think our civilizations have become, we are but the latest entry in the long chronicle detailing life on Earth. We humans share this planet with fellow organisms whose vast numbers completely tower over our own. We borrowed this planet from its previous inhabitants from eons ago and whose lives were written on the soil-turned-rock on which they were laid to rest. Modern Sciences urges its readers to contemplate our planetary co-inhabitants, both past and present.
Some glaciers can suddenly surge forward – with dangerous consequences
The surging Scheelebreen glacier in Svalbard advances into the frozen fjord, April 2022. Erik Schytt Mannerfelt, CC BY…
Horses really can smell fear, new study claims, and it changes their behaviour
Inna photographer/Shutterstock Roberta Blake, Anglia Ruskin University Humans have long believed horses can “smell fear”. Nervous riders are…
Great white sharks grow a whole new kind of tooth for slicing bone as they age
Ken Bondy/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC Emily Hunt, University of Sydney; David Raubenheimer, University of Sydney, and Ezequiel M. Marzinelli,…
Where do seashells come from?
Michal Kowalewski, University of Florida and Thomas K. Frazer, University of South Florida Curious Kids is a series…
Humans aren’t the only animals that gather to hunker down together at Christmas
Anna Champneys, Nottingham Trent University Just as humans have historically gathered during winter, many animals do the same.…
Millions of hectares are still being cut down every year. How can we protect global forests?
David Clode/Unsplash, CC BY Kate Dooley, The University of Melbourne Ahead of the United Nations climate summit in…
We watched these coral colonies succumb to black band disease. 6 months later, 75% were dead
Shawna Foo, University of Sydney and Maria Byrne, University of Sydney During the last global coral bleaching event…
Fern stems reveal secrets of evolution – how constraints in development can lead to new forms
The lacy frond of the intermediate wood fern (Dryopteris intermedia). Jacob S. Suissa, CC BY-ND Jacob S. Suissa,…
Lions have two types of roar – new research
SteffenTravel/Shutterstock Jonathan Growcott, University of Exeter The roar of an African lion is one of the most iconic…
Yes, shouting at seagulls actually works, scientists confirm
Stephen A. Waycott/Shutterstock Neeltje Boogert, University of Exeter Did you get through your beach picnics unscathed this summer?…