All Stories by Carolyn Gramling
- Animals
Dino-bird had wings made for flapping, not just gliding
Archaeopteryx fossils suggest the dino-birds were capable of flapping their wings in flight.
- Earth
Diamonds reveal sign of the deepest water known inside Earth
A rare form of ice crystal in the gems could have formed only at the crushing pressures found in the mantle.
- Animals
This baby bird fossil gives a rare look at ancient avian development
A 127-million-year-old fossil of a baby bird suggests diversity in how a group of extinct birds grew.
- Earth
By 2100, damaged corals may let waves twice as tall as today’s reach coasts
Structurally complex coral reefs can defend coasts against waves, even as sea levels rise.
- Earth
Critter-finding mission to Antarctica’s Larsen C iceberg scrapped
Thick sea ice ended a rapid-response mission to study seafloor that lay beneath Larsen C iceberg.
- Earth
Early land plants led to the rise of mud
New research suggests early land plants called bryophytes, which include modern mosses, helped shape Earth’s surface by creating clay-rich river deposits.
- Earth
New mapping shows just how much fishing impacts the world’s seas
Industrial fishing now occurs across 55 percent of the world’s ocean area while only 34 percent of Earth’s land area is used for agriculture or grazing.
- Paleontology
New fossils are redefining what makes a dinosaur
While some researchers question what characteristics define the dinosaurs, others are uprooting the dino family tree altogether.
- Animals
Strong winds send migrating seal pups on lengthier trips
Prevailing winds can send northern fur seal pups on an epic journey.
- Climate
Look to penguins to track Antarctic changes
Scientists say carbon and nitrogen isotopes found in penguin tissues can indicate shifts in the Antarctic environment.
- Plants
Ancient ozone holes may have sterilized forests 252 million years ago
Swaths of barren forest may have led to Earth’s greatest mass extinction.
- Ecosystems
Humans are overloading the world’s freshwater bodies with phosphorus
Human activities are driving phosphorus levels in the world’s lakes and other freshwater bodies to a critical point.
