January 2020

Towering Dinosaur With Radioactive Skull Identified in Utah

(Credits: Xinhua/Bao Dandan/IANS) The 155-million-year-old specimen was headless until a radiation detector located th…

'Dancing Dragon' Feathered Dinosaur Fossil Discovered in China

(Poust et al., The Anatomical Record) A 120 million-year-old fossil is helping paleontologists bridge the 'phanto…

Meteor Crater Discovered in Australia is World’s Oldest

Meteor Crater Discovered in Australia is World’s Oldest. Meteor craters, such as this one in Arizona are difficult to age…

Geologists Find Rare Earth Element-Bearing Rocks in Mojave Desert

The periodic table lists 17 rare-earth minerals. Clockwise from top left is allanite, containing cerium; agardite contain…

This is a Rock, Not a Slice of Cheesecake

Red agate and White Opal with Botryodial Chalcedony Agate is a variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. …

7 Billion-Year-Old Stardust Is Oldest Material Found on Earth

Scientists recently identified the oldest material on Earth: stardust that's 7 billion years old, tucked away in a massi…

Oldest Scorpion Fossil Discovered

Oldest Scorpion Fossil Discovered Scientists have revealed the oldest known scorpion—and arachnid—on Earth: a mysteriou…

World's Oldest Slime Mold Found in Amber

100 million-year-old amber piece with lizard leg and mycomycete (arrow). Credit: Alexander Schmidt, University of Götting…

Dinosaurs Were Killed by Asteroid and Not Volcanoes, Scientists Confirm

Mass Extinction That Killed the Dinosaurs Was All About the Asteroid – Not Volcanoes Volcanic activity did not play a…

How Nodules Stay on Top at the Bottom of the Sea

Rare metallic elements found in clumps on the deep-ocean floor mysteriously remain uncovered despite the shifting sands and …

Scientists Catch a Volcano Mid-formation in the Indian Ocean

This illustration shows how magma in a reservoir deep underground ascended to form a submarine volcano in the Indian Ocea…

Crater From Asteroid Impact That Covered 10% of Earth's Surface in Debris

A flash of light would have come first, followed by a shockwave and massive earthquake. Only later would the hailstorm …

Fire Opal: Properties, Formation, Occurrence

Fire opal is a variety of opal that characterized by its vibrant orange, red, and yellow hues, resembling fiery flames. Fir…

What is the Lifespan of Volcanic Islands Like Hawaii?

Nishinoshima island When a hot plume of rock rises through the Earth's mantle to puncture the overlying crust, it…