July 2017

What Caused the World's Greatest Extinction?

A quarter of a billion years ago, long before dinosaurs or mammals evolved, the 10-foot (0.3-meter) predator Dinogorgon, …

Scientists Set Sail to Unlock Secrets of 'Lost Continent' Zealandia

Map showing the Zealandia 'new continent', a massive underwater landmass in the South Pacific that has never been…

Canadian Sapphires Fit for a Queen Now Unearthed

Sapphire Rough New Research Could Make It Easier to Find High-quality Canadian Sapphires   New research from UBC min…

Getting to the Root of Iceland's Molten Rock Origins

Molten Rock. New data reveal an unprecedented depiction of a region of partially molten rock deep within the Earth, w…

Earth's Magnetic Field 'Simpler Than We Thought'

The geomagnetic field is critical to life on Earth. Scientists have identified patterns in Earth's magnetic field …

The Mysterious Penitentes Transform the Desert Into an Alien Landscape

The Mysterious Penitentes Transform the Desert Into an Alien Landscape The penitentes are a curious natural phenomenon …

Epitactic Overgrowth of Hinsdalite on Corkite Hemispheres

Epitactic Overgrowth of Hinsdalite on Corkite Hemispheres. Photo credit: Matthias Reinhardt Epitactic overgrowth of hi…

The Feathery Gemstone Seraphinite

Seraphinite is a trade name for a particular form of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group. The dark green color of s…

Scientists Believe They Finally Found The 8th Wonder Of The World

The lost pink and white terraces, the eight natural wonder of the world Scientists believe they have finally discovere…

Mysterious, Gross Yellow Fluff Balls Wash Up on French Shores

Image courtesy Sea-Mer Association Hundreds of yellow, fluffy blobs of mystery material have washed up on the shores of…

Did Life Begin on Land Rather Than in the Sea?

Stromatolites. For three years, Tara Djokic, a Ph.D. student at the University of New South Wales Sydney, scoured the…

World's Second Largest Rough Diamond Too Big to Sell

Lesedi la Rona is the largest diamond discovered in more than a century, and the second-biggest ever found. A Canadia…

Larimar: Uncovering the Mystery of the 'Blue Rock'!

Larimar is actually a rock, being composed of more than one mineral, but is mostly composed of pectolite, an acid silicate …

Underwater Photos That Show the Growing Gap Between Two Tectonic Plates

Growing gap: Alex Mustard, dived 80ft into the crevice between the North American and Eurasian plates near Iceland to cap…

Mammoth Task: Billionaire-Funded Effort to Resurrect Woolly Beast

Mammoths went extinct more than 10,000 years ago, with scientists unsure whether human hunting or climate change finished…

Azurite Crystal Flowers

Spectacular Azurite Crystal Flowers in Vug. Photo Credit: Tóth László Azurite |‪#‎Geology‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬…

Nickel Is Crucial for Earth's Magnetic Field

Earth creates its own magnetic field, suggests new research. Scientists are changing our idea of the Earth's magne…