ScienceFive millennia after an arrow strike ended his life in the Italian Alps, the body of Otzi the Iceman continues to host a thriving biological community. Researchers have discovered that prehistoric bacteria and cold-adapted yeast within the mummy are not merely preserved, but are metabolically active and evolving.
ScienceFour hundred and fifteen million years ago, a creature the size of a modern Labrador retriever dominated the British landscape. New analysis of fossil remains confirms that Praearcturus gigas, a gargantuan scorpion, prowled the shallow coastal waters and land long before the first forests took root on Earth.
ScienceA thirty-year study of 200,000 adults has dismantled the long-standing rivalry between low-carb and low-fat diets. Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the research suggests that the specific macronutrient split matters far less for cardiovascular health than the actual source of those nutrients.
ScienceFor years, bird owners dismissed masturbation in parrots as a symptom of boredom or poor welfare. A new evolutionary study challenges this assumption, revealing that self-stimulation is a healthy, widespread, and ancient trait across the avian family tree, occurring naturally regardless of whether birds live in captivity or the wild.