Earth’s Great Oxidation Event occurred 100 million years LATER than previously thought, study finds 

The Great Oxidation Event that saw oxygen levels surge and life flourish on Earth happened 100 million years later than previously thoughts, researchers claim. University of Leeds experts analysed rocks from South Africa that were deposited in the ocean at the time of the Great Oxidation Event more than two billion years ago. This event … Read more

Birds can ‘read’ Earth’s magnetic signature so they don’t get lost

When migrating birds get lost, they can ‘read’ the signature of the Earth’s magnetic field well enough to find their way once again, a study has revealed. Researchers from the UK exposed Eurasian reed warblers to a fake magnetic signature — thousands of miles from their usual path — to see how they would react. Despite … Read more

Nature: Birds can ‘read’ the Earth’s magnetic signature and course correct if they get lost

When migrating birds get lost, they can ‘read’ the signature of the Earth’s magnetic field well enough to find their way once again, a study has revealed. Researchers from the UK exposed Eurasian reed warblers to a fake magnetic signature — thousands of miles from their usual path — to see how they would react. Despite … Read more

Discarded 1966 rocket booster stuck in Earth’s orbit is set to break free this week

Earth’s ‘second moon’ will make one final pass this week before floating out into space forever. Astronomers first spotted an unknown object with an incoming trajectory in September 2020 and initially believed it was an asteroid. But in December, the object named 2020 SO came within 30,000 miles of Earth and allowed NASA to confirm … Read more

Earth’s second minimoon was the size of a car and came within 8,100 miles of Earth

Earth grabbed its second minimoon this year that was orbiting the planet for 2.7 years and now, scientists have revealed intricate details of the cosmic visitor. Using data collected with the Lowell Discovery Telescope, astronomers determined 2020 CDE, or CD3, is nearly five feet in diameter – about the size of a car – and … Read more

Rocket booster from 1966 returns to Earth’s orbit and will circle our planet ‘for a few weeks’ 

A rocket booster flung into the abyss of space during a 1966 mission to the Moon has been caught by Earth’s gravity and will orbit our planet ‘for a few weeks’. NASA launched the Surveyor 2 mission to the Moon in 1966 but an issue mid-flight resulted in the spacecraft losing control and NASA eventually … Read more

Scientists add 12,000 new species to the list of Earth’s bacteria

Over 12,000 new species of bacteria and archaea have been added – increasing the known population diversity of the microscopic creatures by 44 peer cent. Researchers from the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and others worked to decipher environmental DNA samples to identify individual species. The work involved examining 52,000 samples of DNA … Read more

Microbes found in Earth’s mist arid desert could guide scientists to uncovering life on Mars

The search for life on other planets has captivated mankind for decades. But the reality could be a little less like the Hollywood blockbusters, scientists have revealed. They say if there was life on the red planet, it probably will present itself as fossilized bacteria – and have proposed a new way to look for … Read more

Two chemicals in Earth’s ‘primordial soup’ created the first ever Krebs cycle

Metabolism is a key process in living things that enables fuel to be turned into energy, but its evolutionary origin is a long-standing enigma.   Now, a study by US researchers has found a simple reaction between two chemicals, called glyoxylate and pyruvate, in Earth’s primordial soup billions of years ago may have led to the … Read more

Moon’s now-defunct magnetic field ‘protected Earths from solar storms’ 4 billion years ago 

The Moon’s once powerful magnetic field helped shield Earth and its developing atmosphere from powerful solar storms 4 billion years ago, a new study claims. Researchers led by James Green, NASA’s chief scientist, created computer models simulating the protective impact the Moon once had over Earth.   The combined magnetic fields of both the Moon and … Read more