Using proteins found on a fractured eggshell, researchers identified an extinct bird species hunted and eaten by the earliest humans in Australia. Human hunting is thought to have contributed to the extinction of the 6.5-foot-tall Genyornis.
Researchers identified two enzymes in wax worm saliva that can degrade plastic on their own. Scientists discovered wax worms’ ability to break down polyethylene in 2017, but didn’t know what chemical caused the reaction.
Researchers using a novel MRI technique called Hyperpolarized Xenon 129MRI found breathing pattern abnormalities even in Covid-19 patients who had never been hospitalized. The lung damage was undetectable on a regular MRI, and it was detected even up to a year after the initial infection.
Scientists using the Hubble Telescope arrived at a more accurate rate of expansion for the universe: 45 miles per megaparsec (roughly 3.25 million light-years). The finding came from observations of 42 supernovae, which astronomers use as “milepost markers.”
Researchers discovered dolphins rub themselves against specific types of coral that excrete antibacterial substances, likely to keep their skin microbiome healthy. Scientists had seen the rubbing behavior before but never had an explanation for it.
Researchers discovered the life expectancy of tress in 24 Australian old-growth forests has halved in the last 35 years. This climate change-induced mortality means trees are absorbing less carbon dioxide before dying and expelling the gas themselves.
NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe, which launched in 1977, began sending anomalous signals from its attitude articulation and control system, consisting of the numbers 377 or 0. Voyager’s project manager tells Inverse NASA is working to diagnose and correct the issue.