Author: Maheen McMahon

Atmospheric methane may be the first sign of life beyond Earth detectable by astronomers. While non-biological processes can also generate it, a new study establishes a set of circumstances that may point to true biological activity on a rocky planet. Many technical means, under the tutelage of some of the brightest minds on the planet, […]

Researchers have used the “invisible species” ecological model to estimate the number of medieval chivalrous works and heroic tales lost throughout history. According to this work, more than 90% of these testimonies would have disappeared. Our ancestors left us books, manuscripts, paintings, sculptures and other artefacts that allow us to better understand their cultures. However, […]

Extinction specialists have tried to bring the Christmas Island rat back from the dead. The species had been exterminated in Australia a little over a century ago. To do this, they relied on a related species: the brown rat. Details of the study are published in the journal Current Biology. Deextinction is the process of […]

In general, it is rather rare to directly observe a rogue wave. In western Canada, two years ago, however, a buoy recorded the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded. The size of the latter was as imposing as a six or seven story building, but its main feature is elsewhere. Rare but impressive sightings First […]

Located at 8020 meters above sea level, the South Col glacier is the highest on Mount Everest. However, despite its elevation, the latest research shows that a thickness equivalent to several decades of accumulation is now lost each year. The results were published in the journal NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science on February 3. Chronicle […]

According to a study, microorganisms have adapted to one of the most hostile environments on Earth, a sulphurous and acidic lake in Costa Rica considered an analogue of the ancient lakes of Mars. One of the most hostile environments in the world Located at 2300 meters above sea level, Laguna Caliente is one of the […]

A measurement campaign aimed at better understanding the functioning of clouds in the southern hemisphere took place between 2018 and 2021 at the southern tip of Chile. The results recently published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics should improve the representation of the energy balance of this hemisphere in climate models. Clouds in the […]

After missing its initial launch window in part due to the pandemic, the European Space Agency’s ExoMars 2022 mission is finally set to launch in September. Its objective, as its name suggests, will be to probe the presence of past life on Mars. Like NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian agency Roscosmos […]