A warming, rapidly changing Arctic is the “new normal” and shows no signs of returning to the reliably frozen region of the past. This is according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Arctic Report Card. Director of the administration’s Arctic Researcher Program, Dr Jeremy Mathis, said the region did a great service to …

The remnants of an ancient penguin that stood as tall as a human have been found encased in rock on a beach in New Zealand, The Guardian reports. Fossil hunters chanced upon the prehistoric bones in sedimentary rock that formed 55m to 60m years ago on what is now Hampden beach in Otago in the …

Researchers have found a new type of microbe that can survive on air alone – and say it could change the way we hunt for alien life. The microbe can scavenge hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from the air to stay alive in extreme conditions. It is the first time the behaviour has been …

Hundreds of minor genetic mutations start to form in the cells of an embryo soon after conception, researchers have discovered. According to UPI.com, the Yale University and Mayo Clinic scientists said that many of these mutations occur as sex cells are forming in the embryo. That means they can become part of the embryo’s genome …

Overfishing and changing sea temperatures are pushing seabirds to the brink of extinction, according to new data on the world’s birds. Birds that are now globally threatened include the kittiwake and the Atlantic puffin, which breed on UK sea cliffs. Meanwhile, on land, the Snowy Owl is struggling to find prey as ice melts in …