In 2014, scientists compared EPAS1 DNA from 40 Tibetans and 40 Han Chinese and linked a high-altitude adaptation to Denisovan-like ancestry. 12 years later, the finding traced the genetic gift to an interbreeding event about 48,700 years agoIn 2014, scientists found a remarkable clue in Tibetan DNA. They compared the EPAS1 gene in 40 Tibetans and 40 Han Chinese and uncovered a ...
13 Aug, 2026, 07.40 PM IST
In 2011, USGS researchers began studying Lake Erie's fish and seasonal hypoxia across a multi-year project. 15 years later, the findings showed fish crowding areas near 2–3 mg/L oxygen, revealing an unexpected shift at the edges of low-oxygen zonesLake Erie’s seasonal hypoxia is changing where fish gather. For years, scientists watched oxygen levels fall and fish move around the lake....
13 Aug, 2026, 07.02 PM IST
In 2001, Denmark turned a 19-km straight river into a 26-km winding one, but decades later researchers found nature was still struggling to rebuild what humans had destroyedDenmark's Skjern River restoration has skillfully reshaped a once-straight channel back into a meandering waterway. This innovative initiat...
13 Aug, 2026, 06.51 PM IST
In 2000, the American West entered a megadrought that became its driest stretch in roughly 1,200 years. Years later, it left major lakes and reservoirs majorly depleted, with some losing enough water to expose miles of lakebedSeveral major North American lakes are experiencing significant water level declines. Drought, warming temperatures, and increased water de...
13 Aug, 2026, 12.11 AM IST
This ocean parasite kills a fish's tongue and ten takes its place; what makes the tongue-eating louse so differentA parasite enters fish through gills and replaces their tongues. This isopod, Cymothoa exigua, attaches to the tongue stump and functions a...
12 Aug, 2026, 10.55 PM IST
In 2012, anglers and biologists reported strange black tumors on catfish in a Vermont-Quebec lake. Years later, genetic testing revealed the shocking outcome: The tumors are a rare contagious cancer spreading between fishBrown bullhead catfish in Lake Memphremagog are showing unusual black tumors, raising concerns among researchers. Genetic studies indicate ...
12 Aug, 2026, 08.06 PM IST
Jackie the famous Big Bear eagle has died; What happens to her body next could help native American tribesJackie, the adored bald eagle and internet icon, has left us at the age of fourteen. Her remains will be sent to a federal program aimed at...
12 Aug, 2026, 08.03 AM IST
Hidden in Uganda's swamps, this 4-foot-tall bird looks like a living dinosaur, complete with a fearsome hooked bill and a machine-gun-like call; scientists still don't fully understand its strange evolutionUganda’s shoebill is one of Africa’s strangest birds, standing up to 140 centimeters tall with a huge hooked bill built for catching large ...
11 Aug, 2026, 10.10 PM IST
In 1963, federal engineers completed Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona for water storage and power, which turned the Colorado River colder and disrupted native fish reproductionGlen Canyon Dam altered the Colorado River's temperature and flow significantly. This change negatively affected the endangered humpback ch...
11 Aug, 2026, 07.29 PM IST
From 1877, officials stocked over 33 million fish in Yosemite for anglers, altering fishless lakes and reducing habitat for native yellow-legged frogsYosemite's lakes, once fishless, received over 33 million stocked fish between 1877 and 1990. Introduced trout preyed on native species and...
11 Aug, 2026, 04.55 PM IST
In 2008, Spain began filling 300-metre-deep coal mine with 547 billion litres of water; four years later, the site looked nothing like it once didA vast open-pit coal mine in As Pontes, Spain, has been transformed into a large artificial lake. Engineers filled the enormous excavation ...
11 Aug, 2026, 10.37 AM IST
Researchers found how smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure may affect Alzheimer's and vascular dementia differentlyNew research indicates dementia risk factors impact the brain uniquely. Common vascular risks damage brain blood vessels and white matter. ...
11 Aug, 2026, 12.45 AM IST
A ghost town disappeared beneath 60 feet of water after Hoover Dam was built; Lake Mead’s decline is bringing it back to lifeA submerged ghost town named St. Thomas is reappearing as Lake Mead's water levels drop. This former Mormon settlement was flooded after th...
10 Aug, 2026, 10.51 PM IST
A 7,000-year-old discovery in Norway shows Stone Age people were shaping ecosystems long before farmingAncient fish traps reveal Stone Age hunter-gatherers introduced brown trout into Norway's isolated Lake Tesse. These communities deliberate...
07 Aug, 2026, 01.46 AM IST
5ft tall, 7ft wingspan and a striking black-and-white body: IAS officer shares video of black-necked stork. Why is this giant bird ‘Near Threatened’?IAS officer Sanjay Kumar recently shared a video of the black-necked stork, highlighting its impressive height of nearly 5ft and wingspan e...
05 Aug, 2026, 11.18 AM IST
In 1969, California biologist Phil Pister carried endangered Owens pupfish across hazardous terrain in two buckets; in 2024, a seventh refuge population was establishedIn a dramatic rescue in 1969, biologist Phil Pister painstakingly transported the last of the Owens pupfish through challenging landscapes ...
03 Aug, 2026, 07.01 PM IST
In 1922, California introduced mosquitofish to eat mosquito larvae; within four years, they were in 30 counties and were later linked to native-species declinesIn 1922, California introduced mosquitofish in hopes of controlling mosquito populations. Although they were initially viewed as a solution...
01 Aug, 2026, 05.54 PM IST