Review: Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction

Written by Matt Ridley

If human beings were to vanish from the Earth, what would their effect on wildlife have been? A rash of extinctions, a lot of mixing up so that wallabies and parakeets live in England and rabbits and sparrows in Australia, but also — according to Chris Thomas — an eventual doubling in the number of species on the planet: a “sixth genesis”, as he calls it in reference to the five previous times that biodiversity has expanded rapidly after a mass extinction. We are causing a mass speciation.

Continue Reading No Comments

Nickel key to Earth’s magnetic field, research shows

Written by Brooks Hays

New research suggests nickel is essential to the Earth’s magnetic field.

Earth’s magnetic field is generated by what’s called the “dynamo effect,” a unique combination of geophysical factors. Of these factors, the convection currents of Earth’s conductive, molten core and Earth’s constant rotation are the most important.

Continue Reading No Comments

Inside the Ludicrous Plan to Send a Spacecraft to our Neighbor Star

Written by Shannon Stirone

As a species, we have made magnificent strides in robotic space exploration in the past decade. From exploring Pluto close-up for the first time to discovering our solar system is rife with underground liquid oceans, we now understand our little neighborhood of planets and moons better than ever before. It’s time to start talking about how we are going to explore the stars.

Continue Reading No Comments

Smallest-ever star discovered by astronomers

Written by University of Cambridge

The smallest star yet measured has been discovered by a team of astronomers led by the University of Cambridge. With a size just a sliver larger than that of Saturn, the gravitational pull at its stellar surface is about 300 times stronger than what humans feel on Earth.

Continue Reading 1 Comment