Topic: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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Southern Great Plains could run out of groundwater in 30 years, study finds

A new study looking at key aquifers beneath the Great Plains and California's Central Valley suggests that areas of Texas and Kansas are drawing groundwater at an unsustainable rate.
How climate change destroyed one of the world's largest civilizations

Located in present-day India and Pakistan, the Harappan civilization fell victim to shifting monsoon patterns, a new study has found.
Radioactive tuna travels from Japan to US faster than wind

Low levels of nuclear radiation from the Fukushima power plant have turned up in 15 bluefin tuna caught off San Diego. The fish is not harmful to humans, say researchers.
Planetary wrecking balls: how Jupiter might have destroyed Earth

'Hot Jupiters' are Jupiter-mass planets orbiting close to stars. A study suggests that they might have been kicked inward from their original orbit, destroying or ejecting other planets.
Were pliable heads an adaptation to walking upright?

New research relates hominin brain growth to walking on two feet.
Horsehair helps locate the origins of domestication

A new study points to the area made up of Kazhakstan, Russia and Ukraine as the region that was home to the first domesticated horses.
Human ancestors used fire a million years ago, finds study

Ash and a charred bone unearthed in South Africa indicates that, even a million years ago, humanity's forebears had harnessed fire.
Satellites identify thousands of small hills as ancient human settlements

Now, two scientists have figured out a more efficient way of locating these sites, via their footprints, from space.
Alien plant forms invading Antarctica

Green aliens are coming to the southernmost continent on the planet in a most pedestrian manner, according to scientists.
Change Agent
Rethinking Carbon Dioxide (CO2): from a pollutant to a moneymaker

Three startup companies led by prominent scientists are working on new technologies to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The scientific community is skeptical, but these entrepreneurs believe removing CO2 can eventually be profitable and help cool the planet.
How the 1 percent lives: Yes, the rich take more candy from kids, study finds

A Berkeley study conducted seven tests to gauge the ethical behaviors of different economic classes. It finds that the rich are more likely to cut somebody off in traffic and lie to get ahead.
How scientists brought 30,000-year-old flower back to life

In what is being hailed as the oldest successful regeneration of a living plant, researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences used cells from a 30,000-year-old plant buried in permafrost to create living seedlings.
300-million-year-old 'Chinese Pompeii' found buried under volcanic ash

Researchers near Wuda, China, have uncovered a tropical forest that was preserved by ash from a volcanic eruption during the early Permian era.
Why there are no more woolly mammoths

Last week, a video allegedly showing a live woolly mammoth stirred frenzied speculation over its authenticity. Even though it was quickly debunked, it captured the popular imagination. What is it about these shaggy elephants that enchants us, and why did they disappear from the earth?
Snakes in the grass: Is the Burmese Python wiping out Everglades mammals?

Burmese Python pets that escaped or were released have proliferated in the Everglades. A recent study suggests they are behind the sharp drop in the population of raccoons and other mammals.
Scientists reveal secret of humongous mammals

How did some mammals get so big? A new study calculates the rate at which mammals evolved from mouse-sized to elephant-sized.
Huge pythons annihilating Everglades wildlife, report scientists (+video)

Pythons that have entered the Everglades after escaping or being released by pet owners are destroying the parks native mammal populations, a new report has found.
Oldest dinosaur nursery includes eggs containing embryos

The newly unearthed clutches of eggs, many with embryos inside, belonged to a plant-eating dinosaur, the predecessor of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth, long-necked sauropods such as Brachiosaurus.
Newly discovered carnivorous plant devours underground worms

Found in the tropical savannas of Brazil, Philcoxia minensis uses its sticky underground leaves to trap tiny roundworms.
How genetically engineered caterpillars spin silk stronger than steel

A research team has genetically altered silkworms to spin spider silk proteins, resulting in a fiber that is stronger than steel that can also be mass produced.
Unusual Russian quasicrystal rock has ancient extraterrestrial history

Two years after identifying the Russian rock's unusual composition, a team of scientists thinks it has nailed down its otherworldly origin.
Ancient City of Angkor may have been ruined by drought

The great city of Angkor in Cambodia, first established in the ninth century, was the capital of the Khmer Empire, the major player in southeast Asia for nearly five centuries.
Did walking evolve underwater? 'Walking fish' suggests that it did.

A study of the African lungfish suggests that our evolutionary ancestors first started walking before they migrated onto land.
Squid robot: Gumby-like robot squeezes through tight spaces (VIDEO)

It's the latest prototype in the growing field of soft-bodied robots. Researchers are increasingly drawing inspiration from nature to create machines that are more bendable and versatile than those made of metal.
The Circle Bastiat
Save the whales through privatization?

A study shows that preserving just four percent of the world's oceans could be crucial in preserving marine mammal species. Is private ownership the key?