A new ancient species of snake dubbed Vasuki Indicus‚ which lived around 47 million years ago in the state of Gujarat in India‚ may have been one of the largest snakes to have ever lived‚ suggests new research published in Scientific Reports. The new species‚ which reached an estimated length of between 11 and 15 meters‚ was part of the now extinct madtsoiidae snake family‚ but represented a distinct lineage that originated in India.

Many of us would love the superpower to fly‚ and for good reason: Flight offers a crucial evolutionary advantage. Flying enables an animal to travel large distances quickly‚ in search of food and new habitats‚ while expending far less energy than walking. Through flight‚ insects colonized the planet and fostered the massive diversification of flowering plants by acting as efficient pollinators. They also enabled the evolution of other creatures like reptiles‚ birds‚ and mammals by serving as ample food supply.

Making ever smaller and more powerful chips requires new ultrathin materials: 2D materials that are only 1 atom thick‚ or even just a couple of atoms. Think about graphene or ultra-thin silicon membrane for instance.

The deadly heat wave that hit Africa's Sahel region in early April would not have occurred without human-induced climate change‚ according to a study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group published Thursday.

Migration and reproduction are two of the most demanding events in a bird's annual cycle‚ so much so that the vast majority of migratory birds separate the two tasks into different times of the year.

A team of researchers from the University of Cologne and the University of W&;uuml;rzburg have found in training studies that the distinction between known and unknown words can be trained and leads to more efficient reading. Recognizing words is necessary to understand the meaning of a text. When we read‚ we move our eyes very efficiently and quickly from word to word.

Human mini-lungs grown by University of Manchester scientists can mimic the response of animals when exposed to certain nanomaterials. The study is published in Nano Today.

The idea that earthquakes release stress by a single strong quake along a single fault plane may need to be corrected. A recent study by researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with the participation of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and international partner institutions points out that it would be more accurate to speak of a zone with numerous fault planes‚ some of which are parallel.

Like boulders‚ rocks‚ and pebbles scattered across a landscape‚ asteroids come in a wide range of sizes. Cataloging asteroids in space is tricky because they are faint and they don't stop to be photographed as they zip along their orbits around the sun.

Scientists in Cambridge University suggest molecules‚ vital to the development of life‚ could have formed from a process known as graphitization. Once verified in the laboratory‚ it could allow us to try and recreate plausible conditions for life's emergence.