550 Million Years Ago – Researchers Shine New Light on Earth’s First Known Mass Extinction Event
A new study reveals a significant loss of diversity during the Ediacaran Period, which lasted from 635 million to 540 million years ago. According to…
Virginia Tech News
Scientists Identify the Source of the Planet Ceres’ Unexpected Geological Activity
Modeling reveals how Ceres powers unexpected geologic activity. According to Scott King, a geoscientist at the Virginia Tech College of Science, our view of Ceres has…
Over 200 Million Years Old – Scientists Discover Africa’s Oldest Known Dinosaur
During two digs in Zimbabwe in 2017 and 2019, a graduate student from Virginia Tech discovered and unearthed the fossil with the assistance of other…
Scientists Relieved To Discover Mysterious Creature Is Not Humanity’s Earliest Ancestor
The “curious” creature with no anus was demonstrated to not be related to humans. An international study team has found that a mysterious microscopic creature…
Brain Fog – Can Animals Get It Too?
Infection impairs learning, memory, and problem-solving across animal species. Is brain fog a disorder that only affects humans? That question is addressed in a recent…
Changes in Earth’s Outer Core Revealed by Seismic Waves From Earthquakes
Theory underpins our understanding of convection in the Earth’s outer core and its function in controlling the planet’s magnetic field. Convective flows or how they…
Scientists Warn: A Vicious Cycle of Oxygen Loss Threatens Water Quality in Lakes
Scientists have recently confirmed that the world’s lakes are rapidly losing oxygen. With a seven-year, whole-ecosystem study, a team of freshwater scientists at Virginia Tech…
New Research Examines Keys to Making Batteries Last Longer
“This study really sheds light on how we can design and manufacture battery electrodes to obtain a long cycle life for batteries,” said Feng Lin,…
New Research Shows Estimates of the Carbon Cycle – Vital to Predicting Climate Change – Are Incorrect
The findings do not counter the established science of climate change but highlight how the accounting of the amount of carbon withdrawn by plants and…
Stunning Subsurface Images of Yellowstone National Park Reveal “Mystery Sandwich” Plumbing System
The geysers and fumaroles of Yellowstone National Park are among the most iconic and popular geological features on our planet. Each year, millions of visitors…
New Robotic Drone Morphs From a Ground to Air Vehicle Using Liquid Metal
Imagine a small autonomous vehicle that could drive over land, stop, and flatten itself into a quadcopter. The rotors start spinning, and the vehicle flies…
Using Ice To Boil Water: Heat Transfer Discovery Expands on 18th Century Physics Principle
Associate Professor Jonathan Boreyko and graduate fellow Mojtaba Edalatpour have made a discovery about the properties of water that could provide an exciting addendum to…
Psychedelics Show Promise in Treating Mental Illness: Depression, Anxiety, Addiction, and PTSD
The National Alliance of Mental Health estimates that one in five American adults will suffer from a mental illness at some point in their lives. Treatment is…
Through the Eyes of Underwater Creatures: Wearable, Whole-Body Sensing Networks
Michael Bartlett will engineer wearable, whole-body sensing networks with a Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research. The horseshoe crab is often referred…
Geoscientists Find That Shallow Wastewater Injection in Oil and Gas Production Fields Drives Deep Earthquakes in Texas
In a newly published paper, Virginia Tech geoscientists have found that shallow wastewater injection – not deep wastewater injections – can drive widespread deep earthquake…
First People in the US to Experience Drone Delivery Give It a Seal of Approval
The week of Thanksgiving last year, a postcard arrived in mailboxes in Christiansburg. A link to a survey was on the back. On the front,…
Infectious Diseases and Social Distancing in Nature
Forager ants do it, vampire bats do it, guppies do it, and mandrills do it. Long before humans learned about and started “social distancing due…
Jumping Frost Crystals: Electrostatic De-icing Effect Could Be a Game-Changer for Aircraft and HVAC Industries
If you have ever gotten up on a winter morning and thrown yourself into the arduous task of scraping frost from a windshield, a Virginia…
