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☆ Near collapse of Earth’s magnetic field 591 million years ago may have allowed complex life to thrive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Earth’s magnetic field plays a key role in making our planet habitable. However, Earth’s magnetic field almost collapsed 591 million years ago, and this change, paradoxically, may have played a pivotal role in the blossoming of complex life, new research has found. The discovery of the sustained weakening of Earth’s magnetic field also helped resolve an enduring geological mystery about when Earth’s solid inner core formed. Shuhai Xiao/Virginia TechUncovering the magnetic field’s near collapseThe intensity of Earth’s magnetic field is known to fluctuate over time, and crystals preserved in rock contain tiny magnetic particles that lock in a record of the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field. The research on the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field suggests that the age of Earth’s inner core is on the younger end of that timescale, solidifying after 565 million years ago and allowing Earth’s magnetic shield to bounce back.

Persons: “, ”, John Tarduno, Xiao, Tarduno, Shuhai Xiao, ” Tarduno, Peter Driscoll, wasn’t, ” Driscoll Organizations: CNN, University of Rochester, Environment, Virginia Tech, Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science Locations: New York, South Australia, Virginia, Quebec, Brazil, South Africa, Washington ,, Newfoundland, Canada

☆ Scientists find new clue in what led to megalodon’s demise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Amaya Mcdonald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists previously theorized that megalodons were warm-blooded, but the new study is the first to provide concrete evidence to that effect. From this finding, they deduced the megalodon’s average body temperature was about 27 C (80 F). Like modern great white and mako sharks, megalodons were regionally endothermic, which means they had the ability to regulate temperature in certain parts of the body, according to the study. The timing of megalodons’ extinction coincides with the cooling of the Earth’s temperature, the researchers said. But learning more about the ancient shark could still help scientists better understand the threats similar marine animals face today.

Persons: CNN —, it’s, “, megalodon, Robert Eagle, Kenshu Shimada, ” Shimada, Megalodon, Michael Griffiths, ” Griffiths Organizations: CNN, National Academy of Sciences, UCLA, Eagle, DePaul University in, William Paterson University Locations: megalodon, DePaul University in Chicago, “, Megalodon, New Jersey

☆ Billion-year-old rocks reveal traces of ancient life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

V. Diekamp/MARUM/University of BremenThe evidence of these ancient eukaryotes took the form of biological molecules that they produced. Advances in biochemical analyses have allowed scientists to identify ancient molecules preserved in the fossil record, particularly in old rocks that have been relatively undisturbed by geological processes. In the new Nature study, Nettersheim and his colleagues, including Brocks, a professor of geobiology at the Australian National University, examined rocks from Australia’s Barney Creek Formation. Previous studies established that the Barney Creek rocks, which are more than 1 billion years old, contain traces of ancient biomolecules. But “people never looked, really, for these primordial types of steroids in those kinds of rocks,” Nettersheim said.

Persons: Benjamin Nettersheim, ”, Nettersheim, “, Dr, ” Nettersheim, Jochen Brocks, Konrad Bloch, Bloch, Barney, Susannah Porter, Porter, Roger, ” “ Konrad Bloch, Brocks Organizations: CNN, MARUM Center, Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Australian National University, University of California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Locations: Australia, Nature, geobiology, Germany, MARUM, Santa Barbara

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