Science & Environment
Animals may have evolved vastly earlier than fossil evidence suggests
Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories · Published

The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated deep
The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated deep in the Neoproterozoic Era, even before some of the most extreme ice ages in Earth's history.
Related stories

Forestry experts author national guidance on disaster preparedness
John Daigle, professor of forest recreation management at the University of Maine, co-authored the first paper in a series designed to help communities nationwide prepare for future natural disasters and other extreme weather events.
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·
Smart silicone coatings can change their friction and stickiness as surroundings reshape nanoscale layers
Research led by a group from the University of Newcastle has found a new way to make silicone surfaces—and control how slippery they are. The work was published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·

Ancient sea levels reveal when the Earth's poles went wandering
Earth's poles do not always stay in the same place. For example, a region once near the North Pole can end up near the equator, and an area near the equator can shift up toward the pole. This is known as true polar wander (TPW), and it's when Earth's crust and mantle shift togeth
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·

Q&A: Why are red squirrels endangered—and can we save them?
The red squirrel was once a familiar sight across Britain. Today, it has disappeared from much of its former range. Dr. Kat Hamill, senior lecturer in zoology at Nottingham Trent University, explains what has happened to one of Britain's most recognizable native mammals—and wheth
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·

How much are the world's oceans warming? New method reveals double-digit percentage gaps from climate models
The world's oceans behave like a thermometer: As the water warms, it expands and sea levels rise. Geodesy researchers at the University of Bonn are able to measure this and determine how much the oceans are warming. For individual ocean basins, their method has revealed significa
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·