‘You don’t need a big brain to fly’ and other lessons from the first flying reptiles
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 6-Dec-2025 11:11 ET (6-Dec-2025 16:11 GMT/UTC)
Paleontologists pin down brain evolution in the first flying reptiles.
New research finds that a combination of extreme climate events, sea-level rise and land subsidence could create larger and deeper floods in coastal cities in future.
The study focused on Shanghai in China, which is threatened with flooding by large and strong typhoons, or tropical storms, producing storm surges and waves. To avoid disaster a major adaptation effort is required - which will almost certainly include raising defences and constructing mobile flood barriers, like those seen at the Thames Barrier in London. However, the team warn there is also the risk of “catastrophic failure” of defences due to rising water levels, especially due to the combination of subsidence, sea-level rise and higher surges during typhoons, as occurred in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Teeth. Ocean. Predator. These are the three most common words used to describe sharks, according to a new global survey published in Wildlife Research, eliciting 1000 different text responses.
In a remarkable stride towards environmental sustainability, researchers at the Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India, have developed a novel approach to predict the adsorption capacity of biochar using machine learning. This breakthrough, detailed in their latest study titled "Machine Learning-Driven Prediction of Biochar Adsorption Capacity for Effective Removal of Congo Red Dye," offers a powerful solution to combat dye pollution.