The earliest evidence of an internal ‘GPS’ system in an animal has been identified by researchers, which could help explain how modern birds and fish evolved the ability to use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate long distances.

An international team of scientists, including a senior researcher at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, has uncovered new evidence of ancient wildfires that reshapes our understanding of Earth’s turbulent Early Triassic epoch, about 250 million years ago.

A new study uncovered fresh chemical evidence of life in rocks more than 3.3 billion years old, along with molecular traces showing that oxygen-producing photosynthesis emerged nearly a billion years earlier than previously thought. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, not only deepens understanding of Earth’s earliest biosphere but also has implications for the search for life beyond Earth. The same approach could be used to analyze samples from Mars or other planetary bodies to detect whether they once harbored living organisms.

Seawalls and other unyielding structures meant to keep rising waters at bay and to protect against storm surges can cause other significant harm to the coast, often by disrupting natural processes and accelerating erosion. The gap between protection and preservation might be bridged with a softer, nature-inspired solution, according to an international research team.