How do stars form in distant galaxies? Astronomers have long been trying to answer this question by detecting radio signals emitted by nearby galaxies. However, these signals become weaker the further away a galaxy is from Earth, making it difficult for current radio telescopes to pick up.

Classified as: space, radio signal, distant, galaxy, stars, Earth
Published on: 16 Jan 2023

When did the Earth reach oxygen levels sufficient to support animal life? Researchers from McGill University have discovered that a rise in oxygen levels occurred in step with the evolution and expansion of complex, eukaryotic ecosystems. Their findings represent the strongest evidence to date that extremely low oxygen levels exerted an important limitation on evolution for billions of years.

Classified as: Earth, oxygen, evolution, space, exploration, atmosphere, ironstones, Maxwell Lechte
Published on: 31 Jan 2022

To fully grasp and plan for climate impacts under any scenario, researchers and policymakers must look well beyond the 2100 benchmark. Unless CO2 emissions drop significantly, global warming by 2500 will make the Amazon barren, the American Midwest tropical, and India too hot to live in, according to a team of international scientists.

Classified as: co2, emissions, climate change, greenhouse gas, global warming, projections, 2500, Earth, alien, Sustainability
Published on: 13 Oct 2021

More than 90% of Earth’s continental crust is made up of silica-rich minerals, such as feldspar and quartz. But where did this silica-enriched material come from? And could it provide a clue in the search for life on other planets?

Classified as: Earth, crust, silica, geochemical, exoplanets, Baker, Sofonio, science and technology
Published on: 5 May 2017

Chemical analysis of some of the world’s oldest rocks, by an international team led by McGill University researchers, has provided the earliest record yet of Earth's atmosphere. The results show that the air 4 billion years ago was very similar to that more than a billion years later, when the atmosphere -- though it likely would have been lethal to oxygen-dependent humans -- supported a thriving microbial biosphere that ultimately gave rise to the diversity of life on Earth today.

Classified as: McGill, Boswell Wing, Quebec, Nunavik, Earth, ancient rocks, geology, isotopic memory, microbial biosphere, Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt
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Published on: 14 Jan 2015
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