A recent study has uncovered insights into the behavior and diet of ancient sea monsters through the analysis of fossilized vomit from a plesiosaur, a prehistoric marine predator comparable in size to a subway car. These long-necked creatures, known for snapping at fish and scooping up shellfish, would occasionally regurgitate shells that did not agree with them. The examination of 150 million-year-old vomit discovered in North Sea sediments sheds light on the habits of these Jurassic predators. Geologist Dirk Knaust from Equinor, a Norwegian energy company, detailed these findings in Geological Magazine.
Additionally, a groundbreaking achievement in physics has been recognized with the 2026 Nobel Prize awarded to Francis Halzen, a physicist from the University of Madison-Wisconsin. Halzen’s work on the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, situated in the South Pole, led to the detection of high-energy neutrinos from beyond our solar system. This discovery has revolutionized our understanding of cosmic phenomena, including cosmic rays and supermassive black holes. The physicists behind the world’s first nuclear clocks have also made headlines, potentially surpassing atomic clocks in precision by exciting a neutron in an atom’s nucleus to a higher energy state.
Moreover, Jonathan, a 194-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise, holds the title of the oldest-known land animal and has sparked curiosity among researchers studying his genome for clues to his longevity. Dr. Stephen Clark, a neuro-oncologist, and chief scientist at the longevity nonprofit Kallel, led the research that revealed Jonathan’s unique genetic activity comparable to that of five-year-old tortoises. The findings, published in Science Advances, offer valuable insights into the secrets of defying aging in tortoises.
