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PBS 'Evolution' Series Criticized for Omitting Cambrian Explosion in Animal Life Discussion

PBS 'Evolution' Series Criticized for Omitting Cambrian Explosion in Animal Life Discussion

The 2026 PBS 'Evolution' series, specifically its fifth and final episode titled 'On the Run,' has drawn criticism for its portrayal of the origin of animal movement and its omission of the Cambrian explosion. According to Science and Culture Today, the series is described as 'bland' and 'hyper-simplified,' failing to adequately address the complexity of the systems and organisms it discusses. The episode focuses on the development of muscle contraction and animal movement, suggesting a 'one giant leap' evolutionary event. It mentions animals in the 'Cambrian seas' but avoids any explicit discussion of the Cambrian explosion, an event recognized by many as 'the most important evolutionary event during the entire history of the Metazoa.' The criticism highlights that the series presents a 'swimmer' with a primitive backbone, muscles, a heart, and a circulatory system as a 'simple creature,' which is argued to be a misrepresentation of its complexity. This approach is seen as an attempt to avoid acknowledgin...
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The Explorers Club Announces Inaugural Kensington Exploration Grantees

The Explorers Club Announces Inaugural Kensington Exploration Grantees

The Explorers Club has announced its inaugural class of Kensington Exploration Grantees, a program launched in 2026 to support exceptional explorers in science, conservation, and global exploration. Jeff Willner, CEO of Kensington and a Trustee of The Explorers Club, emphasized that the grant aims to empower explorers to pursue new frontiers that contribute to understanding and protecting the planet and its inhabitants. The first class of grantees includes a diverse group of individuals working on various projects. Among them are Carrie Dolan, a spatial epidemiologist focusing on global health interventions; Elodie Freymann, a primatologist studying medicinal trees used by chimpanzees and human communities; Rachel Graham, a marine conservation scientist specializing in sharks and rays; Professor Mark Hannaford, an explorer and field scientist focusing on extreme medicine and historical routes; K. David Harrison, a linguist documenting endangered languages; Rebecca Hui, a social entrepreneur connecting indi...
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New Titanosaur Species Discovered in Patagonia Sheds Light on Dinosaur Gigantism

New Titanosaur Species Discovered in Patagonia Sheds Light on Dinosaur Gigantism

Paleontologists Dr. José Luis Carballido and Dr. Matthew McCurry have discovered a new species of sauropod in Patagonia, potentially an early relative of the massive Patagotitan. The excavation site, located near Paso de Indios in Argentina's Chubut province, yielded articulated dinosaur bones, including a 1.6-meter femur, parts of limbs, and the first complete sauropod sacrum found in the region. This new species dates back 110 to 115 million years ago, a mysterious phase of the Cretaceous period. The discovery provides crucial insights into the evolution of titanosaurs, a clade that produced the largest land animals ever, such as Patagotitan mayorum, which stood 9 meters tall and stretched over 30 meters long, weighing 57 tonnes. The research aims to understand the factors behind the gigantism of these creatures.
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Faith, South Dakota, Honors 'Sue' T. rex with Metal Sculpture and Museum

Faith, South Dakota, Honors 'Sue' T. rex with Metal Sculpture and Museum

The town of Faith, South Dakota, proudly calls itself the 'T. rex Capital of the World' and features a scrap-metal Tyrannosaurus rex statue as a tribute to 'Sue,' the largest and most complete T. rex fossil discovered in the United States. The statue, constructed from recycled tractors and agricultural materials, commemorates the discovery of Sue on August 12, 1990, by fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson on the Cheyenne River Reservation. The original skeleton, found in the Hell Creek Formation, was remarkably complete, missing only a few ribs, vertebrae, an arm, and a foot. Following a legal battle and a Sotheby's auction in 1997 where it fetched $8.36 million, Sue now resides at Chicago's Field Museum. Faith also hosts a small museum dedicated to the town's history and other T. rex discoveries in the area.
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Paleontologists Debate Gonzo's Species, Suggesting Link to Carnivorous Dinosaurs

Paleontologists Debate Gonzo's Species, Suggesting Link to Carnivorous Dinosaurs

Paleontologists Debate Gonzo's Species, Suggesting Link to Carnivorous Dinosaurs
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Paleontologists Debate Gonzo's Evolutionary Origins, Suggesting Link to Carnivorous Dinosaurs

Paleontologists Debate Gonzo's Evolutionary Origins, Suggesting Link to Carnivorous Dinosaurs

Paleontologists Debate Gonzo's Evolutionary Origins, Suggesting Link to Carnivorous Dinosaurs
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Jensen Huang, Anthropic, and the Hardware Economics Behind Frontier AI

Jensen Huang, Anthropic, and the Hardware Economics Behind Frontier AI

The AI revolution runs on specialized hardware. This is the story of how NVIDIA's Jensen Huang powers companies like Anthropic, and why it costs billions.
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Scientists Discover Giant 66-Pound Rodent Fossil in Thailand, Rewriting Evolutionary History

Scientists Discover Giant 66-Pound Rodent Fossil in Thailand, Rewriting Evolutionary History

An international team of paleontologists, including scientists from McGill University, has discovered fossils of a previously unknown giant rodent species, *Yakamys sirindhornae*, in a mine in southern Thailand. This prehistoric rodent, estimated to have weighed approximately 30 kilograms (66 pounds), lived about 34 million years ago during the middle of the Paleogene period. The discovery consists of remarkably large fossilized teeth—a lower second molar and a lower incisor—recovered from the Bang Mark Pit at the Krabi lignite mine. This finding suggests that giant rodents appeared much earlier and in more diverse geographical locations than previously understood. The name *Yakamys* combines the Thai word for giant, 'yak,' with the Greek word for mouse or rat, 'mys,' while 'sirindhornae' honors Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn for her support of scientific research in Thailand. The research team utilized seven established methods based on tooth measurements to estimate the animal's body mass, indicating it...
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Scientists Challenge True De-Extinction, Argue Genetic Engineering Creates Analogs, Not Restored Lineages

Scientists Challenge True De-Extinction, Argue Genetic Engineering Creates Analogs, Not Restored Lineages

Andrew Davinack and Charlotte K. Daniels of Wheaton College in Massachusetts have published an opinion paper in the journal *Biology Letters* challenging the concept of 'de-extinction' through genetic engineering. They argue that current biotechnological approaches, such as those used in the Dire Wolf Project by Colossal Biosciences, do not truly bring extinct species back to life. Instead, these methods create genetically engineered analogs of extinct animals. For instance, Colossal Biosciences modified cells from living gray wolves to produce animals with some characteristics of dire wolves. However, Davinack and Daniels contend that these are still genetically engineered gray wolves, not actual dire wolves, because the process does not restore the extinct species' evolutionary history or its original genetic diversity. They emphasize that even if an extinct animal's genetic makeup could be perfectly recreated, its original environment and ecological relationships, which were crucial to its evolution, ca...
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Deep-Sea Mollusk Discovered with Novel Organelle for Bacterial Symbiosis

Deep-Sea Mollusk Discovered with Novel Organelle for Bacterial Symbiosis

Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with international teams, have discovered a novel specialized organelle, named the 'dracosphera' (dragon ball), within the deep-sea mollusk *Chaetoderma shenloong*. This mollusk, found in cold seep environments of the South China Sea, has evolved this unique cellular structure to house and maintain a symbiotic relationship with sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. The dracosphera, a spherical structure wrapped in over 20 membrane layers, accommodates hundreds to thousands of these bacteria, providing the mollusk with its primary source of nutrients and energy. This discovery sheds new light on how deep-sea organisms adapt to extreme, oxygen-depleted environments and suggests a potential new pathway for organelle evolution.
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Tony Leung Ka-fai Secures Best Actor Award at 39th Golden Rooster Awards for 'The Shadow's Edge'

Tony Leung Ka-fai Secures Best Actor Award at 39th Golden Rooster Awards for 'The Shadow's Edge'

Tony Leung Ka-fai Secures Best Actor Award at 39th Golden Rooster Awards for 'The Shadow's Edge'
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Lutnick stalled Trump crackdown on diversion of Nvidia chips to China, Axios reports

Lutnick stalled Trump crackdown on diversion of Nvidia chips to China, Axios reports

WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stalled President Donald Trump's crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia's chips to China, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing high-level sources.