Petra University

Individual Atlantic puffins 'scout out' their own migration routes rather than relying on genetic 'programming' or learning routes from a parent, a new study suggests.

NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 5, 2011 to begin a five-year journey to Jupiter. Juno's detailed study of the largest planet in our solar system will help reveal Jupiter's origin and evolution. As the archetype of giant gas planets, Jupiter can help scientists understand the origin of our solar system and learn more about planetary systems around other stars.

Researchers found that use over time and not just genetics informs the structure of jaw bones in human populations. The researchers say these findings may be used to predict the diet of an ancient population, even if little evidence exists in the fossil record. It can also make it easier for scientists to pinpoint the genetic relationship between fossils.

The Permian extinction 250 million years ago was the largest mass extinction on record, and among the losers were conifers that originally blanketed the arid interior of the supercontinent Pangaea. Now researchers say that climate change led to the proliferation of tree-killing soil fungi that helped destroy the forests -- something that could happen as a consequence of global warming today.