Mass bleaching has killed more than a third of the coral in the northern and central parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, though corals to the south have escaped with little damage, scientists said. Researchers found that around 35 percent of the coral in the northern and central sections of the reef are dead or dying, said Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. And some parts of the reef had lost more than half of the coral to bleaching. Coral that has died is gone for good, which affects other creatures that rely on it for food and shelter.
Chemicals of life are found in comet's halo
Scientists have found further evidence supporting the theory that some of the building blocks for life may have come to Earth from outer space. Using instruments aboard the European space probe Rosetta, researchers detected glycine and phosphorus in the dusty halo around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Scientists said adding a high concentration of those molecules to a body of water could have produced the "primordial soup" that gave birth to life on our planet more than 4 billion years ago.
News services
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More From Star Tribune
More From Science
Business
Justice Dept makes arrests in North Korean identity theft scheme involving thousands of IT workers
The Justice Department on Thursday announced the arrest of three people in a complex stolen identity scheme that officials say generates enormous proceeds for the North Korean government, including for its weapons program.
Business
Facebook and Instagram face fresh EU digital scrutiny over child safety measures
The European Union opened fresh investigations Thursday into Facebook and Instagram over suspicions that they're failing to protect children online, in violation of the bloc's strict digital regulations for social media platforms.
Nation
Webb telescope uncovers merger of two massive black holes from early universe
The Webb Space Telescope has discovered the earliest known merger of black holes.
Nation
This giant gas planet is as fluffy and puffy as cotton candy
Astronomers have identified a planet that's bigger than Jupiter yet surprisingly as fluffy and light as cotton candy.
Business
How bad are ultraprocessed foods, really?
What are ultraprocessed foods, exactly? And how strong is the evidence that they're harmful? The New York Times asked experts to answer these and other questions.