Group items tagged

When Madagascar broke free from India, ancient blind snakes hopped aboard for the ride, according to new genetic research. "The small burrowing snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, but are primarily distributed across the southern hemisphere. The earthworm-like snakes use a specially adapted mouth to eat eggs and larvae and may spend all of their lives under ground. Furthermore, researchers have struggled-because of it's almost exclusively subterranean lifestyle-to explain the elusive snake's geographic distribution."

A new study shows that ice melts far more extensively at the base of the Antarctic ice sheet, miles below the surface, than scientists had thought. The findings raise the possibility that melt water may even help govern the behavior of glaciers.