Oldest Piece of Earth's Crust

Using uranium decay dating methods, a 4.4 billion-year-old zircon crystal found in the Jack Hills region of Western Australia has been confirmed as the oldest known fragment of Earth's crust, evidence of solid crust formation soon after Earth's formation itself and quickly following the impact that produced the Moon.

Fossil Ichthyosaur Live Birth

Scientists have discovered a rare 248 million-year-old fossil in China of an ichthyosaur (Chaohusaurus) that died during labor and the oldest embryonic fossils yet found, revealing that the ancient sea reptile bore live young head-first as the former land species once evolved to do.

Shape-Shifting Neutrinos Seen

Japan's Super-Kamiokande detector has found its first evidence that neutrinos interact with matter through detection of predicted levels of high-energy solar neutrino oscillations as they pass through the bulk of the Earth.

Earliest Non-African Footprints

Scientists have discovered the first fossilized human footprints outside of the African continent on a Happisburgh beach on the eastern side of England, dating back 800,000 years and providing direct evidence of the earliest known humans in Northern Europe.