In an interview with the discoverers, Meagan Campbell of MacLean's explores how fossils 3.8 billion years old were found in a rock formation in northern Québec.

The oldest proof we have of life on Earth is in Quebec, according to a team of international researchers. On the edge of the Hudson Bay, geologists and biologists from England, Australia, ( Read more... )

• blogTO notes the continued rise in rental prices for apartments.
• Centauri Dreams looks at a time in the Earth's history when there was a lot of atmospheric oxygen but not much life.
• The Dragon's Gaze links to a paper suggesting there is an authentic lack of gas giant planets beyond 10 AU.
• Itching for Eestimaa notes the British politicians who favoured ( Read more... )

• Antipope Charlie Stross wonders about the interactions between parasite loads and the intelligence of the inhabitants of off-world colonies.
• Bad Astronomy shares a stunning mosaic of the Milky Way Galaxy.
• blogTO notes the construction of a viewing platform for Toronto plane spotters.
• The Everyday Sociology Blog examines why we call other people stupid ( Read more... )

National Geographic's Brian Clark Howard describes a new study that demonstrates how bees, that epitome of a swarm intelligence, learn.

Bee see, bee do. At least that's the conclusion of research published earlier this month, showing that bumblebees learn to solve problems by watching each other ( Read more... )

• The BBC notes a study suggesting that the bombardment of the early Moon by comets gave it water.
• Bloomberg View criticizes red tape in Greece, and notes that the salts of Australia will be drawing solar cell manufacturers to that country.
• The Guardian notes Jeremy Corbyn's claims of BBC bias against him.
• The Inter Press Service examines the ( Read more... )

• blogTO notes the warning of the Royal Bank of Canada that the city has too many condos.
• D-Brief notes how patterns of glucose consumption in the brain can distinguish between people capable of consciousness and those otherwise.
• Dangerous Minds notes the Victorian tradition of post-mortem photographs.
• The Dragon's Gaze notes that, apparently, our ( Read more... )

Why did I not know of the Toronto Botanical Gardens before now? Thanks to Shawn Micallef in the Toronto Star for alerting me to the existence of the place.

Trinity Bellwoods Park has its famous white squirrel, making rare appearances shared delightedly on social media, a kind of urban badge one achieves in downtown Toronto. However, the Toronto ( Read more... )

• Bloomberg notes that cutting back on immigration would not boost a post-Brexit United Kingdom's living standards, reports on Uber's fight with taxi companies, and observes that the new president of the Philippines vows to continue his predecessor's economic policies.
• Bloomberg View argues China should want a Taiwan with a higher international ( Read more... )

• Bloomberg notes California's dependence on oil imports, looks at how Libya's internal divisions limit oil exports, observes the devastation of Fort McMurray, reports on EU-Turkish disputes on visa-free travel, observes the problems of Belarus' banks, and reports on Kenya's closure of Somali refugee camps.
• Bloomberg View talks about how the ( Read more... )

• Atlas Obscura looks at the 18th century British tradition of installing hermits in gardens.
• Bloomberg looks at Brexit proponents who say the United Kingdom can arrange a better deal with the European Union than Switzerland, notes continued anger after the housing collapse, and studies prospects for light rail in Los Angeles.
• CBC notes the death of K- ( Read more... )