New observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have uncovered the never-before-seen close encounter between two astoundingly bright and spectacularly massive galaxies in the early Universe. These so-called hyper-luminous starburst galaxies are exceedingly rare at this epoch of cosmic history — near the time when galaxies first formed — and may represent one of the most-extreme examples of violent star formation ever observed.

Heavy frosts and severe climates are extreme conditions. How did humans manage to survive the last glaciation? Breathing is the answer. Although this seems to be obvious, a study published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) claims that the internal nasal cavity of humans and Neanderthals –species that occupied extreme cold and dry landscapes– allowed them to warm and moisten the inhaled air. These results are vital to understand how our human lineage managed to resist severe climate conditions during their dispersion through Eurasia at the end of the Pleistocene epoch.

A recent study, published in The Science of Nature and conducted by several researchers of the Council and a colleague of the University of Texas, described for the first time a group of modern birds that survived the Creaceous Palogene mass extinction that occurred 65 millions of years ago and led to the disappearance of the dinosaurs.