عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

National Geographic Broadcasts KAUST’s Journey to Becoming ‘Global’

Divers explore the depths of the Red Sea
Divers explore the depths of the Red Sea
    Thuwal - Asharq Al-Awsat
TT
20
TT

National Geographic Broadcasts KAUST’s Journey to Becoming ‘Global’

Divers explore the depths of the Red Sea
Divers explore the depths of the Red Sea

National Geographic Abu Dhabi is shining the spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Chasing Answers, a new four-part series that explores the emergence of the Thuwal-based institution as a hub for groundbreaking scientific research and development in the region and the world.

Home to elite scientists from all over the world, KAUST focuses on research that applies science and technology to areas of global concern.

The series delves into three areas in particular - human need, social advancement, and environmental sustainability - highlighting important projects with significant impact on both nature and mankind.

Episodes include Powering the Future, which will take a look at a team of KAUST researchers, as they spend countless hours tackling climate change and testing alternative energy solutions. The Red Sea Explored is a deep dive into projects that include underwater internet and coral spawning.

The episode (Feeding) The 10 Billion Challenge shows the inroads being made by the KAUST team in answering the ever-daunting question of how to feed the world’s growing population.

We Are Doers focuses on a group of problem-solvers as they look for ways to use technology to help overcome issues ranging from the global microchip shortage to filling knowledge gaps in our understanding of the past and our ambitions for the future.

Chasing Answers will air at 9 pm KSA time each Wednesday for four weeks starting June 1st.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Study Sheds Light on Origin of Australia's Odd Echidna

A team of scientists believe many of the echidna's unusual traits were first developed millions of years ago when its ancestors splashed through the water. ROMEO GACAD / AFP
A team of scientists believe many of the echidna's unusual traits were first developed millions of years ago when its ancestors splashed through the water. ROMEO GACAD / AFP
TT
20
TT

Study Sheds Light on Origin of Australia's Odd Echidna

A team of scientists believe many of the echidna's unusual traits were first developed millions of years ago when its ancestors splashed through the water. ROMEO GACAD / AFP
A team of scientists believe many of the echidna's unusual traits were first developed millions of years ago when its ancestors splashed through the water. ROMEO GACAD / AFP

Australia's burrowing echidna evolved from a water-dwelling ancestor in an "extremely rare" biological event, scientists said Tuesday in a new study of the peculiar egg-laying mammals.

With powerful digging claws, protective spikes and highly sensitive beaks, echidnas are well suited to a life shuffling through the forest undergrowth, AFP said.

But a team of Australian and international scientists believe many of the echidna's unusual traits were first developed millions of years ago when its ancestors splashed through the water.

"We're talking about a semiaquatic mammal that gave up the water for a terrestrial existence," said paleontologist Suzanne Hand, from the University of New South Wales.

"While that would be an extremely rare event, we think that's what happened with echidnas."

Echidnas and another Australian oddity, the semi-aquatic platypus, are believed to have evolved from a common ancestor called Kryoryctes cadburyi that lived in Australia more than 100 million years ago.

Researchers studied the single known bone fragment left by this ancestor, which was discovered among a trove of fossils at Dinosaur Cove in southern Australia some 30 years ago.

Platypus bones were similar to this ancient ancestor, Hand said, with a thick and heavy structure that provided ballast for diving.

Echidnas, in comparison, had very thin bone walls that made it easier to walk on land, Hand said.

This indicated echidnas were descended from a water-dwelling ancestor but had evolved to live on land, the research found.

It was far more common for prehistoric mammals to go from land to water, Hand said, pointing towards seals, whales, dolphins and dugongs.

The researchers said these findings appeared to be supported by other echidna traits.

Echidnas have backward-facing hind feet that help them shift mounds of soil when burrowing.

These feet may have first developed as rudders helping the echidna's ancestor navigate fast-moving waterways, Hand said.

Echidnas also have a "diving reflex" when submerged in water, which tells their body to conserve oxygen helping them hold their breath for longer.

Echidnas and platypus are monotremes, a rare group of mammals that lay eggs instead of live young.

"We're hoping we'll discover other ancestral monotremes that will help unravel the early history of this most fascinating group of mammals," said study co-author Michael Archer.

The research was published in peer-reviewed journal PNAS.