Diamonds, the super-strong and brilliant crystals of carbon atoms produced under the Earth’s crushing pressures, are typically valued for their beauty and durability. But scientists also value them for another reason: They contain all kinds of hidden messages about the Earth’s mantle. You just need the right tools to read them.

A new report published today in Science suggests that pockets of liquid water may exist up to 500 miles beneath Earth’s surface—far deeper that previous estimates. This conclusion was reached after scientists discovered a rare form of crystalized water known as ice VII in diamond samples recovered in Africa and China. These ice VII samples are the first time this form of crystalized water has been seen in nature and led the International Mineralogical Association to declare ice VII as a new type of mineral.

A team of researchers from the U.S., China and Canada has found evidence in diamonds of free-flowing water in the boundary between Earth's upper and lower mantle. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes analyzing inclusions in diamonds spewed from volcanoes and what they found.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-diamond-inclusions-free-boundary-upper.ht…

The Curiosity rover made big news in late 2014 when it first detected organic matter on Mars. But in detailed studies of the sites in Gale Crater studied by Curiosity, called Yellowknife Bay and Sheepbed Mudstone, the concentration of organic molecules were much lower than scientists had expected.

Motorists will be able to cruise a brand-new section of Interstate 11 next Tuesday. It's the Railroad Pass interchange and it will be open for business Feb. 20.

Coming out of the last glacial period, there was a sudden climate reversal observed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the Earth. The cause of these changes during this interval so enigmatic, so much so, the interval was informally referred to as the “Mystery Interval.” Many large shifts in climates in the past seem to be synchronized with climate in the poles as expressed in ice core records.

“Is this something we’ve seen before?” We asked Dr. Josh Bonde. He grinned. “No, this is going to be something new.”

Sabertooth cats once roamed Las Vegas, mammoths towered over the valley, and now, you can see them.

For eons humans have gazed into the heavens and pondered the mysteries of the universe.

In Northern Nevada’s Great Boiling Spring, strange microscopic creatures thrive in water hot enough to kill you.

Tracing your family roots. It's research that can turn up all kinds of surprises, and maybe even links to famous ancestors.

Scott Abella began researching changes in plant life in the Oak Openings in 2002 as an undergraduate intern from Grand Valley State University in Michigan. Fifteen years later, Dr. Abella, assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, continues his research on his summer breaks.