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For decades, herpetologists believed that many mountain pit vipers living across parts of the eastern Himalayas belonged to the same widespread species, the Chinese mountain pit viper (Ovophis monticola). But scientists have now shown that at least one group of these snakes has been hiding in plain sight all along.

Scientists have discovered hidden movements beneath California's San Andreas Fault with the help of artificial intelligence, revealing a type of slow fault slip that had largely gone unnoticed till now. The researchers say these silent movements may play a bigger role in earthquake activity than it was previously thought.

Forecasts for the tropical Pacific have shifted noticeably over the past month, with climate scientists now placing greater confidence in the arrival of a particularly powerful El Nino later this year. While these events are part of a natural climate cycle, their effects rarely stay confined to the Pacific Ocean.

Nearly 150 years after gallium was first discovered and added to the periodic table, scientists at the University of Auckland have uncovered previously unknown details about the metal's atomic structure and behaviour, details that overturn an assumption that has shaped the field for more than three decades. Gallium was identified in 1875 by French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, and it has long fascinated scientists for one particularly striking trait, its melting point sits so low that a gallium spoon can dissolve in a cup of hot tea.

Scientists using artificial intelligence (AI) have uncovered a complex communication system among sperm whales, identifying a kind of phonetic alphabet. The discovery comes as experts also found sperm whales living in the eastern Mediterranean Sea have developed a distinct regional dialect that separates them from populations living in the west.