Researchers have uncovered three striking discoveries that highlight nature’s ingenuity and the ongoing exploration of our universe.

Raccoons on Cozumel Teach Family to Make Toys

While tourists enjoyed drinks at a beach club on Cozumel, Mexico, a young female raccoon was observed pulling a paper receipt from a trash can, shaping it into a ball, and batting it like a football. The animal then demonstrated the behavior to other raccoons, who began making and playing with similar paper balls. The study, conducted by Miami University and published in Wild in August, provides the first documented evidence of raccoons creating and sharing toys, a form of material culture transmitted through learning.

“I’ve looked at hundreds of hours of raccoons,” said Louis Lazure, a biologist at Concordia University who was not involved in the research, “but I’ve never seen anything like this.” The research focused on pygmy raccoons, a critically endangered subspecies native to southeast Mexico.

Fire Amoeba Survives Extreme Heat in California

In the geothermal streams of Lassen Volcanic National Park, scientists have identified a new amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, that can reproduce at temperatures above 145°F (63°C) and remains mobile at 147°F. The findings, published in Cell, set a new heat‑tolerance record for complex eukaryotic organisms.

Microbiologist Angela Oliverio of Syracuse University, a co‑author of the study, explained that the organism’s outer membrane likely contains specialized proteins that protect it from extreme heat. “By looking in an unusual place, the study team found unusual life,” said Adrienne Kish of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

NASA Finds Largest Fresh Lunar Crater Since 2009

NASA researchers have identified a fresh impact crater on the moon measuring about 728 feet across, the largest such feature recorded since at least 2009. The discovery, highlighted in two studies published in Science Advances, underscores the ongoing risk that meteoroids pose to future lunar bases.

“This is a significant risk to long‑term operations on the moon,” said impact‑event physicist Mark Boslough of the University of New Mexico. While the odds of a lunar base being struck are low, the finding emphasizes the need for robust protective measures as humanity expands its presence in space.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.