Science

And it might not be ending anytime soon

California’s three years of low rainfall is the region’s worst drought in 1,200 years, according to a new study.

Record high temperatures combined with unusually low levels of precipitation have been the primary causes of the dry conditions, according to the study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

“It was a surprise,” study author Kevin Anchukaitis told the Los Angeles Times of the findings. “I don’t think we expected to see that at all.”

The drought has led to tremendous economic costs in the state, including an expected $2.2 billion and 17,000 farming jobs this year alone, according to a report from the University of California, Davis. It’s also expected to increase food prices across the country.

And the problem may not be going away soon. About 44% of three-year droughts last continue past their third year, according to the Times.

Increased wolf control meant more dead livestock, study found

Killing wolves that prey on sheep and cattle leads to the death of more livestock, according to a new study.

Prior to the Washington State University study, the practice of culling wolves to save livestock had been a “widely accepted, but untested, hypothesis,” according to the authors. But it may be that killing wolves disrupts wolf packs in a way that leads them to hunt for livestock, which are relatively stationary, rather than the more mobile deer and elk.

“The odds of livestock depredations increased 4% for sheep and 5–6% for cattle with increased wolf control,” the study found.

The study, which looks at 25 years of government data, found that killing wolves only helps protect livestock after 25% of a wolf population has been killed. But regulations designed to protect wildlife make it unfeasible to kill that many of the animal.

“The only way you’re going to completely eliminate livestock depredations is to get rid of all the wolves,” said study author Rob Wielgus, a Washington State University wildlife biologist. “Society has told us that that’s not going to happen.”

The predators have a two-pronged tactic to "remotely control" their prey

In the battle of electric eel vs. prey, it turns out electric eels have an even greater advantage than we thought.

A new study published in the journal Science reveals the mechanics of the eel’s electric discharge, showing how the predators use this biological weapon to “remotely control their target.”

When an eel is pursuing a fish and doesn’t want it to get away it can emit an electric charge from its organs that stuns its victim, according to research by Vanderbilt University’s Kenneth Catania. The elongated fish uses “high-frequency volleys to induce immobilizing whole-body muscle contraction.”

MORE: The Top 10 New Species of 2014

And when an eel is looking for prey and cannot find any, it uses a different tactic: the eel releases electricity in two or three batches, which actually causes nearby fish to twitch, revealing their hiding place.

It’s an electric eel’s world and tiny fish are just living in it.

Read next: And Then Here’s an Owl Going for a Swim in Lake Michigan

After three postponements Thursday

Awarded in 1962 for shared discovery of double-helix structure of DNA

A Nobel Prize medal awarded to a scientist in 1962 for the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA was said to set a new record for one of the honors at an auction on Thursday.

Though Christie’s in Manhattan set the estimated haul for James D. Watson’s prize between $2.5 and $3.5 million, an anonymous bidder bought it for $4.1 million, the New York Times reports. The total rose to $4.76 million due to the buyer’s premium, which goes to the auction house. Watson, who watched from the back of the room with family members, acknowledged plans to give a portion of the proceeds to the various schools he attended to “support and empower scientific discovery.”

MORE: The Mortification of James Watson

The gifts may help rehabilitate Watson’s image. Though he made the discovery for which he won the prize at 24, the 86-year-old became persona non grata in the scientific community seven years ago when he told The Sunday Times of London that he was pessimistic about making advancements in Africa because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours, whereas all the testing says not really.” He later apologized, saying, “There is no scientific basis for such a belief.”

Jack Wang, a chief executive of a Chinese biotech company, bought the medal that belonged to one of Watson’s partners in his discovery, Francis Crick, for $2.27 million last year.

[NYT]

The climate denier in charge of the Senate Climate Committee