Science
- Marie ClaireThe Epic Mystery Surrounding Amelia Earhart Might Have Just Been Solved
ICYMI due to not being alive yet, Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 while trying to become the first female pilot to fly around the world. In 1940, the skeleton of a castaway was found on Gardner Island. At the time, a doctor said the remains were male-but when re-analyzed in 1998, scientists claimed the bones were "consistent with a female of Earhart's height and ethnic origin." But wait, it gets more interesting.
- Fox NewsMixing energy drinks with alcohol causes brain changes in mice
Energy drinks are often combined with alcohol in mixed drinks, and a new study in mice hints at how that combination may change the brain. In the study, mice that were given energy drinks along with alcohol had changes in their brains similar to those seen in mice given cocaine. It isn't clear whether the findings apply to humans. But the study suggests it's possible that teens who drink these beverages in combination might experience similar brain changes, the scientists said. The beverage combination may lead to changes in the brain's ability to respond to rewarding substances, and those changes could last into adulthood, the researchers said. [5 Health Problems Linked to Energy Drinks] "We're
- LiveScience.comItaly Quakes: What Makes an Earthquake an Aftershock?
A magnitude-6.6 earthquake that rocked central Italy on Sunday (Oct. 30) was not only the strongest earthquake to strike the region in 36 years, but it was also the latest in a series of powerful tremors. Following the earthquake, Italy's geophysics and volcanology institution Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) reported 560 post-quake tremors, which are typically referred to as aftershocks. While most aftershocks are minor, some can be as strong as the earthquake that preceded them.
- The WeekScientists invent bomb-detecting spinach
It is an exciting time to be alive. Self-driving cars are no longer science-fiction. Colonization of Mars is more than a pipe dream. And your spinach plant can email you to tell you if there is an explosive nearby. To that last point: MIT engineers recently managed to embed spinach leaves with carbon nanotubes that act as sensors that are able to detect explosive devices and ping that information to a handheld device, via something like a text message or email. The spinach plant knows something dangerous is nearby after it absorbs chemicals through its roots — so if there is a landmine or other explosive in the area, the nitroaromatic compounds in the groundwater will trigger the spinach's sensors.
- EcoWatch4 Astronomical Events You Don't Want to Miss in November
The Supermoon The full moon in November will be super-sized, the largest of 2016. "Supermoon" is a recently coined term for when the moon is full and at perigee—its closest point to the earth in its elliptical orbit. Perigee will take place on Nov. 14 when the moon passes about 356,000 km from our planet. The full moon peaks less than three hours later, wowing viewers and causing larger than normal tides along the coast. iStock Meteor Showers Three minor meteor showers, the South Taurids, North Taurids and Leonids, occur in November. If you're a night owl, you may spot some fireballs around midnight between Nov. 4 and 5 from the South Taurids, and some slow-moving bright meteors around midnight
Vox.comThis “bad” election map? It’s not so bad.Recently my colleague Liz Scheltens argued that the standard electoral map we see every four years is pretty useless. The problem, she says, is that the maps you typically see favor geographical accuracy over electoral importance. Scheltens proposes alternative solutions, like a list of states with bar charts or a cartogram, which is a kind of map that distorts geographical areas based on some variable.
- Popular MechanicsThis World Map Is So Accurate It Folds Into a Globe
From Popular MechanicsIt's a problem that has plagued cartographers for centuries: How do you accurately represent a round world on a flat map? The most common world map used today, designed almost 450 years ago, is highly distorted-it's that classroom
- Los Angeles TimesNASA advisory committee questions SpaceX's unorthodox fueling process
A NASA advisory committee has twice questioned SpaceX’s fueling process — a procedure that came under closer scrutiny after one of the company’s rockets exploded on a launch pad in September while being fueled. The group’s concerns — expressed before and after the explosion — show ongoing doubt with the Hawthorne company’s unorthodox fueling practice as it plans to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. Those worries, analysts say, aren’t likely to affect the company’s return to flight, though they could delay SpaceX’s timeline for manned space station trips. A member of the International Space Station advisory committee asked Monday how NASA will evaluate the safety of SpaceX’s
- LiveScience.comPolarizing Politics: 5 Reasons the 2016 Election Feels So Personal
This year's presidential campaign has been rough. Trump, meanwhile, has been accused of groping and sexually harassing multiple women. Across social media, people publicly announce their plans to unfriend acquaintances on the other side.
- Christian Science MonitorNew evidence suggests Amelia Earhart may have died as a castaway
A new discovery could lend evidence to the theory that lost pilot Amelia Earhart died as a castaway some time after safely landing her plane near an Island in the Pacific Ocean. Ms. Earhart rose to fame after becoming the first women to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Without conclusive evidence, the mystery surrounding her disappearance has plagued historians, who have searched for new clues that could unveil what happened to one of America’s most endearing sweethearts and daring women of the 21st century.
- MNN - Mother Nature NetworkBizarre 'lake under the sea' kills whatever swims there
It might seem weird to imagine a lake within the ocean, but things like temperature and salinity can change the density of water, and "lakes" of denser water can form within a larger pool. Scientists have recently discovered such a lake at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, but this lake also has something else very strange going on: All the creatures that enter it don't come back alive, reports Seeker. It's littered with the dead bodies of benthic crabs, amphipods and fish that have crossed over into its waters, lured by the warmer temperature. “It was one of the most amazing things in the deep sea," said Erik Cordes, associate professor of biology at Temple University who discovered the site along with several colleagues.
- LiveScience.com3,800-Year-Old 'Tableau' of Egyptian Boats Discovered
More than 120 images of ancient Egyptian boats have been discovered adorning the inside of a building in Abydos, Egypt. The building dates back more than 3,800 years and was built near the tomb of pharaoh Senwosret III, archaeologists reported. The tableau, as the series of images is called, would have looked upon a real wooden boat said Josef Wegner, a curator at the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the excavation.
AFPItaly quake made ground move 70cm: scientistsAreas hit by Italy's 6.5-magnitude quake displaced the ground by up to 70 centimetres (27.5 inches), Italian scientists reported on Tuesday. Satellite images found that Sunday's tremor deformed the landscape over 130 square kilometres (50 square miles), the Italian National Research Council said in a statement. It was the latest in a string of seismic shocks to hit central Italy this year.
- MashableResearchers found the oldest known Aboriginal settlement during a toilet stop
The oldest known proof of Aboriginal settlement in ancient Australia was stumbled upon accidentally after a car full of researchers pulled over for a toilet break. Known as Warratyi by the Adnyamathanha people of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, a rock shelter was found to contain artifacts and the remains of megafauna, dating human settlement in the area back at least 49,000 years. That’s a very long time, 10,000 years further back than previously proven. Results of the research team's excavation were published Wednesday in the journal Nature. SEE ALSO: Indigenous Australians the oldest living civilisation on Earth, study affirms The researchers found stone tools, giant bird eggshells
- Vox.comWhat the New York Times missed with its big GMO story
A big piece that made the front page of the New York Times over the weekend takes aim at two of the most prominent arguments in favor of genetically modified crops: They increase yields (meaning we can get a lot more food from less land) and reduce pesticide use (meaning we’re poisoning that land and ourselves a lot less). The article concludes that GMO seeds are no better at either than any other form of breeding. Back in May, the National Academy of Sciences said the same thing with much more nuance and detail.
- LiveScience.comOriginal Bedrock of Jesus' Tomb Revealed in New Images
New images from a conservation project in Jerusalem reveal the original limestone bed where the body of Jesus Christ is said to have been laid out after his crucifixion. My knees are shaking a little bit because I wasn't expecting this," Fredrik Hiebert, an archaeologist with the National Geographic Society, a partner in the excavations, told National Geographic magazine, which originally reported the findings. The supposed site of Jesus' burial was first identified as a holy place in A.D. 326, when Helena, the mother of the Christian Roman emperor Constantine, traveled to Jerusalem and asked locals where Christ had been crucified and buried.
- BBC NewsEngineers using drones to farm crops
A group of engineers is attempting to prove it is possible to farm a field of crops without anyone having to set foot on the field. The Hands Free Hectare project will be using remotely controlled machinery, including drones, to plant in March and harvest in September. Martin Abell, a partner in the project based at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, said the large machines currently used “are doing a lot of damage to the soil”. Instead of farmers having to physically drive tractors, the smaller machines controlled by an operator from beyond the field will take over the workload. He added that the machines won’t replace farmers, but “change the job farmers do”. This clip is originally from
- Associated Press VideosNASA Next Generation Telescope is Complete
NASA previewed the James Webb Space Telescope in Maryland on Wednesday. The agency says its the world's largest and most complex space telescope that will help scientist investigate the universe in ways they never could before. (Nov. 2)
- Hello GigglesHere’s what your house on Mars may look like (spoiler alert: no walk-in closets)
If you’re looking to relocate somewhere quiet, with plenty of open space and a sprinkle of cosmic radiation, Mars may be the place for you. On November 10th, an exhibition of the first ever Mars “show home” will open at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, in London. It includes a double air-locked entrance, and ten-feet-thick walls to protect settlers from -100 degree temperatures, cosmic radiation, and micrometeorite impacts (please sign me up!). On Mars, the dome would be built using microwaved blocks of Martian soil, known as regolith, and recycled spacecraft parts.
- MNN - Mother Nature NetworkThe controversy behind the world's next great telescope
Mauna Kea is a sacred summit, a home of deities. It's also an astronomical Eden where 13 telescopes peer into the heavens with little light or air pollution to obscure the view. The mountain is the tallest in the world, a popular tourist destination with snow atop and surf below. And it has been the site of hundreds of native Hawaiian protests aimed at stopping construction of the $1.5 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), which will be the largest and most powerful telescope on the mountain. The site makes sense from a scientific perspective — its location above the clouds will allow scientists to understand more about star and planet formation, far beyond what we can do with current telescopes.
- ReutersAirbag bike helmets may be safer than conventional foam versions
By Ben Gruber PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Bicycle helmets that utilize airbag technology instead of conventional hard foam may offer five times more protection against brain injuries, according to Stanford University researchers. Two sets of test dummies, one wearing a standard helmet and the other wearing one that is worn around the neck and inflates like an airbag when it senses a collision, were dropped from varying heights in a lab to simulate bicycle accidents. “It was a big difference,” Stanford University bioengineer David Camarillo said.
- International Business Times UKMystery of the missing hot magma beneath Mount St Helens solved
The melt source region for Mount St Helens may not lie directly below the volcano but further east, scientists have found out. This discovery challenges current knowledge about the source region of hot magma in active volcanoes. Mount St Helens is located in the state of Washington, along the North American Cascade Arc. It is considered to be the more active of the region – in fact, it is often described as one of the most active and hazardous volcanoes in the world due to its proximity to large population settlements. In May 1980, a large earthquake struck below the north face of Mount St Helens in Washington state, triggering one of the largest landslides in recorded history and a massive eruption
- LiveScience.comBrain-Infecting Parasite May Be More Common in NY Than Experts Thought
Brain infections from a parasite called Taenia solium are more common on Long Island, New York, than experts previously thought, a new study finds. T. solium is found in raw or undercooked pork. If a person eats undercooked pork that contains this parasite in its larval stage, when it has partially developed, a tapeworm can grow in his or her intestine.
- Digital TrendsNew satellite tools give scientists fresh insights into evergreens on Earth
Environmental scientists have new tools for monitoring the health of northern forests — and they’re orbiting many miles above Earth. Using sensor data collected by satellites, scientists have developed an index to track photosynthesis in evergreens, revealing subtle natural rhythms and seasonal cycles that signal how these trees adapt to climate change. “Past satellite studies have focused primarily on using ‘greenness’ indices … as indicators of seasonally photosynthetic activity,” project lead Dr. John Gamon told Digital Trends.
- The Daily MealHere’s What Really Happens When You Put Metal in a Microwave
It’s something that’s been drilled into our heads from a young age (or at least it should have been): Never, ever put metal in a microwave. We’ve all accidentally left a twist-tie or some aluminum foil in there accidentally, however, and the resulting
