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With fewer animals to spread their seeds, plants could have trouble adapting to climate change
A Bohemian waxwing eating mountain ash berries. Lisa Hupp, USFWS/Flickr Authors: Evan Fricke, Faculty Fellow in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University Alejandro Ordóñez, Assistant Professor of Global Change Biology, Aarhus University Haldre Rogers, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa …
Discarded packages, shredded boxes: Photos renew attention on Los Angeles cargo theft
Reporters this week found packages with labels of many major US mail companies including Amazon, REI among others. Union Pacific train tracks in downtown LA littered with thousands of shredded boxes and packages stolen from cargo containers. Photograph: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/REX/Shutterstock – …
Rust shooting: armorer sues guns and ammunition supplier
The woman who managed weapons on the film set where a gun carried by Alec Baldwin was accidentally discharged, killing Halyna Hutchins, has said boxes of dummy rounds contained live bullets. The Bonanza Creek Ranch (also know as “Daisy Town”) near Santa Fe, …
My wife had long Covid and killed herself. We must help others who are suffering
The medical community must find answers for those suffering from long Covid. They are running out of time and hope. Seen here with her husband Nick Güthe and the actor Jeff Goldblum, Heidi Ferrer was a screenwriter who worked on shows including Dawson’s …
Dogs know when you’re speaking a different language — and talking nonsense
See how researchers determined dogs can tell the difference between languages 01:47 By Ashley Strickland, CNN Updated 2022 Jan 08 – A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free …
Zoo experiments detect dozens of animals from airborne DNA
Two new studies have demonstrated that animals can be detected through airborne DNA. FamVeldman/Depositphotos – By Michael Irving 2022 Jan 06 – Animals are constantly shedding DNA into their environment, traces of which can then be detected in soil and water – and now, …
What the average citizen can do about the demise of US democracy
Christiane Amanpour interviews Timothy Snyder and Doris Kerns Goodwin – Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN Updated 2022 Jan 08 – A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. …
Omicron infections often start with a scratchy throat, doctors say — evidence of the changing nature of COVID-19 symptoms
Dr. Carlos Ramírez conducts an examination on Juan Pérez, 50, in Oakland, California, on 2020 May 12. Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images – By Aria Bendix 2022 Jan 08 – Sore throat appears to be a common, early symptom of an Omicron …
Horned helmets predate Vikings by 3,000 years, originating in the Bronze Age, researchers say
The horned helmets were initially found by a peat farmer, according to the National Museum of Denmark, where the headgear is housed. – By Sana Noor Haq, CNN Updated 2022 Jan 09 – (CNN) From appearing in the Asterix comic book series, to …
‘Drastic’ rise in high Arctic lightning has scientists worried
The region’s air typically doesn’t suit strikes – so they have become an important climate crisis indicator. Thunderstorms need moisture, instability and lift. Disappearance of sea ice means more water is able to evaporate, adding moisture to the atmosphere. Photograph: Dimitar Kyosemarliev/Reuters – …
Zoos and aquariums shift to a new standard of ‘animal welfare’ that depends on deeper understanding of animals’ lives
Climbers must climb, diggers must dig and runners must run. Doris Rudd Designs, Photography/Moment via Getty Images – By Michael J. Renner, Professor of Biology, Psychology, and Environmental Science & Sustainability, and director of the program in Zoo & Conservation Science, Drake University …
Italian mafia fugitive arrested in Spain after Google Street View sighting
Convicted murderer Gioacchino Gammino tracked down in Galapagar, where he had lived undetected for 20 years. Gioacchino Gammino was living under a new name in Spain, where he worked as a chef. Photograph: Google Maps – By Angela Giuffrida 2022 Jan 05 – …
Goldfish learn to drive a car to get food
A goldfish “takes the wheel” of the Fish Operated Vehicle. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – By Ben Coxworth 2022 Jan 05 – One might think that certain animals are only able to navigate within the environment in which their species evolved. According to …
2021: a year physicists asked, ‘What lies beyond the Standard Model?’
Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe, like the ATLAS calorimeter seen here, are providing more accurate measurements of fundamental particles. Maximilien Brice, CC BY – By Aaron McGowan, Principal Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology 2021 Dec 22 …
The year’s most incredible animal stories
“Whispers” (Raccoons, Kassel, Germany) © Jan Piecha / Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2021 View 14 Images – By New Atlas 2021 Dec 30 – It’s been a good 3.5 billion years or so since life kicked off on this planet, but each lap of …
Whistleblower warns baffling illness affects growing number of young adults in Canadian province
Several new cases in New Brunswick involve caretakers of those afflicted, suggesting a possible environmental trigger. Young adults are developing troubling symptoms, including rapid weight loss, insomnia, hallucinations and limited mobility. Photograph: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy – By Leyland Cecco Last modified on 2022 Jan …
Companies race to stem flood of microplastic fibers into the oceans
New products range from washing machine filters and balls to fabrics made from kelp and orange peel. About 700,000 microplastic fibres are shed from synthetic fabrics during every wash cycle in a standard washing machine. Photograph: a-ts/Alamy – By Damian Carrington Environment editor …
I’m a climate scientist. Don’t Look Up captures the madness I see every day
A film about a comet hurtling towards Earth and no one is doing anything about it? Sounds exactly like the climate crisis. ‘The Earth system is breaking down now with breathtaking speed.’ Photograph: Niko Tavernise/Netflix/PA – By Peter Kalmus Last modified on 2021 …
Devastating Colorado fires cap a year of climate disasters in 2021, with one side of the country too wet, the other dangerously dry
Wildfires that swept through Sequoia National Forest in California in September 2021 were so severe they killed ancient trees that had adapted to survive fires. AP Photo/Noah Berger – By Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton Last updated …
The best optical illusions of the year 2021
This year’s winning illusion was titled The Phantom Queen. Matt Pritchard – By Rich Haridy 2021 Dec 29 – An innovative anamorphic illusion has taken the top prize in the annual Best Illusion of the Year contest. Twisting minds for 17 years the contest …
Egyptian pharaoh’s mummified body gives up its secrets after 3,500 years
Amenhotep I ‘unwrapped’ digitally by Cairo scientists, revealing details from his grave jewellery to his teeth. The sarcophagus of Amenhotep I, who ruled Egypt between roughly 1525 and 1504 BC. Photograph: De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images – By Mark Brown Last modified on …
How common is the ‘Common Era?’ How A.D. and C.E. took over counting years
Amid the pandemic, confetti fell on an almost-empty Times Square last New Year’s Eve. AP Photo/Craig Ruttle – By Miriamne Ara Krummel, Professor of English, University of Dayton 2021 Dec 23 – On Dec. 31, people from cultures all around the world will …
The best space photos of 2021: Sparkling starfields to majestic nebula
A favorite subject of astronomy photographers, the Veil nebula is the remains of a massive star that exploded as a supernova roughly 10,000 years ago. This new Hubble image uses new processing techniques to highlight finer details. ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay View …
Worried about super-intelligent machines? They are already here.
Hilary Swank in AI thriller I Am Mother (2019). Photograph: Netflix – By John Naughton Last modified on 2021 Dec 25 – Forget about the danger of robots creating a sci-fi-style dystopia. The modern corporation is already doing all of that. In the …
Out of thin air: the mystery of the man who fell from the sky
In 2019, the body of a man fell from a passenger plane into a garden in south London. Who was he? A plane lowers its undercarriage as it descends for landing at London Heathrow airport. Photograph: Avpics/Alamy – By Sirin Kale Last modified …
Ancient human discoveries dominated 2021. Here’s what we learned.
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. – By Katie Hunt, CNN Updated 2021 Dec 22 – The human story — where we come from and how we evolved — …
UN fails to agree on ‘killer robot’ ban as nations pour billions into autonomous weapons research
Humanitarian groups have been calling for a ban on autonomous weapons. Wolfgang Kumm/picture alliance via Getty Images – By James Dawes, Professor of English, Macalester College 2021 Dec 20 – Autonomous weapon systems – commonly known as killer robots – may have killed …
America is now in fascism’s legal phase
The history of racism in the US is fertile ground for fascism. As in all fascist movements, contemporary forces have found a popular leader unconstrained by the rules of democracy, this time in the figure of Donald Trump. Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images – …
Seconds before a 6.2 earthquake rattled California, phones got a vital warning
Half a million phones received emergency alerts thanks to system offering a few seconds to take cover. Dr Lucy Jones, a seismologist, describes how an early warning system would work at a news conference in 2013. Photograph: Reed Saxon/AP – By Gabrielle Canon …
In Sweden, There Is No Christmas Without Donald Duck
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. In Sweden, the Christmas star has a yellow bill, a furious temper, and no pants. Shaka/CC BY-SA 2.0 IT – By Natasha Frost 2017 Dec 22 – Every country has its own festive holiday traditions. Austrian children …
What Sharia means: 5 questions answered
A page from the Quran. ~crystalina~, CC BY – By Asma Afsaruddin, Professor of Islamic Studies and former Chairperson, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Indiana University 2017 Jun 15 – Editor’s note: A conservative grassroots organization, ACT for America, organized a …
Heavy metals in cannabis plants could affect human health, study finds
New research calls for more rigorous agricultural practices to control the uptake of heavy metals into cannabis plants grown for human consumption. fotovincek/Depositphotos – By Rich Haridy 2021 Dec 15 – A new study led by researchers from Penn State is outlining a number …
First-of-a-kind study shows plastic’s toxic effects on human cells
A new study has compared the volume of microplastics people consume through water, seafood and salt with the concentrations that cause damage to human cells. endewer1.mail.ru/Despositphotos – By Nick Lavars 2021 Dec 09 – With plastic waste turning up everywhere from Arctic snowfall to …
Republicans are plotting to destroy democracy from within
Opportunism and cowardice has more than sufficed to make Republicans espouse a noxious falsehood as an axiomatic truth. Police push back at pro-Trump mob after they stormed the Capitol building on 6 January. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images – By Lawrence Douglas Last modified …
Ohio police ask for help finding thieves who stole entire bridge
Someone first stole the deck boards and then came back for the rest of the structure, leaving police baffled. The Cuyahoga river in Ohio. The pedestrian bridge used to span the river in a park in Akron. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters – By Gloria …
First FDA-approved eye drops to replace reading glasses go on sale
Vuity eyedrops have gone on sale as an alternative to reading glasses. Cookelma / Depositphotos – By Loz Blain 2021 Dec 14 – The first FDA-approved eye drops to treat age-related blurry near vision (presbyopia) have gone on sale in the US, offering a …
The Value of a “Greater Chaco” National Park
Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, Managed by the National Park Service. – By Richard Moe 2021 Dec 12 – Richard Moe is the former president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and board member of the Conservation Lands Foundation. – When President …
The Story Behind Turkey’s Pricey, Fairy-Tale Ghost Town
Burj Al Babas may one day be full of wealthy vacationers, but for now it’s a strange sight. Burj Al Babas today is composed of hundreds of unfinished castle-like villas. Chris McGrath/Getty Images – By Inka Piegsa-Quischotte 2021 Jul 20 – Halfway between …
Meet the King Cobra Rescue Team That Saves Both People and Snakes
A research station in India is on call 24/7 to aid wayward reptiles in need. Wrangling an eight-foot king cobra is all in a day’s work for Ajay Giri, field director of the Agumbe Reserve Research Station in western India. Mahima A. Jain …
Land acknowledgments meant to honor Indigenous people too often do the opposite – erasing American Indians and sanitizing history instead
A portion of a map that erases the borders Colonial powers drew, and shows instead the Indigenous territories, treaties and languages of North America. Native Land Digital, CC BY-SA – By Elisa J. Sobo, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, San Diego State University and …
With fewer animals to spread their seeds, plants could have trouble adapting to climate change
A Bohemian waxwing eating mountain ash berries. Lisa Hupp, USFWS/Flickr Authors: Evan Fricke, Faculty Fellow in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University Alejandro Ordóñez, Assistant Professor of Global Change Biology, Aarhus University Haldre Rogers, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa …
Discarded packages, shredded boxes: Photos renew attention on Los Angeles cargo theft
Reporters this week found packages with labels of many major US mail companies including Amazon, REI among others. Union Pacific train tracks in downtown LA littered with thousands of shredded boxes and packages stolen from cargo containers. Photograph: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/REX/Shutterstock – …
Rust shooting: armorer sues guns and ammunition supplier
The woman who managed weapons on the film set where a gun carried by Alec Baldwin was accidentally discharged, killing Halyna Hutchins, has said boxes of dummy rounds contained live bullets. The Bonanza Creek Ranch (also know as “Daisy Town”) near Santa Fe, …
My wife had long Covid and killed herself. We must help others who are suffering
The medical community must find answers for those suffering from long Covid. They are running out of time and hope. Seen here with her husband Nick Güthe and the actor Jeff Goldblum, Heidi Ferrer was a screenwriter who worked on shows including Dawson’s …
Dogs know when you’re speaking a different language — and talking nonsense
See how researchers determined dogs can tell the difference between languages 01:47 By Ashley Strickland, CNN Updated 2022 Jan 08 – A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free …
Zoo experiments detect dozens of animals from airborne DNA
Two new studies have demonstrated that animals can be detected through airborne DNA. FamVeldman/Depositphotos – By Michael Irving 2022 Jan 06 – Animals are constantly shedding DNA into their environment, traces of which can then be detected in soil and water – and now, …
What the average citizen can do about the demise of US democracy
Christiane Amanpour interviews Timothy Snyder and Doris Kerns Goodwin – Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN Updated 2022 Jan 08 – A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. …
Omicron infections often start with a scratchy throat, doctors say — evidence of the changing nature of COVID-19 symptoms
Dr. Carlos Ramírez conducts an examination on Juan Pérez, 50, in Oakland, California, on 2020 May 12. Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images – By Aria Bendix 2022 Jan 08 – Sore throat appears to be a common, early symptom of an Omicron …
Horned helmets predate Vikings by 3,000 years, originating in the Bronze Age, researchers say
The horned helmets were initially found by a peat farmer, according to the National Museum of Denmark, where the headgear is housed. – By Sana Noor Haq, CNN Updated 2022 Jan 09 – (CNN) From appearing in the Asterix comic book series, to …
‘Drastic’ rise in high Arctic lightning has scientists worried
The region’s air typically doesn’t suit strikes – so they have become an important climate crisis indicator. Thunderstorms need moisture, instability and lift. Disappearance of sea ice means more water is able to evaporate, adding moisture to the atmosphere. Photograph: Dimitar Kyosemarliev/Reuters – …