Watch an Elephant Named Kelly Scoop Cereal Into Her Mouth in Easily the Best Study of 2018
Posted on March 23, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 388 words
| Patria Henriques
See moreElephants use their trunks to smell, touch and sometimes paint lovely little self-portraits. But how helpful is a trunk when it comes to eating tasty breakfast cereal?
Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology wanted to find out. Their goal wasn't to see whether elephants preferred Cheerios to Count Chocula, but to see how the mammoths use their trunks to handle tiny, granular materials. Understanding these advanced trunk mechanics could inspire the development of future robots that more efficiently grip and move things like sand and gravel, the researchers wrote in a study published Oct.
[Read More]Wreck of US ship that hunted Nazi spies in the Arctic finally discovered
Posted on March 23, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 958 words
| Trudie Dory
Ocean scientists have located the wreck of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear — a ship that served at sea for at least 88 years and played a part in the famous capture of a Nazi spy ship.
The Bear has a storied history: It started working as a commercial sealer in 1874. Then, because the ship could travel through ice-filled waters, the government purchased it in the 1880s to use for rescue work in the Arctic.
[Read More]5 Predictions for 2008 That (Thankfully) Failed
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 620 words
| Trudie Dory
As the year draws to a close and a new year begins, it is natural to reflect on what has passed and what may lie ahead. Goals are set, resolutions are kept (or not), and inevitably predictions are made.
Of course, anyone can make a prediction; all it takes is some knowledge of current events and good guessing. There are many self-described psychics who claim to see the future, yet perhaps their crystal balls need some Windex, because accurate predictions are the exception rather than the rule.
[Read More]Bizarre 'Nanoseaweed' Is the Thinnest Gold in the World
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 349 words
| Patria Henriques
Scientists have invented a new form of gold that could be incredibly handy for use in medical technology, but sadly, it won't make much of a statement on your ring finger. That's because this gold is only 2 atoms thick — roughly a million times thinner than a human fingernail.
The researchers who created it call the gold "nanoseaweed" for its greenish hue and jagged shape under the microscope. According to a study published today (Aug.
[Read More]Doctors Reflect on 'Surreal' Day of 2013 Asiana Airlines Crash
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 829 words
| Patria Henriques
Sixty-three patients, 13 spinal injuries, 15 surgeries, 117 units of blood products and a whopping 370 hours of overtime work for nurses: That's the grim tally of the first 48 hours after the July 2013 Asiana Airlines disaster for one San Francisco hospital.
On July 6, Flight 214 from Incheon International Airport in South Korea crashed just short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport, striking the airport's seawall with its landing gear and tail section.
[Read More]Dolphins Put Sponges on Snouts to Snag Elusive Snacks
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 526 words
| Trudie Dory
Dolphins can use sponges as tools to snag food they could not otherwise grab, researchers say.
This is the first direct evidence that dolphins can use tools to carve out unique places in the food chain, scientists added.
Dolphins are often ranked among the smartest members of the animal kingdom. They engage in complex forms of communication, may recognize themselves in mirrors, can understand sign language, and can learn to poke an underwater keyboard to request toys to play with.
[Read More]First Jaws? Ancient Creature Sported One Scary Mouth
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 393 words
| Trudie Dory
Strange fusions of tooth-covered lips, tongues and throats in ancient eel-shaped creatures might reveal how jaws evolved, researchers now suggest.
The origin of jaws remains largely an enigma. To solve this mystery, scientists analyze jawless vertebrates (animals with backbones) both living and fossil.
Investigators focused on extinct eel-like creatures known as conodonts, whose relationship with the vertebrate family tree is still a bit murky. Using X-rays of exceptionally well-preserved 250-million-year-old mouthparts of the conodont Novispathodus unearthed in southern China, they created 3-D models of how their mouths might have worked and compared this with research on other conodonts.
[Read More]Hidden City Found Beneath Alexandria
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 534 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
The legendary city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great as he swept through Egypt in his quest to conquer the known world.
Now scientists have discovered hidden underwater traces of a city that existed at Alexandria at least seven centuries before Alexander the Great arrived, findings hinted at in Homer's Odyssey and that could shed light on the ancient world.
Alexandria was founded in Egypt on the shores of the Mediterranean in 332 B.
[Read More]How Safe Are Your Shredded Documents?
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 563 words
| Trudie Dory
What do the Watergate and Enron scandals have in common? There's the criminal aspect of course, but in both cases the bad guys went straight for the shredders the moment they got caught, turning mountains of incriminating paperwork into hamster bedding.
Shredders are a supposedly secure way of destroying evidence, not only in criminal endeavors but also as a way for businesses to protect their clients from garbage-rummaging identity thieves, and for governments to get rid of classified documents.
[Read More]Living to 100: New Genes for Longevity Found
Posted on March 22, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 590 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Several new genes linked to an exceptionally long life have been discovered, according to a new study that examined the genomes of people living into their 100s, known as centenarians.
Using a new method, the researchers found four genes linked with a very long life: A gene called ABO, which is involved in determining blood type; a gene called CDKN2B, which regulates cell division; a gene called APOE, which is linked with Alzheimer's disease; and a gene called SH2B3, which was previously found to extend life in fruit flies.
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