North Dakota Will Get Colder Than The North Pole Tonight — Here's Why

 Posted on February 11, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  663 words  |  Patria Henriques

The polar vortex has returned to the United States, bringing "historic" cold and wind chills to a region spanning much of the Upper Midwest and the Dakotas. Temperatures close to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34 degrees Celsius) are possible in the Twin Cities region today (Jan. 29) and tomorrow (Jan. 30), according to the National Weather Service. That's comparable to winter conditions at the North Pole, and a bit warmer than the current forecast at the South Pole, where temperatures around minus 20 F (minus 29 C) are expected for the next few days. [Read More]

Part of Stomach Removed Through Patient's Mouth

 Posted on February 11, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  406 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

In what could be a first for weight-loss surgery in the United States, surgeons have removed 80 percent of a stomach through a patient's mouth. Previously, surgeons performing stomach-reduction surgery had to make a large incision in the abdomen to remove the excess stomach. This surgery was performed on Aug. 3 at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center, according to spokeswoman Jacqueline Carr. The patient has since been discharged and is doing well, Carr said in an e-mail. [Read More]

Weirdo ancient beetle looks like a scrub brush

 Posted on February 11, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  483 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A tree in an ancient forest sits covered in moss, lichens and craggy bark — when suddenly, a chunk of that bark begins to scuttle around.  But it's not the bark that's scurrying; it's a bizarre little creature called Stegastochlidus saraemcheana, a newfound genus and species of cylindrical bark beetle. Scientists recovered the creature, which looks like a walking scrub brush, from 100-million-year-old amber collected in the Hukawng Valley of northern Myanmar. [Read More]

When Ancient Societies Hit a Million People, Vengeful Gods Appeared

 Posted on February 11, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  643 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

"For we know Him who said, 'And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.'" Ezekiel 25:17. The God depicted in the Old Testament may sometimes seem wrathful. And in that, he's not alone; supernatural forces that punish evil play a central role in many modern religions. But which came first: complex societies or the belief in a punishing god? [Read More]

Why Do Shoelaces Come Untied? Science Explains

 Posted on February 11, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  815 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Scientists have unraveled a knotty problem: the forces behind the accidental untying of shoelaces. For the first time, researchers documented the mechanics of shoelace knots in motion, to understand what makes them loosen and ultimately fall apart. They discovered that walking and running produce unexpectedly powerful forces — stronger than the most powerful roller coaster — that act upon both the shoelaces' knot and the bows and loose ends. [Read More]

'Magic' Viking Sunstone Just Natural Crystal

 Posted on February 10, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  527 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Before the invention of the magnetic compass, navigating with a sundial would have been difficult, particularly on overcast days. Ancient Viking lore suggests that they had a magical tool to find the sun, even when the star was hidden. Researchers have now discovered the crystal that would have made such a magical apparatus possible. The Vikings could have used a common calcite crystal, called an Icelandic spar, to find the sun in the high latitudes where they would have had to battle long twilights and cloudy skies to navigate. [Read More]

'X-Ray Vision' Tech Uses Radio Waves to 'See' Through Walls

 Posted on February 10, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  1010 words  |  Fernande Dalal

"X-ray vision" that can track people's movements through walls using radio signals could be the future of smart homes, gaming and health care, researchers say. A new system built by computer scientists at MIT can beam out radio waves that bounce off the human body. Receivers then pick up the reflections, which are processed by computer algorithms to map people’s movements in real time, they added. Unlike other motion-tracking devices, however, the new system takes advantage of the fact that radio signals with short wavelengths can travel through walls. [Read More]

Avian Ancestors: Dinosaurs That Learned to Fly

 Posted on February 10, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  838 words  |  Trudie Dory

ArchaeopteryxWhen it was first discovered in Germany in 1861, Archaeopteryx was hailed as the missing link between birds and dinosaurs and proof for the theory of evolution. This raven-sized animal lived about 150 million years ago and had feathers identical to that of modern flying birds. But Archaeopteryx also had sharp teeth, a long bony tail and clawed fingers. BeipiaosaurusAt 7 feet long and 3 feet tall, Beipiaosaurus is one of the largest known feathered theropods the group of swift upright dinosaurs from birds are thought to be descended. [Read More]

Captain Morgan Shipwreck Possibly Discovered

 Posted on February 10, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  483 words  |  Trudie Dory

Divers have found part of a shipwreck that could possibly belong to one of Captain Morgan's lost ships. Yes, that Captain Morgan, of Captain Morgan's Rum. As the story goes, Sir Henry Morgan and his fleet, believed to number five ships carrying 470 men, set out to take over a fort guarding the entrance to Panama City, Panama. Morgan was sailing on the Satisfaction, his flagship, but all of his ships crashed on the Lajas Reef in shallow water. [Read More]

Conservationists want to bring wily wolverines back to the Rockies

 Posted on February 10, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  738 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

In 2002, on a cold March night in Wyoming's Teton Range, a young wolverine slipped inside what looked like a miniature log cabin in search of a meaty morsel and heard the dull thud of a log door dropping shut. The young male settled into the cozy leaves lining the bottom of his log cabin to sleep off the evening feast. A team of Wildlife Conservation Society scientists led by Bob and Kris Inman opened the trap to discover a familiar friend. [Read More]