Image Gallery: Moore, Okla., Tornado Damage - May 20, 2013

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  230 words  |  Patria Henriques

Deadly TornadoLarge deadly tornado moving into Moore near 134th and Western in Moore, Okla., on May 20, 2013. Fire damageA structual fire broke out due to the tornado passing through Moore, Okla., on May 20, 2013. Damage trackPreliminary tornado damage track for the Newcastle-Moore-South OKC tornado, on May 20, 2013. Based on radar and damage reports. OKC TornadoA tornado touches down in Oklahoma City, Okla., on May 20, 2013. [Read More]

In Photos: WWII Ship Discovered 77 Years After It Sank

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  397 words  |  Fernande Dalal

WWII destroyerThe wreck of an Italian naval ship has been discovered nearly 77 years after it sank during World War II. The naval destroyer IT Artigliere was found more than 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) underwater in the Mediterranean Sea. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's private company Vulcan Inc. announced that the finding was made in March by the company's research vessel (R/V) Petrel. [Read full story about the shipwreck's discovery] [Read More]

Lions Attack Humans When the Full Moon Wanes

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  600 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

The full moon is supposed to be the time when werewolves roam, but a new study finds that there's more to fear from large, nocturnal predators in the days after the moon is at its brightest. African lions are more likely to attack and kill humans in the days right after the full moon, according to the study, published today (July 20) in the journal PloS ONE. The danger comes because lions struggle to catch prey — which see the predators coming — during the bright nights when the moon is full. [Read More]

Remains of Mini 'Komodo Dragon' Found in Greece

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  548 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A long-lost relative of today's Komodo dragons lived in Europe as recently as 800,000 years ago. These reptilians were much smaller than the predatory Komodo dragons that live today in Indonesia. But the discovery of their fossils at a site in Greece was a surprise, because monitor lizards were thought to have vanished in Europe around 2.5 million years ago as climate conditions gradually changed. "It's a survivor, let's say," [Read More]

Spanking Brings Couples Closer

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  1 minutes  |  148 words  |  Trudie Dory

For couples that just can't find a spark, spanking could be the answer. Anything that brings you together in a shared activity, the thinking goes. Seriously. Scientists studied hormonal changes in people at S&M parties and found they rose for those on the receiving end. Also "couples who said the party went well also reported increases in relationship closeness." Other shared activities might do the trick, too. "It doesn't have to be tying up your partner or placing clamps on their nipples, it could be something as simple as cooking a meal together or even doing the housework as a duo," [Read More]

Tech Fashion Statement: The New World of Wearable Computing

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  590 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

NEW YORK — Imagine if your shirt could track your heart rate as you run, or if it could charge your cellphone on the go. Innovative fashion designers and engineers, who are pushing the envelope with "smart textiles," dream of designing garments that are not just embedded with devices, but actually are the devices. Welcome to the world of wearable computing. The development of smart textiles is a true fusion of fashion and technology. [Read More]

Totally Adorable Bee-Bot Can Do It All

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  549 words  |  Fernande Dalal

A new robotic "bee" can fly, dive, swim and leap out of the water, and it's totally adorable to boot. "RoboBee" is an aerial-to-aquatic robot that weighs just six-thousandths of an ounce (175 milligrams). These bots were first reported in 2014 in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, when — after 12 years of trying — Harvard roboticists finally got the tiny, fly-inspired devices to flutter. Since then, they've been adding functions. [Read More]

US Mortality Rates Dropped, Biggest Decline in Young Children

 Posted on May 30, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  437 words  |  Trudie Dory

The risk of dying at any given age has dropped sharply over the last 75 years in the United States, with the most dramatic improvement seen among young children, according to a new government analysis of mortality rates. Among every 100,000 U.S. children ages 1 to 4, the mortality rate plummeted from 441 deaths in 1935, in the middle of the Great Depression, to 27 deaths in 2010 — a decrease of 94 percent, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Read More]

Altruism in Animals Varies Based on Environment

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  426 words  |  Patria Henriques

Scientists have long witnessed altruism in the animal kingdom, but a new study finds not all acts of altruism are alike. The mathematical model shows how the environment can favor one type of altruism over another, be it among elephants caring for young or bees defending their nest. The model predicts that creatures will help each other in different ways depending on whether key resources such as food and habitat are scarce or abundant, say researchers from Indiana University and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina. [Read More]

Blue Whale's Elastic Jaw Evolved From Stiff Maw

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  416 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

This whale's toothy smile is unlike any other in its group. A newly discovered fossil of one of the oldest baleen whales provides the missing link in the evolution of the giant blue whale's gaping maw. By examining the jaws of one of the earliest baleen whales, researchers discovered that the huge elastic jaws of blue whales developed from a more rigid form. (Baleen whales are scientifically known as mysticetes, or " [Read More]