2019-03-01
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Trade in “Ice Ivory” from Mammoth Tusks could Help Protect Endangered Elephants
January 16, 2019The growing international ban on the trade of ivory from elephant tusks has been increasing the focus on harvesting the illicit material from an unusual source: the tusks of long-extinct mammoths, preserved in the frozen Siberian tundra. Out of the... continued
Rapid Changes to Earth’s Magnetic Field has Prompted an Urgent Update to the World’s Magnetic Field Map
January 13, 2019Scientists have known since the early nineteenth century that the Earth's magnetic north pole wanders slowly over time, a phenomenon that cartographers have kept track of to ensure the accuracy of navigational charts and any other fields that might be... continued
Jade Rabbits and Cosmic Snowmen: Space News from the Closest and Farthest Reaches of the Solar System
January 10, 2019From the closeness of the Moon to far beyond the orbit of Pluto, space probes have been making both headlines and history, with China successfully making humanity's first soft landing of a space probe (and rover!) on the far side... continued
The Polar Vortex is Forecast to make a Three-Way Split, Bringing Colder Weather South
January 8, 2019Meteorologists with the National Weather Service are predicting that the northern polar vortex is likely to split once again later this month, into not just two, but three separate vortices that are expected to bring unseasonably cold and stormy weather... continued
A Traditional Irish Remedy may hold the Answer to Combating Superbug Infections
January 6, 2019A research team that is searching for new ways of defeating antibiotic-resistant bacteria have discovered that a sample of soil from a region in Northern Ireland traditionally known for its healing properties contains a previously unknown strain of bacteria that... continued
Happy New Year, from the Far Edge of the Solar System!
January 3, 2019Extending its mission well past 2015's groundbreaking exploration of Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft made a close pass on New Year's Day with the distant trans-Neptunian object (486958) 2014 MU69, better known by its nickname, Ultima Thule. This event is... continued
Looking to Nature for Inspiration on how to Draw Water out of Thin Air
January 1, 2019Efforts to supply arid regions with water have been undertaken ever since humanity began spreading into the world's deserts, with ingenious methods being invented throughout history to hydrate populations and their agriculture in deserts and mountains. This problem is becoming... continued
2018 UN Climate Summit Sets Out Rules for Combating Global Warming
December 27, 2018The 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP24, has concluded its 13-day series of negotiations and deliberations, hosted in the Polish city of Katowice. The conference focused on how the world will push forward in curbing human-generated... continued
“Walkin’ in a (Martian) Winter Wonderland!”
December 25, 2018Although it's found on another planet altogether, there's a permanent "winter wonderland" on Mars that would never suffer a green Christmas -- or a red one, as the case may be. The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter used its... continued
Welcome to the Anthropocene Epoch: The Age of the… Chicken?
December 22, 2018Unofficially, we are living in an era that some scientists call the Anthropocene epoch, due to the indelible impact humankind has made on the geology and ecology of the planet Earth. Our influence can be seen in areas such as... continued