Chipmunks near South Lake Tahoe test positive for plague
![]()
Amazing science every day
SIGN UP ⋅
WEBSITE
'Massive melting event' strikes Greenland after record heat wave
![]()
(Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Greenland's enormous ice sheet has been struck by a "massive melting event," with enough ice vanishing in a single day last week to cover the whole of Florida in two inches (5 centimeters) of water, Danish researchers have found.
Since July 27, roughly 9.37 billion tons (8.5 billion metric tons) of ice has been lost per day from the surface of the enormous ice sheet — twice its normal average rate of loss during summer, Polar Portal, a Danish site run by Arctic climate researchers, reported. The huge loss comes after temperatures in north Greenland soared to above 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), which is double the summer average, the Danish Meteorological Institute reported.
Full Story: LiveScience (8/2)
Sacred stone tto the legend of Romulus and Remus unearthed in Rome
![]()
(Archaeological Museums of Rome)
An immense stone that defined the sacred city limits of ancient Rome almost 2,000 years ago has been unearthed by construction workers in the historic center of the city.
The so-called pomerial stone or "cippus," is more than 6 feet (nearly 2 meters) tall and made of fine limestone called travertine. Workers discovered it in June while installing new sewers in the plaza around the recently-restored Mausoleum of Augustus, which opened as a museum earlier this year.
It was one of dozens of similar stones that marked Rome's "pomerium" — a sacred strip of land just inside and outside the city walls where it was forbidden to build or farm, and within which weapons were forbidden. According to ancient Roman law, anything inside the pomerium was part of the city of Rome (called "urbs") and everything beyond it was merely territory (called "ager").
Full Story: LiveScience (8/3)
Graveyard of rhinos, horses and hippos found in ancient, dried-up watering hole
![]()
(Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology)
Nine million years ago, a watering hole in what is now Spain became first a refuge, then a last resting place, for droves of desperate hippos, rhinos, horses and sabertooth cats.
Dozens of animals died of starvation, dehydration and miring in the dwindling watering hole over three separate periods of drought in the late Miocene, according to new research published in the September issue of the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology and available online July 15. The animals' remains were rapidly buried in sediment when the rains began again, leaving them mostly undisturbed by scavengers or weathering.
Full Story: LiveScience (8/3)
The world has a serious deforestation problem: These 7 images prove it.
![]()
(Getty Images)
Earth's forests are our planet's lungs, inhaling atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and expelling breathable oxygen.
In January 2021, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report about the state of the world's deforestation problem and 24 "deforestation fronts," or places where large areas of forest are under threat. The study concluded that 106 million acres (43 million hectares) of forest around the world have been stripped away over the last 13 years.
Full Story: LiveScience (8/3)
Space station mishap with Russian module more serious than NASA first reported
![]()
(Thomas Pesquet/ESA/NASA)
Last week, a Russian module accidentally pushed the International Space Station out of place. Now, a NASA flight director has revealed that the event was more serious than NASA initially reported.
On Thursday (July 29) morning, Russia's long-awaited research module Nauka docked with the space station. But a few hours later, the module accidentally fired its thrusters, briefly tilting the space station and causing it to lose what engineers call "attitude control."
Full Story: LiveScience (8/3)
Chipmunks near South Lake Tahoe test positive for plague
![]()
(Shutterstock)
Chipmunks in the South Lake Tahoe area have tested positive for plague, prompting officials to close several spots in the vicinity, according to news reports.
Officials announced this week that Kiva Beach and the Taylor Creek Visitor Center in South Lake Tahoe will be closed through Friday (Aug. 6) following the positive plague tests, according to The Tahoe Daily Tribune. The infected chipmunks had no known contact with people, the Daily Tribune reported.
Full Story: LiveScience (8/2)
Slowdown of Epin caused an oxygen surge
![]()
(Phil Hartmeyer, NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary)
Here's a new spin on how Earth became an oxygen-rich planet: As our planet's rotation slowed, microbes were bathed in longer stints of sunlight that revved up their release of oxygen into the atmosphere.
Every breath you take is possible because billions of years ago, dense mats of cyanobacteria — the first life on Earth — began churning out oxygen as a byproduct from photosynthesis. But scientists still didn't know for sure what triggered two transformative oxygenation events that turned Earth from a low-oxygen planet into an oxygen-rich world where complex organisms could evolve and diversify.
Full Story: LiveScience (8/2)
Real-life SpongeBob and Patrick found side by side on seafloor. But they likely don't get along.
![]()
(NOAA Ocean Exploration/Christopher Ma)
Real-life versions of cartoon best friends SpongeBob Squarepants and Patrick Star were sitting side by side at the bottom of the sea when marine researchers spotted them.
Controlling a remotely operated vehicle, the scientists discovered the square(ish) yellow sponge and five-pointed pink sea star at the Retriever Seamount off the coast of New England on July 27, at a depth of 6,184 feet (1,885 meters). The researchers, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), were exploring the seamount as part of the expedition Atlantic Stepping Stones onboard the ship Okeanos Explorer. NOAA shared images of the peculiar pair as part of a Facebook livestream.
Full Story: LiveScience (8/2)
no reason not to ha
/https://tf-cmsv2-photocontest-smithsonianmag-prod-approved.s3.amazonaws.com/c951e205-ba25-43c5-aa6f-3f54de6f67ca.jpg)
