In November 2023, troops sweeping for a suspected minefield on Mount Geumseong in southwestern South Korea ended up uncovering a small bronze object about four inches beneath the soil. Rather than a landmine, it was a gun, one that may have been buried for more than 600 years, according to a report by Smithsonian Magazine.After…
Chocolate has been providing a sugar high to humans for centuries, enough to inspire them to build monuments too. A new genetic analysis of pottery pieces near the Etowah Indian Mounds has revealed the earliest known traces of cacao east of the Mississippi River, according to Smithsonian Magazine, citing a study published in PLOS One…
Representative Image of the Saint Sebastian River restoration with native plants returning along its banks (AI Generated Image) A stretch of the Saint Sebastian River in Indian River County, Florida, is getting its native vegetation back. Staff from the Peninsular Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office are continuing a multi-year project with Indian River County,…
D’Arros Island in Seychelles has recorded a sharp rise in its Wedge-tailed Shearwater breeding population after rats were eradicated in 2003. Researchers counted 2,768 breeding pairs in 2016 and 2,406 in 2021, compared with about 254 pairs recorded in 2009. The colony also spread across a larger area, while breeding burrow density increased during the…
J.K. Rowling opened the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic in memory of her mother, who died of multiple sclerosis. The clinic focuses on research and treatment of various neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. The funding aims to attract world-class researchers to develop new therapies and potentially find a cure. It has already…
PC: Nicole de Voogd/University of Göttingen Scientists have discovered at least ten new species of branching marine worms after studying their DNA, newly collected specimens, and body structures. These unusual worms live inside sea sponges and have a distinctive body, with one head connected to a tree-like network of branches. For more than a century,…
JUICE captures images of Earth during its flybyPhoto: ESA.int The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, known as Juice, used Earth’s gravity as a cosmic slingshot on September 28, 2026, reshaping its route to Jupiter while conserving precious fuel. Flying just 8,640 km above the Indian Ocean, the spacecraft had its trajectory deflected…
Scientists have developed a living building material designed for construction on Mars, combining inert sand with a gelatin-based hydrogel and engineered yeast cells. According to the research published in Chem Circularity titled ‘Engineered living building material for low-energy construction on Mars’, the material can be processed and printed under simulated Martian conditions while requiring far…
In 1985, electrical engineer Bill Freeman imagined a zipper that could do more than join two pieces of material. His three-sided design used a slider to bring three strips together, potentially changing the shape and stiffness of objects. The idea was rejected by an innovation fund, but Freeman patented the mechanism and kept his prototype…
Greater Farallones Association Kelp restoration specialist Julieta Gomez holding up kelp she is tending at the lab to grow spores for outplanting for kelp restoration. Image Credit: Jennifer Stock/NOAA California scientists are growing young bull kelp in laboratory tanks before placing it back into coastal waters where underwater forests have largely disappeared. At Bodega Marine…
