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☆ ‘It’s a dolphin!’: Researchers uncover unusual ancient fossil in the Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The newly identified dolphin species lived in a freshwater lake in the Peruvian Amazon 16 million years ago. This composite image captures the phases of a total solar eclipse as they unfolded in El Molle, Chile, in July 2019. Stan HondaOn April 8, astrophotographer Stan Honda will be stationed in Fredericksburg, Texas, armed with four cameras to document the total solar eclipse. Mark your Apple iCal or Outlook, Google, or Office365 calendar with the date of the upcoming total solar eclipse, which CNN will be covering live. UnearthedThe remains of a decorative wall can be seen at the site of an ancient home renovation in Pompeii.

Persons: Dr, Austin Gallagher, Gallagher, Pebanista yacuruna, Jaime Bran, ”, Aldo Benites, Emperor Wu, couldn’t, Wu, Stan Honda, Honda, Apple, George Washington, Samuel, Washington, Francesca Giarelli, Everest, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, University of Zurich, Honda, Google, Italy Ministry of Culture, Red River Archaeology, CNN Space, Science Locations: Bahamas, Peruvian, Peru’s Loreto, Switzerland, China, Mongolia, El Molle, Chile, Fredericksburg , Texas, Mount Vernon , Virginia, Samuel’s Harewood, Charles Town, West Virginia, Harewood, Red, English, Oxfordshire, Cairo

☆ Ancient giant dolphin discovered in the Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And though there are Amazonian freshwater dolphin species alive today, they aren’t close kin to that ancient cetacean. There’s the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista genus) and the Amazon river dolphin (Inia genus), also known as the pink river dolphin, and the two groups include several species and subspecies. Researchers discovered the Amazonian dolphin fossil in 2018, near the Napo River in Loreto, Peru. At first, they thought it would turn out to be an ancient relative of modern Amazonian river dolphins. “That was a moment where everybody freaked out, because it wasn’t an Amazonian river dolphin,” Benites-Palomino said.

Persons: ”, Jorge Velez, ” Velez, Juarbe, Aldo Benites, Palomino, John J, Flynn, Palomino “, John, freaked, Benites, yacuruna, Rodolfo Salas, Gismondi, ” Benites, Pebanista, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, American Association for, Advancement of Science, Juarbe, of Los, International Union for, Nature, IUCN, University of Zurich’s Department of Paleontology, American Museum of, of, World Wildlife Fund, Velez, Scientific Locations: Peruvian, South Asia, America, of Los Angeles County, Loreto , Peru, New York City, Peru, of Lima, Amazonia

☆ Did syphilis originate in the Americas? Ancient DNA offers some insight
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

In France, it was named the “Neapolitan disease” after the French army got infected during its invasion of Naples, Italy, in the first documented syphilis epidemic. A complex disease caused by a complex bacteriumWithout treatment, syphilis can cause physical disfigurement, blindness and mental impairment. Others believe T. pallidum bacteria always had a global distribution but perhaps grew in virulence after initially manifesting as a mild disease. Some bones had marks characteristic of infection with T. pallidum — the bacteria effectively eat away at bones, leaving concave lesions. “The modern tools available for extracting DNA from ancient samples, for enriching the treponemal DNA, and obtaining deep sequencing from samples has rapidly increased our understanding of the Treponema.”

Persons: Christopher Columbus, Treponema pallidum, ”, Brenda J, Baker, Jose Filippini It’s, Molly Zuckerman, wasn’t, ” Zuckerman, “, it’s, Columbus, Europe ’, Sheila A, pallidum, Verena Schünemann, Schünemann, Mathew Beale, Beale, ” Lukehart Organizations: CNN, Research, Arizona State University, Bioarchaeology Laboratories, Mississippi State University, University of Washington, University of Zurich’s Institute of Evolutionary, Wellcome Sanger, Columbus Locations: France, Naples, Italy, Europe, Americas, Brazil, New, Laguna, Santa Catarina, Africa, Columbus, Finland, Estonia, Netherlands, Asia, Cambridge, England

NO ARCHIVES Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Early Warning System GmbH FollowNEW DELHI, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Scientists and government authorities were working on an early warning system for glacial floods at a Himalayan lake in northeast India when it broke its banks this week with deadly consequences. If fully operational, the warning system could have given people more time to evacuate, scientists said. One scientist said glacial early warning systems can typically give residents a few minutes to an hour of notice. Details of the Lhonak Lake warning system have not previously been reported. "Such kind of events are so fast that even if we have some kind of early warning system ... we may only gain some minutes, maybe an hour," he said.

Persons: Wang Chen, geoscientist Simon Allen, Kamal Kishore, Farooq Azam, Ali Withers, Gloria Dickie, Shivam Patel, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Adarsh gaon, REUTERS, NEW, Reuters, University of Zurich, Disaster Management Authority, Indian Institute of Technology, Thomson Locations: Teesta, Singtam, Sikkim, India, NEW DELHI, Swiss, Lakes, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Shako Cho, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Delhi

☆ Zurich bank looks to capitalise on Credit Suisse's demise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"There is a chance that the situation might accelerate our existing plans," he added, and suggested the bank would be open to looking into purchasing businesses from Credit Suisse, should they become available. "We want to grow and we have stated that we are open to looking at external growth as well, regardless of the situation of Credit Suisse," Baumann said. The Canton of Zurich is liable under the state guarantee for any ZKB liabilities which the bank cannot cover in the event of trouble. Deposits in Swiss bank accounts are usually only protected up to 100,000 Swiss francs. ($1 = 0.9190 Swiss francs)($1 = 0.9168 Swiss francs)($1 = 0.9160 Swiss francs)($1 = 0.9164 Swiss francs)Reporting by Noele IllienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Zurich to legalize consumption and sale of cannabis on trial basis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A greenhouse at the CBD cannabis production company Phytocann near Ollon, western Switzerland. The Swiss government has approved plans to legalize the sale and consumption of cannabis in Zurich in a trial designed to assess its economic and health benefits. The Swiss government has approved plans to legalize the sale and consumption of cannabis in Zurich in a trial designed to assess the social and economic benefits of regulating the drug. Participants will be expected to answer a questionnaire every six months on their consumption habits and health effects as part of the study, which is conducted in collaboration with the University of Zurich. Evidence from the trial is to be published on a rolling basis from next year.

Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe Swiss Bank Employees Association, in a statement to Reuters, demanded that UBS keep job cuts to an "absolute minimum". The statement underscores the sense of unease in Switzerland, with its reputation as a global financial center on the line. Green Party lawmaker Gerhard Andrey said that Credit Suisse is "such a visible institute". "A few months ago, nobody would have thought that Credit Suisse would fail. "But also that we are upholding the reputation of the Swiss financial centre."

☆ 'Truth serum' drugs do exist. Here's how medicines like sodium pentothal and scopolamine can manipulate the brain.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Numerous accounts and scientific reports suggest that you're more prone to tell the truth under the effects of truth serum drugs, but the drugs have other side effects. Furthermore, not only are truth serum drugs not all that useful, they are illegal under certain circumstances, including interrogation. A truth serum experimentTo find out if truth serum works, TV journalist Michael Mosley experienced it for himself in 2013. To investigate sodium thiopental, one of the more popular truth serum drugs, Mosley took two different doses of it. The future of truth-telling drugsThere may be a more powerful truth serum drug out there that researchers have yet to discover.

☆ The small European nation of Switzerland beat sky-high inflation. Here's how
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

watch nowZURICH — As many countries across the globe battle stubbornly high inflation, the rise in prices has been far less dramatic in Switzerland, a small mountainous nation in western Europe. The stability of the Swiss francAnother reason for Switzerland's relative price stability stems from the strong Swiss franc. While many currencies plunged against an appreciating U.S. dollar, the Swiss franc held steady amid volatility in Europe. The Swiss franc is heavily backed by large reserve of gold, bonds and financial assets, which help the Swiss National Bank ensure the currency's stability during times of volatility. A stronger Swiss franc provides an effective discount on those imports.

☆ Inflation is thrashing countries all around the world. But not Switzerland
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

As many countries across the globe battle sky-high inflation, Switzerland's economy is seeing something far less dramatic. Inflation in Switzerland hit a 29-year high of 3.5% in 2022. While high by Swiss standards, that figure is well below the double-digit inflation of comparable economies including the United States (9.1%), United Kingdom (11.1%) and euro zone (10.6%). "It's coming down a little bit," Tobias Straumann, professor of modern and economic history at the University of Zurich, told CNBC. So, what is it about the Swiss economy that's allowed it to largely sidestep inflation, and what can other countries learn from it?

☆ A scientist's recordings reveal turtles coo, squeak, and croak. Listen to their rarely-heard calls.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Researcher Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen recorded surprising vocalizations from 50 turtle species. Listen to 13 of these seldom-heard turtle sounds, from croaking and squealing to cooing and purring. They were making sounds, too — like the creaking clicks in the clip below. Jorgewich-Cohen recorded 50 different turtle species. The sounds of not-so-silent creaturesJorgewich-Cohen suspects that people don't notice turtle sounds very often because it's hard to hear them through water.

☆ Elon Musk touts big plans for Tesla's Optimus robot, but some experts doubt it's the next big thing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Eight experts told Insider they have doubts about Elon Musk's promises for Tesla's Optimus bot. Several experts said Tesla's AI Day demonstration doesn't stand out from other companies' projects. This year, at Tesla's second annual AI Day a prototype of the Optimus bot walked slowly onto the stage and waved to the audience. The Optimus bot did stand out in one way, according to several experts — its hands. Animesh Garg, a professor of AI Robotics at the University of Toronto, called the bot's hands "impressive."

☆ 'Truth serum' drugs do exist. Here's how medicines like sodium pentothal and scopolamine manipulate the brain.
▼ + stars: | 2014-10-10 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Numerous accounts and scientific reports suggest that you're more prone to tell the truth under the effects of truth serum drugs, but the drugs have other side effects. Furthermore, not only are truth serum drugs not all that useful, they are illegal under certain circumstances including interrogation. ScopolamineZchanguScopolamine was first promoted by Dr. Robert House as a truth serum in the early 20th century, and was the first drug to adopt the name "truth serum." A truth serum experimentThe best way to find out if truth serum works is to experience it for yourself, which is exactly what TV journalist Michael Mosley did. To investigate sodium thiopental, one of the more popular truth serum drugs, Mosley took two different doses of the drug.

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