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☆ Peculiar dead white dwarf star has two faces
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Astronomers have made a first-of-its-kind discovery — a white dwarf star with two completely different faces. White dwarfs are burnt remains of dead stars. The newly discovered white dwarf has two sides, one made of hydrogen and the other made of helium. Researchers have nicknamed the star Janus, for the Roman god of transition, which has two faces. “We might have possibly caught one such white dwarf in the act.”As the white dwarf cools over time, the heavier and lighter materials may mix together.

Persons: Janus, ”, Ilaria Caiazzo, Caiazzo, Neil Gehrels, ” Caiazzo, “, K, Miller, James Fuller Organizations: CNN —, California Institute of Technology, Observatory, Gran, Canarias, Keck, Caltech Locations: Canary, Maunakea, Hawaii

☆ China is drilling some of the world’s deepest holes in hunt for natural resources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The hole will eventually reach 10,520 meters (34,514 feet) into the ground at the Sichuan Basin in southwest China, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. The region is a major area for gas production and engineers expected to find a natural gas reserve there, the report said. These ultradeep holes stretch greater than Mount Everest measuring from top to bottom, which is about 8,800 meters (28,871 feet) tall. Drilling deep allows scientists to learn more about how the Earth was formed with the crust acting like a geological timeline of or world’s formation. China, the world’s second largest economy and the world’s biggest carbon emitter, has huge energy needs.

Persons: Chen Lili, ”, Xi Jinping, John Kerry, Xi, – Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Xinhua, China National Petroleum Corporation, Sinopec Corp, Reuters, Kerry Locations: Hong Kong, Sichuan, China, Tarim, China’s, Xinjiang, Russia, Soviet, Xinhua, Beijing

☆ Fossils Where They Don’t Belong? Maybe We Just Didn’t Look Hard Enough.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Anthony Ham | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Among dinosaur bones and sandy sediment there emerged a 167-million-year-old tiny jaw fragment with three teeth. It belonged to Ambondro mahabo, a species that was 25 million years older than any mammal of its kind ever found. At the time, what was known of the fossil record pointed overwhelmingly to the conclusion that modern mammals’ forerunners arose in the Northern Hemisphere. But a review of existing fossil holdings published last year in the journal Alcheringa sought to turn decades of paleontological wisdom on its head. After an exhaustive study of skulls, jaws and teeth, a team of Australian paleontologists presented their conclusion that modern mammals originated in the Southern Hemisphere.

Persons: Ambondro, ”, John Flynn, Frick Organizations: Northern, Southern Hemisphere, American Museum of Locations: Madagascar, New York

☆ Morning Bid: Relief over US inflation keeps Asia upbeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A woman shops for groceries at El Progreso Market in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C., U.S., August 19, 2022. Indeed, Friday's rise in the yen put it within striking distance of its converging 100-day and 200-day moving averages near 137.00 to the dollar. The Reserve Bank of Australia was also in the spotlight in Asia, with the much-anticipated announcement of its next governor. The rest of the day is light on economic data with euro zone May trade, U.S. export and import prices and University of Michigan consumer sentiment the main releases. But it's a bumper day for bank earnings as JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), Citigroup (C.N), Wells Fargo (WFC.N) and BlackRock (BLK.N) are all due to report second-quarter results.

Persons: Sarah Silbiger, Sonali Desai, Michele Bullock, JPMorgan Chase, Luis de Guindos, Edmund Klamann Organizations: El Progreso Market, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Treasury, Bank of, People's Bank of China, The Reserve Bank of Australia, University of Michigan, JPMorgan, Citigroup, BlackRock, Hollywood, Central Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Thomson Locations: Mount Pleasant, Washington ,, Asia, Japan Asia, U.S, Wells Fargo, Brussels U.S

☆ A Victorian Dinosaur Park Finds Its Way in the 21st Century
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The word dinosaur is only about a decade old. Now imagine yourself as a resident of Victorian London, walking into Crystal Palace Park in the southeastern part of the city. There you encounter dozens of three-dimensional dinosaurs and ancient mammals you could have never imagined, made of clay, brick and other available building materials. Except you don’t have to imagine too hard, because those statues are still there, some 170 years later. They’re a little worse for wear and are no longer considered scientifically accurate.

Persons: David Attenborough Organizations: Crystal Locations: Victorian London, They’re

☆ Scientists see surprising brain activity in sleeping octopuses that could mean they dream like us
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists observed sleeping octopuses and saw their brains enter a deep sleep like ours. This deep sleep is similar to a dream state in mammals, so octopuses may also dream. For the study, scientists spied on multiple sleeping octopuses. By studying the octopus's brain activity, the team found that these cephalopods have similar active and quiet sleep cycles to us mammals and that certain periods of their active stage resembles rapid eye movement sleep. REM sleep is often when humans dream, leading scientists to wonder if octopuses may dream like us.

Persons: —, Vlad Tchompalov, Samuel Sloss Organizations: Service, University of Washington School of Medicine, UW, Neuroscience, New, Wildlife Locations: Bonaire, Caribbean

☆ First debt swap Galapagos projects could be approved next year, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, June 30 (Reuters) - Conservation projects in the Galapagos Islands funded by so-called blue bonds will be approved from next year by an independent body, Ecuador's Environment Minister Jose Davalos said. The independent non-profit Galapagos Life Fund (GLF) will manage the funds, Davalos told Reuters on Thursday. "Next year the GLF could begin to receive projects, rate them and assign the first funds to finance them," Davalos said. "This is a private fund that will administer money that is given or donated for the conservation of the Galapagos." The fund could finance projects in fishing, tourism, environmental education and the management of the Galapagos ocean reserve, which was expanded last year.

Persons: Jose Davalos, Davalos, Charles Darwin's, Guillermo Lasso, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Life, Reuters, Resources, Thomson Locations: QUITO

☆ Fossils show ancient long-necked sea beast's 'gruesome' decapitation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The researchers studied neck and head remains of two species of Tanystropheus, detecting bite marks and other signs of trauma indicating decapitation. The larger species, the one that ate fish and squid, reached 20 feet (6 meters) long, though this individual was about 13 feet (4 meters). The smaller species was about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, with teeth indicating a diet of soft-shelled invertebrates like shrimp. Useful in hunting, extreme neck elongation was common among marine reptiles spanning about 175 million years during the age of dinosaurs. Sure, there are other animals with a very long neck, but not a neck that is this long, this stiff and this lightweight, with very long, string-like neck ribs.

Persons: Tanystropheus, Stephan Spiekman, Spiekman, Eudald Mujal, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: State Museum of, Museum of, Thomson Locations: Switzerland, San Giorgio, Stuttgart, Germany

☆ Natural evolution: Record Galapagos deal sparks clamour for eco-friendly debt swaps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The growing appetite comes as record numbers of developing world governments face debt pressures due to higher global interest rates. There have been around 140 over the past 35 years, but even including last month's super-sized Galapagos deal they have only involved around $5 billion of debt altogether. The top-level attendees will be urged to do more, not only debt swaps, but also by providing foreign exchange guarantees and automatic debt-payment breaks for countries hit by climate-related disasters. "Seeing something that has a group of countries involved would be amazing," Issa said. Ecuador says it is eyeing another transaction to capitalise on the halo effect from the Galapagos deal.

Persons: Ramzi Issa, Charles Darwin's, Issa, Ilan Goldfajn, Scott Nathan, Nathan, Emmanuel Macron, Mia Mottley, Suisse's Issa, Simon Jessop, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Ecuador, Credit Suisse, Inter, American Development Bank, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Ecuador, Belize, Barbados, Gabon, Paris, Sri Lanka, Indian, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles

☆ Pat Robertson, the televangelist who helped turn Christianity into a political force, is dead at 93
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Ben Finley | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Robertson was a televangelist who helped bring Christianity to the center of the Republican Party. Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson was born March 22, 1930, in Lexington, Virginia, to Absalom Willis Robertson and Gladys Churchill Robertson. Robertson was interested in politics until he found religion, Dede Robertson told the AP in 1987. Pat Robertson listens as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. But after President Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, Robertson said Trump was living in an "alternate reality" and should "move on," news outlets reported.

Persons: Pat Robertson, Robertson, —, — Pat Robertson, Steve Helber, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Jeffrey K, Hadden, ″, ″ Robertson, Bush, — Robertson, John C, Green, Marion Gordon, Pat, Absalom Willis Robertson, Gladys Churchill Robertson, Pam MacDonald, Adelia, Dede, Elmer, Dede Robertson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, God, George W, Hugo Chavez, misspoke, Bill Clinton, Trump, Kellyanne Conway, Joe Biden, Robertson's, Gordon, Rupert Murdoch's Organizations: Christian Broadcasting Network, Republican Party, Service, Christian Coalition, Regent University, American Center for Law, Justice, University of Virginia, Associated Press, ″, Republican, House, The University of Akron, U.S, Representative, Washington, Lee University, 1st Marine Division, Yale University Law School, Conservative, Conference, Yale, Southern Baptist, Catholic, AP, New York Theological Seminary, CBN, University of Akron, White, Trump, International, Entertainment Inc, The, Rupert, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Locations: Va, Virginia, America, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake , Virginia, Iowa, George H.W ., U.S, Chesapeake, Lexington , Virginia, Korea, Houston, Southern, New York, Bedford, Stuyvesant, Ohio, New, Portsmouth , Va, Virginia Beach , Virginia, Pennsylvania, Orlando , Florida, Kenya, IFE

☆ What makes us human? Primate genome study offers some clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While some genetic variations previously thought to be exclusive to people were found in other primate species, the researchers pinpointed others that were uniquely human involving brain function and development. They also used the primate genomes to train an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in humans. Human-related threats such as habitat destruction, climate change and hunting have left about 60% of primate species threatened with extinction and about 75% with declining populations. "The vast majority of primate species have significantly more genetic variation per individual than do humans," said genomicist and study co-author Jeffrey Rogers of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. The genome data can help identify the primate species in the most dire need of conservation efforts.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, genomicist Lukas Kuderna, gibbons, Kuderna, Jeffrey Rogers, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park's Institute, Evolutionary, Illumina Inc, Baylor College of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Kinigi, Rwanda, Barcelona, Spain, Americas, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Texas, China, Laos, Vietnam

☆ Opinion | If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably ‘WEIRD’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +83 min

You’re probably very weird, and not just for all the obvious reasons you’re thinking of. Because, obviously, there’s going to be some overlap in the curve here. How you’re going to behave with your professor is quite different than how you’re going to behave with your friends. But it’s really kind of faceless, and you’re not really helping anybody you know. I think things are dynamic, and directions are changing, and that sort of thing.

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Ecuador sealed the world's largest "debt-for-nature" swap on record on Tuesday, selling a new "blue bond" that will funnel at least $12 million a year into conservation of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems. Tuesday's $656 million "Galapagos Bond," as it has been dubbed, will run until 2041 and gave investors that bought it a 5.645% "coupon" or interest rate, its bankers said. Ecuador sovereign bonds currently yield from 17% to 26%, but the new bond has an $85 million 'credit guarantee' from the Inter-American Development Bank and $656 million of political risk insurance from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC), effectively making it less risky. The driver has been the remote Galapagos Islands, some 600 miles (970 km) off Ecuador's mainland coast, that inspired Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Scott Nathan, the chief executive of DFC, said people needed to "stay tuned" for similar deals in other countries and the Galapagos deal had been a long time coming.

☆ Ecuador Strikes a Landmark Deal to Save Nature, and Some Cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The NewsEcuador announced a record-setting deal on Tuesday designed to reduce its debt burden and free up hundreds of millions of dollars to fund marine conservation around the Galápagos Islands, an archipelago of unique biodiversity that’s famous for inspiring Darwin’s theory of evolution. The arrangement, known as a debt-for-nature deal, is a bit like refinancing a mortgage, only for government bonds. Gustavo Manrique Miranda, the Ecuadorean foreign minister, called it a historic agreement that takes into account the value of nature. He said Ecuador was as wealthy as any of the richest countries in the world, “but our currency is the biodiversity.”

☆ Ecuador frees cash for Galapagos conservation with $1.6 bln bond repurchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Rodrigo Campos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse repurchased Ecuadorean sovereign notes worth $1.6 billion in face value, the country's bankers said on Thursday, freeing cash for conservation of the unique Galapagos Islands in the biggest debt-for-nature swap ever struck. The buyback will free cash that Ecuador will put into conservation of its Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems and the inspiration for Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The offer, laid out by Credit Suisse late last month, amounts to the biggest debt-for-nature swap, as such transactions are known in banking circles, struck to date. The move has a political crisis as backdrop, as the National Assembly is in the middle of an impeachment process against President Guillermo Lasso for alleged embezzlement, allegation Lasso denies. Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ecuador launches debt buyback plan aimed at Galapagos protection
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A pelican is seen on Santa Cruz Island, part of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. REUTERS/Santiago ArcosLONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Ecuador has launched a long-awaited debt buyback plan that will free up money to protect its Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems and the inspiration for Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. "The Offeror is making the Offer... as part of a broader refinancing operation to channel savings and promote certain conservation and sustainability efforts," the buyback plan said. The operation is private, the country's finance ministry said in a message to journalists, and cannot be discussed. Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Opinion | The Gravest Threats to Campus Speech Come From States, Not Students
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Christina Paxson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Several states, including Georgia, Idaho and most notably Florida, have passed varying laws making it easier to ban books and limit what American educators can teach. I am the president of a private, nonprofit university in Rhode Island, a state founded on the values of freedom and tolerance. The new laws censor their voices as well as those of their faculty and students. Proponents of these laws attempt to justify them by repeating claims that universities are places where political correctness runs rampant and students are intolerant of alternative viewpoints. Students should not ‌violate university policies and ‌shout down speakers they don’t agree with.

☆ Coral reef discovered in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Quito, Ecuador Reuters —A scientific expedition has discovered a previously unknown coral reef with abundant marine life off Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, the country’s environment ministry said on Monday. “A deepwater scientific expedition has found the first totally pristine coral reef, approximately two kilometers (1.2 miles) long, at 400 meters (deep), on the summit of a submarine mountain,” Environment Minister Jose Davalos said on Twitter. “Galapagos surprises us again.”Scientists had believed that the only Galapagos reef to survive El Nino weather in 1982 and 1983 was one called the Wellington reef, along the coast of Darwin Island, but the new discovery shows other coral has persisted, the ministry said in a statement. The South American country last year expanded the Galapagos marine reserve by 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 square miles), an extension of the 138,000 square kilometers already in place, to protect endangered migratory species between the Galapagos and the Cocos Island in Costa Rica. The Galapagos, which inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, are also home to giant tortoises, albatrosses, cormorants and other species, some of which are endangered.

☆ The 'mammoth meatball' grown in a lab probably doesn't taste like woolly mammoth at all
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It probably doesn't taste like woolly mammoth, a meat specialist and mammoth DNA researcher said. The Belgian startup Paleo says it added woolly mammoth myoglobin to a plant-based burger. The mammoth meatball doesn't have either of those elements from woolly mammoth. Mammoth myoglobin doesn't necessarily bring mammoth flavorThough he didn't taste it, Ryall said everyone could smell the meatball while it was cooking. So why make a mammoth meatball that doesn't taste like mammoth?

☆ From McDonald's $200 million Arch Deluxe to Colgate's frozen lasagna: Here are 5 of the biggest food 'failures'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

For every massive hit like the Popeye's chicken sandwich, the food industry produces countless duds. At the museum, visitors can see failed products ranging from the once-promising 3D TVs to the infamous MoviePass. "What I really appreciate with the food and beverage industry is that they have this sort of evolutionary approach," West says. "If we don't accept the failures, we can't have the good stuff," West says. These are five of the biggest culinary duds at the Museum of Failure.

☆ 25 years later, the company that modernized the way we straighten our teeth is still revolutionizing dentistry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Align | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Align Technology, the company behind the Invisalign® system and iTero™ intraoral scanners, is celebrating 25 years of transforming smiles and changing lives. Align Technology transformed the orthodontic industry with the Invisalign® clear aligner system, a series of clear, removable aligners custom-made for each patient. On average, Invisalign treatment is five months shorter than braces treatment, and Invisalign patients report 30% fewer doctor visits than braces patients. Fast Facts: The Invisalign clear aligner system was introduced in 1999. Invisalign® Personalized Plan delivers Invisalign treatment plans by automating doctors' specific treatment preferences for efficiency and treatment planning consistency.

☆ Oldest fossils of remarkable marine reptiles found in Arctic
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Fossils dating to about 250 million years ago unearthed in a harsh and remote locale - Norway's Arctic island of Spitsbergen - are now providing surprising insight into the rise of ichthyosaurs. The fossils showed this one, which has not yet been given a scientific name, was quite advanced anatomically. The site where the fossils were found is a classic Arctic landscape with high snow-capped mountains along the coast of a deep fjord. The mass extinction shook up land and marine ecosystems and opened opportunities for new species to fill ecological roles vacated by extinct creatures. Fossils show ichthyosaurs giving live birth to their young.

☆ Singapore's Sea Group turns profitable for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sea Limited's e-commerce arm, Shopee, turned positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2022. The group also posted its first-ever positive net income in the quarter. The chairman and group CEO of Sea Limited, said on Tuesday that 2022 was "another year of evolution for us." Shopee and SeaMoneyMeanwhile, e-commerce business Shopee and digital payments arm SeaMoney continued to see strong growth in 2022. Positive EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, refers to the company operating at a profitable level.

☆ For toothed whales, sound production is all in the nose
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Researchers on Thursday offered a comprehensive explanation for sound production by toothed whales - loud clicks for echolocation, and softer burst pulses and whistles for communication. The researchers used sound-recording tags on sperm whales, false killer whales and bottlenosed dolphins to study sound production in the wild. The sounds made by toothed whales differ from the haunting "singing" by filter-feeding baleen whales. "Toothed whales don't sing like baleen whales," Madsen said. During the course of evolution, toothed whales have lost their vocal folds, but evolved an entirely new set of sound sources in the nose."

☆ Australian gold miner says it is 'optimistic' about gold price
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAustralian gold miner says it is 'optimistic' about gold priceJake Klein of Evolution Mining says gold will start to rise again as the U.S. dollar weakens, and there is more interest in the gold sector.

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