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☆ Two lions make record-breaking swim for ‘female affection’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Two lion brothers, including one with an amputated leg, were spotted making a record-breaking night swim through treacherous waters in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. Researchers believe that the nearly mile-long (1.6-kilometer) crossing of the crocodile-infested Kazinga Channel is the longest documented swim by lions. They were likely in search of females after losing dangerous fights to another group of male lions — and to avoid humans while doing so, according to the researchers. Alex Braczkowski/Griffith UniversityAt the end of January, the team witnessed Jacob and Tibu enter into two vicious fights with other male lions within 48 hours. “There was terrific incentive to get across.”Looking out for one anotherPacker’s research has shown that when male lions stick together, they sire more cubs.

Persons: Jacob, ”, Alex Braczkowski, Griffith University Braczkowski, Queen Elizabeth, Braczkowski, “ Jacob, ” Braczkowski, “ I’d, Orin Cornille, Bosco Atukwatse, Luke Ochse, Ochse, Tibu, Duan Biggs, Luke Ochse “, it’s, “, Craig Packer, McKnight, Packer, ” Packer, ” Jacob, ” Biggs Organizations: CNN, Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth, Park, lionesses, Griffith University’s, Planetary Health, Food Security, Griffith University, Monitoring, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Environmental Science, Northern Arizona University, Elizabeth, Lion Center, University of Minnesota, Griffith University Lions Locations: Uganda’s Queen, Australia, Ugandan, Braczkowski, Uganda, Queen

☆ NASA’s Boeing Starliner test flight astronauts discuss spacecraft problems
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and its crew have been in space for more than a month — much longer than the weeklong stay initially expected. But the two astronauts piloting this historic test mission mostly spoke favorably about the vehicle that carried them to the International Space Station, marking the inaugural crewed flight of the Boeing-built spacecraft. I mean, truly amazing,” Butch Wilmore, one of two NASA astronauts helming this mission, said in a Wednesday news briefing. The pump’s failure “put us in a position where we’d have to store an awful lot of urine,” said Dana Weigel, manager for NASA’s International Space Station Program, before the flight. SpaceX designed its cargo Dragon spacecraft years before its Crew Dragon capsule, while Boeing somewhat started from scratch with Starliner.

Persons: CNN —, there’s, Butch Wilmore, ” Wilmore, Wilmore, Hurricane Beryl, hasn’t, Williams, Steve Stich, “, ” Stich, Sunita Williams, Wilmore —, Wilmore’s, ” Williams, ”, Mark Nappi, ” Nappi, Dana Weigel, Weigel, “ I’m, Northrop Grumman, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Behnken, Hurley, “ We’ve, Stich, Butch, Suni Organizations: CNN, International, Boeing, NASA, SpaceX, International Space Station, NASA’s, Space Station, Northrop Locations: New Mexico, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Williams

☆ Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket succeeds in debut flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The European Space Agency’s member countries have endured a space access predicament as they have waited to have a functioning rocket in their toolbox. Europe’s Vega-C rocket, designed for vaulting small satellites to orbit, has also been grounded since a December 2022 failure. Spectators watch the takeoff of the Ariane 6 rocket from its launchpad at the Guiana Space Center on Tuesday. The Ariane 6 rocket is seen prior to its maiden launch at the Guiana Space Center on Tuesday. Jody Amiet/AFP/Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, the rocket took off on its inaugural test flight hauling small satellites, experiments and technology demonstrations.

Persons: Safran, Europe’s Vega, Jody Amiet, Josef Aschbacher, “, ” Aschbacher, it’s Organizations: CNN, Guiana Space Center, ESA, SpaceX, Arianespace, Airbus, Getty, European Organisation Locations: Kourou, French Guiana, South, France, ArianeGroup, AFP, Elon Musk’s California, Europe, Nemo

☆ Ancient trilobite anatomy preserved in 3D by volcanic eruption, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Greg Edgecombe“It’s just incredible to have this in 3D without any alteration or deformation,” lead study author Dr. Abderrazak El Albani told CNN. The findings also underscore the urgency of protecting fossil-rich locations in Africa such as the Tatelt Formation, El Albani added. Such protections help to ensure that buried remnants of Earth’s distant past remain accessible for future study, El Albani said. Microtomographic reconstruction shows the newfound trilobite species Gigoutella mauretanica found in the Tatelt Formation in the High Atlas mountains. This example of commensalism — different types of animals living together — is also exceedingly rare in the trilobite fossil record, El Albani said.

Persons: Greg Edgecombe, Greg Edgecombe “, Abderrazak El Albani, Arnaud Mazurier, Matériaux de, El Albani, mauretanica, Melanie Hopkins, ”, Hopkins, “, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Chimie, Matériaux de Poitiers, University of Poitiers, geoscience, UNESCO, Heritage, University, Poitiers, American Museum of, Scientific Locations: what’s, Morocco, Vesuvius, London, France, Africa, Burgess, Canada, New York City, Morocco —

☆ Paleolithic tool reveals when clothing as a form of self-expression may have gotten its start
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The circumstances surrounding eyed needles raised a number of questions. How do you alter your appearance for social purposes? “We don’t need to have eyed needles to manufacture clothing,” he said. This evidence would support the theory that eyed needles played a role in decoration, without ruling out their use for tailoring. “Our study shows that eyed needles are a marker for this change in the function of clothing, from thermal to social necessity,” he added.

Persons: ”, Ian Gilligan, Gilligan, ” Gilligan, “, Mariana Ariza, they’re, ” It’s, Liza Foley, Foley, Nowell, ” Nowell Organizations: CNN, University of Sydney, Ghent University, Royal Museums of Art, Lansdowne, University of Victoria Locations: Siberia, Europe, East, Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, Eurasia, Moscow, Brussels, Belgium, Canada

☆ Webb telescope reveals the smelly atmosphere of nearby giant planet
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Now, data from the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed another intriguing feature of the planet known as HD 189733b: It smells like rotten eggs. Located only 64 light-years from Earth, HD 189733b is the nearest hot Jupiter that astronomers can study as the planet passes in front of its star. HD 189733b only takes about two Earth days to complete a single orbit around its star, Fu said. Webb’s data also showed levels of heavy metals on HD 189733b that are similar to those found on Jupiter. “HD 189733b is a benchmark planet, but it represents just a single data point,” Fu said.

Persons: James Webb, ”, Guangwei Fu, Fu, ” Fu, Webb, they’re, “ Organizations: CNN, Johns Hopkins University

☆ New images reveal tiny moon around asteroid as it flies by Earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Spotting a tiny moonThe first space rock, asteroid 2011 UL21, passed by Earth on June 27 at a distance of 4.1 million miles (6.6 million kilometers), or 17 times the distance between Earth and the moon. The radar images showed the asteroid is roughly spherical and is one of a pair, called a binary system. NASA/JPL-CaltechThe Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, at Sutherland Observing Station in South Africa first spotted the space rock on June 16. Astronomers sent radio waves to the space rock and captured a detailed image of asteroid 2024 MK. As the space rock passed by our planet and encountered Earth’s gravity, its orbit changed.

Persons: ”, Lance Benner, don’t, ” Benner Organizations: CNN, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Network, Earth, Catalina Sky Survey, JPL, Caltech, Lucy, Asteroid, Astronomers Locations: Pasadena , California, Tucson , Arizona, Barstow , California, Sutherland, South Africa

☆ Fossil analysis reveals how Denisovans thrived on the ‘roof of the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The grasslands, glaciers and snow-tipped peaks of the Tibetan Plateau are breathtaking, but the vast expanse in Central Asia is also one of Earth’s harshest environments. Archaeologists long believed the Tibetan Plateau — more than 13,000 feet (about 4,000 meters) above sea level — was one of the last places on the planet to be settled. We are familyBaishiya Karst Cave is seen at the edge of Ganjia Basin on the Tibetan Plateau. Now, Baishiya Karst Cave, on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, is helping answer many questions about who the Denisovans were. The analysis is shedding light on how the extinct humans thrived in the ice age environment for more than 100,000 years.

Persons: Bill Nelson, BRIN, Gerard Talavera, nestmates, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Lanzhou University Researchers, China National Space Administration, NASA, Apollo, FBI, BRIN Google, Scientists, Botanical Institute of Barcelona, CNN Space, Science Locations: Central Asia, Ganjia, Siberia, Tibetan, China, what’s, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Delta, Guiana, Talavera, Spain, —, Massachusetts

☆ Unusual swamp creature was an ice age predator before the dinosaurs
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Creatures living in the far south have been harder to pin down, and less is known about the animals that lived closer to the poles. It thrived as a top predator 40 million years before dinosaurs evolved to roam the Earth, according to the study. “It’s really, really surprising that Gaiasia is so archaic. In addition to seeking more fossil examples of the species, the researchers are also curious to find other animals that lived in this far south ecosystem. “It tells us that what was happening in the far south was very different from what was happening at the equator.

Persons: Gaiasia jennyae, ”, Jason Pardo, “ It’s, Claudia Marsicano, “, Gaiasia, Pardo, ” Pardo, Gabriel Lio, ” Marsicano, can’t Organizations: CNN, National Science Foundation, Field, University of Buenos Locations: Namibia, Brazil, Chicago, University of Buenos Aires, South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

☆ Earth’s inner core has slowed so much it’s moving backward, scientists confirm. Here’s what it could mean
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Comparing the timing of seismic signals as they touched the core revealed changes in core rotation over time, confirming the 70-year rotation cycle. But the depth and inaccessibility of the inner core mean that uncertainties remain, she added. The mysterious region where the liquid outer core envelops the solid inner core is especially interesting, Vidale added. “We might have volcanoes on the inner core boundary, for example, where solid and fluid are meeting and moving,” he said. Because the spinning of the inner core affects movement in the outer core, inner core rotation is thought to help power Earth’s magnetic field, though more research is required to unravel its precise role.

Persons: seismologist Inge Lehmann, —, ”, Lauren Waszek, “, ” Waszek, John Vidale, “ We’ve, ” Vidale, we’ve, what’s, Vidale, Seismologists, Lehmann, Waszek, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, James Cook University, Earth Sciences, University of Southern California’s Dornsife, of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Geological Survey, Scientific Locations: Australia, New Zealand, South Sandwich, South

☆ A scene of humans hunting a pig painted in an Indonesian cave is oldest known narrative art
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Katie Hunt | Lex Harvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The paintings are older than Europe’s famed cave art such as Lascaux in France, and, while younger than some geometric abstract art found in South Africa, it’s the oldest of a narrative scene, the authors of the study said. The cave art discoveries have challenged a longstanding belief that artistic expression — and the cognitive leap that fired up the human imagination — began in Europe. BRIN Google Arts & CultureEvolution of dating techniquesDating cave art is often difficult if the work is made with mineral pigments such as ocher or manganese rather than biological materials such as carbon. The study’s dating of the cave art is robust, but it’s “a leap of faith” to suggest that the figurative art was narrative in scope, said Paul Pettitt, a professor of archaeology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. It’s also unclear why so much cave art has been found in this region of Indonesia, Aubert said, but he and his team expected to find more.

Persons: “, ”, Maxime Aubert, ” , Adam Brumm, —, Renaud Joannes, Boyau, Joannes, Aubert —, Aubert, Nowell, wasn’t, it’s, Paul Pettitt, Dominic Julian, BRIN, Pettitt, It’s, sapiens Organizations: CNN, Griffith, for Social, Research, Australia’s Griffith University, BRIN Google Arts &, Southern Cross University, University of Victoria, Durham University, BRIN Google Locations: South Sulawesi, France, South Africa, Australia, Sulawesi, ”, Europe, Indonesia, archaeogeochemistry, Canada, United Kingdom, Africa

☆ 12,000-year-old ritual passed down 500 generations may be world’s oldest
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Buried deep in an Australian cave, archaeologists have uncovered evidence that an Aboriginal ritual may have been passed down 500 generations and survived 12,000 years, making it the oldest known continuous cultural practice in the world, according to a new study. They cut it, and used carbon dating to determine it’s 12,000 years old, from towards the end of the last Ice Age. Normally they just disintegrate.”They also uncovered another wooden stick which, though 1,000 years younger, was remarkably similar. The two wooden sticks were dated to 11,000 and 12,000 years old. “Bringing in the community way, the cultural way, with some of the scientific techniques, means that stories can be told,” David said.

Persons: Cloggs, ’ Bruno David, GLaWAC David, Alfred Howitt, Howitt, ”, mulla, ” Howitt, GunaiKurnai Elder Uncle Russell Mullett, ” David Organizations: CNN, Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University, Waters Aboriginal Corporation Locations: Buchan, Melbourne, Australia

☆ How Denisovans survived and thrived on ‘the roof of the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We know that the Denisovans lived, occupied the cave and this Tibetan plateau for such a long time, we really want to know, how did they live there? Analysis of bone fragments unearthed during excavations at Baishiya Karst Cave have revealed what animals Denisovans butchered, ate and processed. Traces of Denisovan DNA found in present-day people suggest the ancient species likely once lived across much of Asia. Many of the bones recovered from Baishiya Karst Cave, like this spotted hyena vertebra, contain traces of human activities such as cut marks. Unlike Denisova Cave, which was occupied by early modern humans and Neanderthals as well as Denisovans, current evidence suggests that Denisovans were the only group of humans to live at Baishiya Karst Cave, Zhang said.

Persons: CNN — Denisovans, Denisovans, ”, Dongju Zhang, Zhang, Denisovan, Frido Welker, Xia Li, Welker, Dongju, Samantha Brown, ” Brown Organizations: CNN, Lanzhou University, Globe, Paleoanthropology, University of Copenhagen, Mass, Junior, Palaeoproteomics, Germany’s University of Tübingen Locations: Xiahe, China’s Gansu, —, China, Lanzhou, Cave, Altai, Siberia, Asia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Ganjia, Australia

☆ Carpenter ants are the only other animals known to amputate besides humans, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But over time, some species — including Camponotus floridanus, also known as carpenter ants — have evolutionarily lost them. “I wanted to see how an ant species that cannot use antimicrobial compounds to treat wounds would care for their injured,” Frank said. “In tibia injuries, the flow of the hemolymph was less impeded, meaning bacteria could enter the body faster. The researchers observed that ant-assisted amputations took about 40 minutes to complete, which is why the insects appeared to opt for femur amputations, but not tibia amputations. “We will keep studying wound care behavior in other ant species and try to understand its evolutionary origins,” Frank said.

Persons: Camponotus floridanus, Erik Frank, ” Frank, Frank, “, weren’t, Dany Buffat, Bart Zijlstra, Dr, Laurent Keller, Frank said, amputations, ” Keller, Keller Organizations: CNN, University of Würzburg, Switzerland’s University of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, “ Workers Locations: Florida, Germany’s, Bavaria, Ivory Coast, United States

☆ How the death of the dinosaurs allowed grapes to flourish
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“This discovery is important because it shows that after the extinction of the dinosaurs, grapes really started to spread across the world.”Much like the soft tissues of animals, actual fruits don’t preserve well in the fossil record. How ancient forests changedWhen the dinosaurs went extinct, their absence changed the entire structure of forests, the team hypothesized. “In the fossil record, we start to see more plants that use vines to climb up trees, like grapes, around this time,” Herrera said. Meanwhile, as a diverse set of birds and mammals began to populate Earth after the disappearance of the dinosaurs, they likely also helped spread grape seeds. Several fossils are related to modern grapes and others are distant relatives or grapes native to the Western Hemisphere.

Persons: hadn’t, ”, Fabiany Herrera, “, ” Herrera, Steven Manchester, Herrera, “ I’ve, Mónica Carvalho, Carvalho, ‘, Arthur T, Susman, Gregory Stull, ” Carvalho Organizations: CNN, Field, Research, University of Michigan’s, of Paleontology, South, Field Museum, National Museum of, Central, Western Locations: Colombia, Panama, Peru, India, South America, Western, Colombian, American, South, Central America, Central, Asia, Africa

☆ An ancient earthquake rerouted the Ganges River
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Now, for the first time, scientists have evidence that earthquakes can reroute rivers: It happened to the Ganges River 2,500 years ago. The study collected core samples of sand and mud from the Ganges Delta in depths up to nearly 300 feet below ground surface. Liz ChamberlainSediment reveals ancient secretsTo determine how long ago this massive earthquake hit, Chamberlain and her colleagues used a method called optically stimulated luminescence. “It’s directly measuring sand or mud grains and looking at when these sediment grains were last exposed to sunlight,” she said. Monitoring quakes todayIf a similar earthquake happened in the Ganges Delta today, more than 140 million people in the area could be affected.

Persons: ”, Elizabeth Chamberlain, Chamberlain, Steve Goodbred, ” Chamberlain, Michael Steckler, Rachel Bain, Liz Chamberlain, Jonathan Stewart, Syed Humayun Akhter, ” Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN — Earthquakes, Nature Communications, Wageningen University & Research, Steve, Columbia Climate School, Vanderbilt University, UCLA, Bangladesh Open University, Studies Locations: India, Bangladesh, Meghna, Bengal, Congo, Dhaka, Netherlands, New York, San Francisco, Nashville, Delta, Chicago

☆ How a group of butterflies flew 2,600 miles across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Scientists have now found evidence that a group of the winged travelers flew over 2,600 miles (about 4,200 kilometers) across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping, according to a new study published June 25 in the journal Nature Communications. The insects, which are not usually found in South America, were worn out with holes and tears in their wings. Tracking a butterflyResearchers took a few crucial steps to confirm these out-of-place butterflies really did travel across the ocean. By this method, the scientists concluded the butterflies’ birthplace to be in either Western Europe, North Africa or West Africa, she added. The researchers hope to use the same techniques to investigate the migration patterns of other species of butterflies, she added.

Persons: Dr, Gerard Talavera, Vanessa cardui, ”, Talavera, ” Talavera, “, Floyd Shockley, Shockley, Megan Reich, ” Reich, ” Shockley Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Spanish National Research Council, Botanical Institute of Barcelona, Migration, Smithsonian National Museum of, University of Ottawa Locations: Guiana, South America, Europe, Saharan Africa, Washington , DC, North America, Ontario, Western Europe, North Africa, West Africa, Africa

☆ NASA administrator weighs in on China’s historic lunar far side samples — and potential US access
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Kristin Fisher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The government of China now possesses something that no other humans have ever encountered — rocks and soil from the far side of the moon. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told CNN he’s “pleased to hear CNSA intends to share” the materials collected by the Chang’e-6 lunar probe last month. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, shown here during a pre-launch news conference on Boeing's first crewed spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, on May 3, said he's "pleased" China intends to share the lunar far side samples. China opened those samples to international scientists for the first time last August, and Nelson has given NASA-funded researchers the green light to apply for access. TheUS government has not landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon since 1968, but NASA is currently funding the development of lunar landers by private companies through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS program.

Persons: ”, Liu Yunfeng, Bill Nelson, CNN he’s “, CNSA, ” Nelson, he's, Miguel J, Rodriguez Carrillo, Bian Zhigang, Nelson, Artemis, Joel Kowsky, Artemis III, Odie Organizations: CNN, NASA, China National Space Administration, Boeing, AFP, Getty, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Apollo, Soviet, Soviet Union —, “, Beijing, Orion, Kennedy Space Center, NASA NASA, SpaceX, Payload Services, Astrobotic Technologies Locations: China, United States, Beijing, Soviet Union, Nelson, Florida

☆ Mars gets hit by hundreds of basketball-size space rocks every year
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Hundreds of basketball-size space rocks slam into Mars each year, leaving behind impact craters and causing rumblings across the red planet, according to new research. During its time on Mars, InSight used its seismometer to detect more than 1,300 marsquakes, which take place when the Martian subsurface cracks due to pressure and heat. Meteoroids are space rocks that have broken away from larger rocky bodies and range in size from dust grains to small asteroids, according to NASA. “We’re interested in studying that on Mars because we can then compare and contrast what’s happening on Mars to what’s happening on the Earth. Between 280 and 360 meteoroids hit the red planet each year, and they form impact craters larger than 26 feet (8 meters) across, according to the study.

Persons: ”, Ingrid Daubar, ” Daubar, NASA’s, “ We’re, Géraldine Zenhäusern, ” Zenhäusern, Natalia Wojcicka Organizations: CNN, NASA, Reconnaissance, JPL, Caltech, University of Arizona, Brown University, NASA’s Mars, Nature Communications, Switzerland’s ETH Zürich, Imperial College London’s Locations: Mars, Switzerland’s

☆ Rare purple pigment found in Bronze Age pottery
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CPA Media Pte Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoAncient Greeks and the Romans considered Tyrian purple, first developed in the Bronze Age, an elite, royal color. But the recipe for the long-lasting pigment, made using Mediterranean sea snails, disappeared with the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Now, researchers have found the precious pigment within pottery fragments containing 3,600-year-old purple dye from a Bronze Age workshop in Kolonna on the Greek island of Aegina. Life for a vulnerable child in the Stone Age would have been difficult because Neanderthals moved from place to place. Meanwhile, the agency has selected SpaceX to design a vehicle that will drag the space station out of orbit at the end of the decade when it ceases operations and plummets into the ocean.

Persons: Jesus Christ, Down, paleoanthropologist Mercedes Conde, Valverde, ” Conde, Trent Sugg, Tracy Dyson, NASA’s OSIRIS, REx, China’s, NASA’s, Mars, Emin Yogurtcuoglu, —, — Wood, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, CPA Media, University of Alcalá, NASA, Collins Aerospace, Boeing, SpaceX, Anadolu Agency, Getty, CNN Space, Science Locations: Byzantine Empire, Kolonna, Aegina, Spain, “, Iceland, Rainier, Washington, Kyrenia

☆ Iceland’s volcanic activity may continue for decades, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —After 800 years of calm, volcanoes have awakened in the Reykjanes Peninsula of Iceland — about 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of the nation’s capital, Reykjavik. While there is no risk of a global calamity happening, researchers are now warning that new scientific evidence suggests the eruptions originating from the Reykjanes Peninsula could continue for years or even decades. But people staying there, with the possibility of a very rapid onset of volcanic activity, I don’t think that’s recommended. “The Reykjanes peninsula is exactly on this plate boundary,” he added, “and it seems that we are now witnessing the earliest part of a major eruption episode. Icelandic geoscientists and international collaborators are tracking the frequency and intensity of seismic activity and ground deformation in real time.

Persons: that’s, ”, Valentin Troll, John Moore, Hugh Tuffen, “, Emin Yogurtcuoglu, volcanologist Einat Lev, Lamont, Lev, Jessica Johnson, ” Johnson, Tuffen Organizations: CNN, Iceland —, Uppsala University, Terra Nova, Lancaster University, Keflavík, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Columbia University, University of East Locations: Reykjanes, Iceland, Reykjavik, Grindavík, Sweden, volcanology, United Kingdom, Iceland Iceland, Kentucky, Fagradalsfjall, New York, University of East Anglia

☆ Scientists inject rhinos with radioactive material in attempt to curb poaching
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Story The Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Mokopane, South Africa AP —Researchers in South Africa have injected radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos as part of a research project aimed at reducing poaching. This week, researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand ‘s Radiation and Health Physics Unit in South Africa injected 20 live rhinos with these isotopes. It now stands at around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market. South Africa has the largest population of rhinos, an estimated 16,000, making it a hotspot with more than 500 rhinos killed every year. Denis Farrell/APThe country experienced a significant decline in rhino poaching around 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the numbers increased when virus lockdown restrictions were eased.

Persons: ”, James Larkin, Denis Farrell, “ We’ve, they’ve, Larkin, “, Pelham Jones, Nithaya Chetty Organizations: South Africa AP —, University of, Witwatersrand, Unit, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Rhino Owners Association Locations: South Africa

☆ Boeing, NASA consider extending astronauts’ Starliner mission up to 3 months
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Setbacks in orbitSeveral more helium leaks were identified while the craft was en route to the International Space Station along with the thruster issues. That’s why Boeing and NASA teams then chose to leave the Starliner spacecraft safely docked with the space station while they worked to learn as much as possible about those issues. The first Starliner test mission took place without a crew in December 2019. That’s at the core of the mysteries Boeing and NASA are seeking to unravel during the Starliner spacecraft’s extended mission. Extended stays in spaceIt’s not uncommon for astronauts to unexpectedly extend their stay aboard the space station — for days, weeks or even months.

Persons: CNN —, —, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Steve Stich, “, ” Stich, what’s, ” “ We’re, Stich, Mark Nappi, Nappi, whittle, ” Nappi, ‘, ’ —, Williams, “ We’ve, ”, That’s, Frank Rubio Organizations: CNN, International Space Station, Boeing, NASA, Space, Atlas, International Space, SpaceX, Cargo, Space Station, Astronauts Locations: New Mexico, Russian

☆ Skeletal marks show wear and tear on ancient Egypt’s elite scribes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The findings open a new window into what life was like for scribes in ancient Egypt during the third millennium BC. Skeletal cluesLead study author Petra Brukner Havelková, an anthropologist at the National Museum in Prague, has specialized in identifying activity-induced skeletal markers for nearly 20 years. A drawing shows the parts of the skeleton most affected by the sitting positions and work carried out by scribes. But skeletal changes in their knees, hips and ankles also point to a squatting or crouching position that many scribes preferred. The chewing explains why their jaws were overloaded, while long hours of writing likely caused the skeletal changes observed in their right thumbs, the researchers said.

Persons: Veronika Dulíková, ” Dulíková, “, Martin Frouz, Charles University, Petra Brukner Havelková, Havelková, Jolana, ” Havelková, Dr, Sonia Zakrzewski, ” Zakrzewski Organizations: CNN, Czech Institute of, Charles University, Records, ”, today’s Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Czech Institute of Egyptology, of Arts, Charles, National Museum, University of Southampton Locations: Egypt, Abusir, Prague, United Kingdom, bioarchaeology, Saqqara, ’

☆ Spacewalk spacesuits are aging rapidly, but NASA just canceled plans for new ones
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The iconic puffy white suits that astronauts have donned for decades as they step outside the International Space Station are rapidly aging — but NASA is now without concrete plans to replace them. Astronauts currently wear spacesuits — called Extravehicular Activity, or EVA, suits — designed more than 40 years ago when conducting spacewalks. Collins Aerospace’s Next-Gen spacesuit, intended for use at the International Space Station, is seen during the design process. NASA plans to retire the space station sometime within the next several years. But Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has only guaranteed its participation through “at least 2028.”

Persons: —, Collins, Trent Sugg, Tracy Dyson, It’s, Jared Isaacman, Elon, ” Organizations: CNN, NASA, Collins Aerospace, RTX Corporation, Raytheon Technologies, SpaceX, International, Polaris, Space Locations: Houston, Russian

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