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☆ Crows and magpies are getting revenge on humans by using anti-bird spikes around their nests as weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They have started using the spikes in their nests to keep other birds away. For this particular nest, magpies pulled up 150 feet of the spiky metal strip from the rooftop of a nearby hospital, creating "an impregnable fortress," said Hiemsa. Hiemstra told the BBC that more research is needed to confirm the intent of the corvids using the spikes in the nest. Magpies build roofed nests and favor spiky materials. Other spiky materials had previously been spotted in nests in the area, such as barbed wire and knitting needles.

Persons: Auke, Florian Hiemstra, Hiemstra, —, sandra standbridge, isn't, Jim Reynolds, wasn't, Reynolds, it's, Peregrine falcons Organizations: Service, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, BBC, Magpies, University of Birmingham, Guardian Locations: Europe, Wall, Silicon, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Antwerp, Belgium, Scotland, Amsterdam

☆ A professor found $550,000 of 'floating gold' in the entrails of a dead sperm whale. Here's why ambergris is so expensive.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A professor found a lump of ambergris, or "floating gold," worth 500,000 euros in a dead whale. The stone, which was worth 500,000 euros, or around $545,000, was made of ambergris — a strange, naturally-occurring substance that's known as "floating gold." It can be judged by the color of the ambergris, with black having the least ambrein and white the most. Top perfumes are usually made with white ambergris, while substitute chemicals are used in cheaper ones. In 2021, a group of fishermen in the Gulf of Aden sold a chunk of ambergris worth around $1.5 million to a buyer in the United Arab Emirates.

Persons: Antonio Fernández, Alexis Rosenfeld, Richard Sabin Organizations: Service, of Animal Health, Food Security, Universidad, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, National Geographic, United, United Arab Emirates, BBC Locations: Wall, Silicon, La, Gulf, Aden, United Arab

☆ Director of New Women’s History Museum Withdraws, Citing Family Issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Julia Jacobs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Yao denied the allegation in court papers, asserting that the museum had proper policies and procedures in place to respond to workplace harassment. She denied to The Post that the staffers had been let go in retaliation for their reports, attributing the decisions to budget pressures. While the Smithsonian searches for a replacement, the women’s history museum has appointed Melanie A. Adams, the director of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, as interim director. The women’s history museum’s 18 staff members were informed of Yao’s decision on Wednesday, St. Thomas said. Establishing the museum, which is expected to open in roughly 10 years, was estimated to cost about $375 million between construction and the creation of exhibits.

Persons: Yao, Melanie A, Adams, Thomas Organizations: Smithsonian, Washington Post, Museum of, Anacostia Community Museum Locations: America, Anacostia, St

☆ 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

☆ You Really Are a Tick Magnet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Darren Incorvaia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The tiny arachnids spread a variety of harmful diseases, as they expand their range to new areas. But two scientists recently set out on a counterintuitive mission to collect as many bloodsucking ticks as possible. Dr. Lihou is a veterinary parasitologist who studies ticks, and Dr. England is an ecologist who studies electricity and electroreception. The resulting paper, published Friday in the journal Current Biology, provides a new reason to worry about ticks. While the finding may add to ticks’ terrifying attributes, this knowledge could also be used to improve antistatic tick defenses.

Persons: ” Sam England, Katie L, Lihou Organizations: University of Bristol Locations: Berlin, England

☆ Cut marks on fossilized bone may reveal ancient cannibalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Nine cut marks on a fossilized shin bone suggest that ancient human relatives butchered and possibly ate one another 1.45 million years ago, according to a new study. “These cut marks look very similar to what I’ve seen on animal fossils that were being processed for consumption,” Pobiner said in a news release. Jennifer ClarkWhat the cut marks revealStudy coauthor Michael Pante, a paleoanthropologist at Colorado State University, created 3D models based on molds of marks on the bone. He said cut marks were reported on the cheek bone of a hominin fossil found in Sterkfontein, South Africa, in 2000 that could be about 2 million years old. Pobiner, however, said the source of the cut marks in that case was disputed.

Persons: Briana Pobiner, Pobiner, ” Pobiner, Marks, Jennifer Clark, Michael Pante, boisei, hominins, ” Silvia Bello, ”, Bello, Chris Stringer, Stringer Organizations: CNN, National Museums, Kenya’s, Museum, National Museum of, Washington DC, Colorado State University Locations: Kenya’s Nairobi, Washington, what’s, France, Sterkfontein, South Africa

☆ A man found a giant megalodon tooth that experts say belonged to a shark the size of a semi-truck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Rupendra Brahambhatt | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A charter boat captain found a whopping 6.25-inch long megalodon shark tooth in Florida. That's why today, the Sarasota County coastline in Venice, Florida, is known as the shark tooth capital of the world. Recently, a charter boat captain discovered one of the largest fossilized shark teeth ever from a megalodon shark. One of the largest megalodon teeth ever discoveredMichael Nastasio, who has been hunting shark teeth in Florida for 12 years, discovered a fully-intact megalodon shark tooth that was 6.25 inches (15.87 cm) long — only about an inch smaller than the largest megalodon tooth on record. Megalodon teeth are similar to great white shark teeth, and it's thought the two species may have been close relatives.

Persons: —, Michael Nastasio, Kristen Grace, Nastasio, Jack Cooper, it's, Victor Habbick, Victor Perez, Cooper, Emma Bernard, wouldn't, he's, WTSP Organizations: Service, Swansea University, Environmental Studies, St, Mary's College of Maryland Locations: Florida, Sarasota, Venice , Florida, London

☆ A brand new dinosaur species with spiky armor was recently discovered to have roamed England during the Cretaceous period
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new species of dinosaur, Vectipelta barretti, was discovered on England's Isle of Wight. The new species is an ankylosaur, with dorsal armor made up of plates, spikes, and curved spines. Researchers will have to examine other ankylosaur fossils to see if they belong to the new species. But the newly-discovered species, Vectipelta, is thought to have been between 6 and 8 million years older than Polacanthus and has a few anatomical differences. Since 2019, at least four other new dinosaur species have been discovered there and scientists aren't holding back with some of the names.

Persons: barretti, —, Vectipelta, Polacanthus, we've, Stuart Pond, Ankylosaurs, William Fox, ankylosaurs, Ceratosuchops inferodios Organizations: Service, Privacy, Scientists, CNN Locations: Isle of Wight, England's Isle of Wight, China, Asia, Europe

☆ A Bear That Looked Like a Raccoon and Had a Dangerous Appetite
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Carolyn Wilke | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some 30 million years ago, a primitive bear roamed near a river in what is now North Dakota. A male, he probably looked like a raccoon and might have eaten like an otter. The skeleton includes the baculum, a penis bone found in many mammals that is rarely preserved. In an article published earlier this month in The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Dr. Wang’s team noted details of the creature’s features from his teeth to the tips of his toes. “It’s a small side branch, but it’s a very important side branch,” Dr. Wang said.

Persons: “, ”, Xiaoming Wang, Wang’s, Dr, Wang Organizations: of Los, Paleontology Locations: North Dakota, of Los Angeles County

☆ New armored dinosaur discovered on Isle of Wight, England
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A new species of dinosaur with blade-like spikes for armor has been discovered on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. Named Vectipelta barretti, it is the first armored dinosaur, or ankylosaur, to have been found on the island in 142 years, according to a statement from London’s Natural History Museum, where several of the researchers who discovered the dinosaur work. The dinosaur would have lived during the Early Cretaceous period, 145-100.5 million years ago, the museum said. The paper is published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, and the team believe more new species will be discovered on the Isle of Wight, an important source of dinosaur fossils, in the future. In June 2022, scientists identified the remains of a spinosaurid, a predatory dinosaur with two legs and a crocodile-like face, on the island.

Persons: Vectipelta, ”, Stuart Pond, Polacanthus, we’ve, Paul Barrett, “ I’m, “ Organizations: CNN, “ Locations: Isle of Wight, England, Asia, Europe

☆ Mummified heads of Māori ancestors returned to New Zealand from Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Germany has returned six mummified Māori heads to New Zealand, together with the remains of almost 100 Māori and Moriori ancestors. German institute/Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaIn Māori culture, the head was considered the most important part of the body. Back in 2016, the Smithsonian Institution returned the remains of 54 indigenous people, including four mummified Māori heads, to Te Papa. The latest repatriation involved the skeletal remains of 95 ancestors of both peoples, together with six mummified tattooed Māori heads. A team carry 20 mummified Māori heads, repatriated from France, during a ceremony at Te Papa on January 27, 2012.

Persons: Hinemoana Baker, Te, Arikirangi Mamaku, Ironside, Reiss Engelhorn, Georg August, Roemer, Te Papa Tongarewa, Marty Melville, —, Arapata, Papa’s Māori, Te Herekiekie, “, Reiss, James Cook, moko, Craig Hawke, ‘, hora, marino, kia whakapapa, tere, ” Organizations: CNN, New Zealand, Smithsonian, New, Smithsonian Institution, Grassi Museum, Linden Museum, Stuttgart State Museum of, Georg August University, Pelizaeus, Museum, Getty, Aotearoa New Locations: Germany, New Zealand, Papa, New, Aotearoa, Chatham, Te Papa, Vienna, Leipzig, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Göttingen, Hildesheim, Museum Wiesbaden, Te, France, AFP, When, Te Papa’s, Aotearoa New Zealand, Engelhorn, Europe, Wellington, Te_Papa

☆ See the Thousands of New Species Found in a Remote Area of the Pacific Ocean
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Eric Niiler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Researchers from the Natural History Museum London analyzed samples of bottom-dwelling animals collected on expeditions to the 2.3 million-square-mile area, known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone, which lies between Hawaii and Mexico. Detail of the nodules with a new species of sponge attached to the outside.

Organizations: History, Clarion Locations: London, Hawaii, Mexico

☆ Does human intelligence come from our big brains? A new discovery in ancient humans with brains one-third the size of ours is challenging the idea that bigger is better.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Maddie Burakoff | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Homo naledi had brains one-third the size of humans but were capable of complex thought. The Homo naledi species is still new and mysteriousH. naledi is a pretty new addition to the family tree of hominins, which includes our direct ancestors and other extinct relatives who walked on two legs. Researchers analyze fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. But those species still had big brains — unlike H. naledi, whose burials would raise further questions about human evolution, Stringer said. For study author Agustin Fuentes, an anthropologist at Princeton University, the H. naledi evidence takes the focus off brain size.

Persons: Homo naledi, —, naledi, they've, Lee Berger, Robert Clark, AP Berger, John Hawks, Lee Berger's, Megan, Rick Hunter, Berger, sapiens, Chris Stringer, we've, Stringer, Agustin Fuentes, Fuentes, Rick Potts, Potts Organizations: Service, National Geographic Society, University of, Evolutionary Studies, Geographic, AP, University of Wisconsin, Princeton University Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Madison, Witwatersrand

☆ Homo naledi buried their dead 100,000 years before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The study team lays out fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. One body belonged to an adult Homo naledi, and the other was a juvenile. In 2018, the team began to find evidence that supported the idea that Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead. Carvings on the wallWithin one of the graves is a tool-shaped rock, buried next to the hand of a Homo naledi adult. The "tool shaped rock" was likely buried near or clutched in the hand of a young teenage Homo naledi child buried in the Hill Antechamber.

Persons: naledi, Robert Clark, Homo naledi, Lee Berger, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, ”, Berger, Tebogo Makhubela, Keneiloe Molopyane, ” Berger, “, John Hawks, Hawks, “ It’s, they’ve, Agustín Fuentes, ” Fuentes, Fuentes, Lee Berger Chris Stringer, ” Stringer Organizations: CNN —, University of, Evolutionary Studies, UNESCO, Geographic, University of Johannesburg, Expedition, University of Wisconsin - Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, University of Wisconsin - Madison

☆ A pristine region of the Pacific Ocean targeted for deep-sea mining contains 5,000 new marine species, say scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists have discovered thousands of new species in an area of the Pacific Ocean. They found 5,578 species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a 1.7 million square mile region. Of the 5,578 new species discovered, around 88% to 92% were "new to science," the report says. An array of crustaceans found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. A discovery in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

Persons: —, Adrian Glover, Muriel Rabone, Glover Organizations: Service, Privacy, United States Department of, Natural Environment Research Council, Guardian, International, Authority Locations: Hawaii, Mexico, Clarion, Zone

☆ Scientists have discovered over 5,000 new species in the Pacific Ocean, from sea cucumbers to 'gummy squirrels' — check them out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists have discovered thousands of new species in an area of the Pacific Ocean. They found 5,578 species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a 1.7 million square mile region. Of the 5,578 new species discovered, around 88% to 92% were "new to science," the report says. The new species were found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), an area of the ocean floor between Hawaii and Mexico that spans 1.7 million square miles. A discovery in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

☆ You Shouldn’t Squish These Bugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Victoria Gomelsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — “Bonkers About Beetles.” “Innumerable Insects.” “Bugs: A Pop-Up Book.” The volumes that line the shelves of the jewelry designer Daniela Villegas’s home in this part of greater Los Angeles underscore what is obvious to anyone who ventures inside: She is passionate about pests. Thousands of specimens — of the six, eight- and 100-plus-leg varieties — hang in frames on the walls, are displayed in bell jars on the shelves and lie beneath the glass atop her oversized coffee table. Much of the collection was acquired at bug fairs and is shared with her husband, the furniture designer Sami Hayek (Salma’s younger brother). It is likely to make visitors think they have wandered into the entomology section of a natural history museum, or rather, its deluxe gift shop. The eccentric décor includes a stuffed armadillo adorned with its own gemstone bracelet; a wicker table in the shape of a grasshopper, topped with a crab sculpture; and a collection of Ms. Villegas’s signature Khepri rings, honoring the scarab-face god of ancient Egypt.

☆ A world in three islands on the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Pavlo Fedykovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea lies a small country made up of three inhabited islands and irresistible allure. Across its three inhabited islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – you’ll find every sun-soaked aspect of the perfect vacation. The solution: Marsaskala, towards the southeastern tip of Malta island. Mellieħa Bay and St. Paul’s BayBugibba is a classic seaside resort town in St. Paul's Bay. The population is a modest two people, there are no cars, and no signs of globalization – just the untouched Mediterranean.

☆ Size of Jurassic sea giant found, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The findings from the Late Jurassic period, though fragmentary, suggest the pliosaur was about twice the size of a killer whale — and move lead study author David Martill closer to redemption. However, he cautioned that an increase in length corresponds with an “exponential increase in volume … placing a biological limit on the upper size pliosaurs could reach.” Smith wasn’t involved in the study. Pliosaurs were “a group of large carnivorous marine reptiles characterized by massive heads, short necks and streamlined tear-shaped bodies,” according to Britannica. Benton wasn’t involved in the study. “Here is a marine reptile as large as a sperm whale, and there’s nothing like it around today.”

☆ Butterfly group named after 'Lord of the Rings' villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The “distinctive fused orange rings” that encircle black-and-white eyespots on the hindwings of this group led the researchers to name the genus Saurona, according to a recent study published in the journal Systematic Entomology. The Eye of Sauron glows in the 2001 film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." … It’s a very fine scientific paper.”Distinguishing a special groupThe researchers documented two new species in the Saurona genus, named Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera. Female saurona butterflies have slightly more rounded wings than males, but are otherwise similar in pattern, the authors found. Giving newly described genera or species names drawn from pop culture can draw attention to underappreciated species, Huertas said.

☆ A researcher said she named a new butterfly species after the 'Lord of the Rings' villain partly because spending 10 years on the study felt like the eye of Sauron looking at her
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two newly-discovered butterfly species were named after Sauron, the "The Lord of the Rings" villain. Tolkien's magical "The Lord of the Rings" universe includes hobbits, elves, wizards, and now, a new genus of butterflies called Saurona after the dark lord Sauron. But in an article from The Washington Post, Huertas drew other connections to "The Lord of the Rings" that suggest there may be additional reasons behind the butterfly's name. "Ten years dealing with this study is a lot of strain looking at me like Sauron," she told the Post. The world needs an "army" of people to "get involved in getting worried about nature," she told the Post.

☆ Butterfly Group With Fiery Eyes on Wings Is Named After ‘Lord of the Rings’ Villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The genus Saurona includes two species, though there may be more to discover. Photo: B. Huertas/Trustees Natural History MuseumScientists discovered a new genus of butterflies with dark spots on their orange wings that look like eyes. Tolkien ’s “Lord of the Rings,” who is symbolized by a fiery eye. The genus Saurona includes two species—Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera—though there are likely more to discover, according to the Natural History Museum in London. The new genus is among several identified by an international group of scientists in a study published recently in the journal Systematic Entomology.

☆ How to build a giant? Sauropod dinosaurs did it 36 different ways
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A new study has calculated for the first time the number of different sauropod lineages that achieved whopping proportions - 36 of them in a span of about 100 million years bridging the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The heavyweight champion was Argentinosaurus, which lived about 95 million years ago in - you guessed it - Argentina, and weighed about 76 metric tons. Next were Brachiosaurus, at 63 metric tons, and Barosaurus, at 60 metric tons, both living approximately 150 million years ago in western North America. D'Emic identified 45 species from 36 sauropod lineages that beat those. "I think it's amazing that we are still learning so much about these animals," D'Emic said.

☆ New Butterflies Are Named for Sauron, ‘Lord of the Rings’ Villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Chris Stanford | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new genus of butterfly, with dark, eye-like spots on its distinctive orange wings, has been named after Sauron, the arch-villain of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic “The Lord of the Rings,” whose gaze lingers malevolently over the lands of Middle-earth. An international team of scientists identified two species in the new genus — Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera — but said there were most likely more, the Natural History Museum in London announced on Sunday. The practice of naming new species after celebrities, fictional characters and others has a long history, and “giving these butterflies an unusual name helps to draw attention to this underappreciated group,” Dr. Blanca said. “It shows that, even among a group of very similar-looking species, you can find beauty among the dullness.”

☆ 'Dream' hoard of 1000-year-old Viking coins discovered by amateurs on a metal-detector vacation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of amateur archaeologists in Denmark found a Viking silver hoard. The people who discovered the trove were on a metal-detector holiday when they came across the find. The three people who discovered the treasure trove — Jane Foged-Mønster, Louise Stahlschmidt and Mette Norre Bækgaard — told TV2 Nord that they had been on a metal-detector holiday when they made their amzing discovery. But these finds aren't the end of the discoveries, with archaeologists from the North Jutland Museums being given the grant to investigate the site further. "I hope we find the remains of a large Viking hall," Christiansen told TV2 Nord.

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