Jul 10th, 2020 - This 15-meter-long dolphin was also the first predatory whale to use echolocation. The fossil of a 15-meter-long extinct species of dolphin is helping us better understand how different lineages of marine mammal independently evolved the same characteristics. The species, christened Ankylorhiza tiedemani lived about 25 million years ago during the Oligocene in what today is South Carolina. It belonged to a group of large dolphins (Odontoceti) whose best-known modern representative is the orca (killer whale). The anatomy of this fossil suggests that it was likely a top predator in its day. It ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - (CNN) It may feel like years, but the world has only been battling the deadly novel coronavirus for months. As scientists feverishly work around the clock to unravel the mysteries of this deadly invader, they have gained interesting insights into the virus and the disease it causes: Covid-19. "We know more now about how it makes people sick," said infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. Fever, cough and shortness of breath are still key signs that you might have ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - Nasa's Perseverance Mars rover has been attached to the top of the rocket that will send it toward the Red Planet. The nosecone containing the rover and other spacecraft elements have been fixed to an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The robot rover will search for signs of past life on the Red Planet. Perseverance is scheduled to launch on 30 July at the earliest and will land in Jezero Crater near the Martian equator in February 2021. In addition to scouting for signs of past biology, the mission also carries a drone-like helicopter that will demonstrate ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - The flint figurines were found in Kharaysin in Jordan’s Zarqa River valley An archeological dig in Israel uncovered a secret 'piggy bank' of 1,200-year-old gold coins. Archaeologists working on a dig in Jordan have uncovered depictions of humans dating back to 7500 B.C. that were likely used by a cult that dug up their dead. The flint figurines were found in Kharaysin in Jordan’s Zarqa River valley. The unusual artifacts were used “during mortuary rituals and remembrance ceremonies that included the extraction, manipulation, and reburial of human remains,” according to a statement ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - Australia’s Victoria state has reported the new daily record of 288 coronavirus cases, which also reflects a record number of tests exceeding 37,500 CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia's Victoria state on Friday reported the new daily record of 288 coronavirus cases, which also reflects a record number of tests exceeding 37,500. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the number of citizens and permanent residents allowed to return to Australia each week will be reduced by more than 4,000 from next week. Sydney, Australia ’s largest city, has been carrying a disproportionate ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism In an open lot just a block or so from where George Floyd was killed while being detained by officers, 100 plastic headstones were carefully placed. Created by artists Anna Barber and Connor Wright, the “ Say Their Names Cemetery ” sprung up in south Minneapolis in early June, as protests over police brutality prompted a more wide-ranging conversation over the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States. Each headstone documents a victim of police violence – their name, age, date and location of death. Accompanying the ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - More than six months into the pandemic there’s still a lot we don’t know about how the coronavirus affects pregnant women and babies. At the end of April, Denise J. Jamieson, M.D., a member of the Covid-19 task force at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and chairwoman of gynecology and obstetrics at the Emory University School of Medicine, noted in an email that it was “remarkable” how much we still do not know about Covid-19 in pregnancy. “Even basic questions, such as whether or not pregnant women are more severely affected by Covid-19, remain unanswered,” ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - Two charm quarks, two anti-charms make for a massive tetraquark. The quark model was an intellectual revolution for physics. Physicists were faced with an ever-growing zoo of unstable particles that didn't seem to have a role in the Universe around us. Quarks explained all that through an (at least superficially) simple set of rules that built all of these particles through combinations of two or three quarks. While that general outline seems simple, the rules by which particles called "gluons" hold the quarks together in particles are fiendishly complex, and we don't always know their ... [Read More]