As had been expected, Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina at 7:15 am ET. on September 14, 2018. While downgraded to a Category 1, with sustained winds of 90 mph, the storm still packed a powerful punch, causing widespread flooding, destroying several structures and knocking out power to over 900,000 homes....
Read news articleAbout a decade ago, Brigham Young University paleontologists stumbled upon thousands of fossils at the Saints and Sinners quarry, an ancient, dried-up water hole, in northeastern Utah. Since there were too many to extract at the site, the team, led by Brooks Britt, cut the slabs of sandstone in which the bones were preserved and took them to the laboratory. Over the years, they have identified the remains of several late Triassic inhabitants, including several sphenosuchians - small crocodile-like creatures – and two carnivorous dinosaurs. However, the most exciting discovery was that of a new species of pterosaur that dates back over 200 million years, when supercontinent Pangea was still intact....
Read news articleWhat could be better than enjoying pristine water views aboard a luxurious cruise ship? How about floating leisurely across the skies inside a palatial airship that promises a birds-eye view of our gorgeous planet? If British aerospace firm Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has its way, you will soon not only be floating amid the clouds but also heading to remote, unexplored destinations....
Read news articleJust when we think we have discovered, and mastered, every shape in the world, comes the scutoid. The three-dimensional prism-like struture has been hiding in plain sight in all living creatures including humans. While not visible to the naked eye, scutoids, the shape skin cells take as they bend, twist, or turn, are everywhere – in your armpits, elbows, organs, and even all over your face....
Read news articleWith over 64 million monthly active players, up to 1 million of whom are logged on simultaneously during peak times, chances are you have heard of online game creation platform Roblox. Fans are probably also aware that all the games in the Lego-like virtual world are created by users, typically teens and young adults....
Read news articleThe “Ediacaran biota,” a common name given to a large group of over 200 types of fossils that have been found across the world, have baffled scientists for decades. Over the years, researchers have debated whether the strange-looking organisms were fungi, algae, or just ancient animals that had failed to evolve. Now, some experts believe they have proof that the mysterious creatures were indeed animals, probably one of the first ones on Earth....
Read news articleApproximately 4.6 billion years ago, our solar system was a cloud of dust and gas known as the solar nebula. As gravity caused the material to collapse in on itself, it spun faster and faster and eventually flattened into a disk. Researchers believe that most of the material accumulated in the center, to form the sun, while the rest clumped together, creating protoplanets – balls of gas, dust, and rocks, about the size of Mercury or Mars. Over the years, some of the protoplanets collided to form our eight planets, while the rest continue to whirl around the sun as asteroids or rocky debris. However, the one thing scientists are not sure is the process by which the planets came together. Now, a 4.565 billion-year-old space rock, the oldest igneous meteorite ever discovered, may provide clues to this age-old mystery....
Read news articleWhile elite athletes like Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney make it look easy, gymnastics is one of the hardest sports on the planet – both physically and mentally. It is, therefore, not surprising to hear that most gymnasts retire in their late teens or early 20’s. But don’t tell that to Oksana Chusovitina. The veteran gymnast, who has been in the limelight since winning her first major competition – the USSR’s junior national championships – at age 13, is still going strong at the ripe “old” age of 43!...
Read news articleEven if an art museum featuring portraits of legendary singer Frank Sinatra and Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe is not your idea of fun, you may want to give Candytopia a chance. That’s because, in this museum, everything is made from candy! The best part? There is no need to find a “Golden Ticket” to gain admission to this real-life Willy Wonka world that is making its way around the US — tickets can be purchased online, or in-person at the venue....
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