Its Official: America’s Space Force is Better than Its Other Military Branches at ‘Call of Duty’

The military news site Task and Purpose reports:
The U.S. military’s youngest branch, the Space Force, just trounced its sibling services, as well the United Kingdom’s military, in the second annual Call of Duty Endowment Bowl. The transatlantic Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War tournament pit eight teams from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Marine Corps, along…

Ancient reptile looked like a cross between a dolphin and a shark

A marine reptile that lived around 150 million years ago is a type of ichthyosaur, but is much smaller than others, making it the first species in a new genus Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262355-ancient-reptile-looked-like-a-cross-between-a-dolphin-and-a-shark/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Certain corals can recover from bleaching during prolonged heatwaves

Corals that are in partnerships with certain kinds of symbiotic algae are able to recover from bleaching, even while marine heatwaves are ongoing Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262056-certain-corals-can-recover-from-bleaching-during-prolonged-heatwaves/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Exxon Holds Back on Technology That Could Slow Climate Change

Carbon capture can make money for oil giants, and scientists say we need it. Is the industry willing to invest enough? From a report: Elk and pronghorn antelope migrate each fall through southern Wyoming, where the sparsely vegetated landscape slowly gives way to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Interrupting this serene vista is a dense web of steel pipes, tanks,…

In Rare Show of Solidarity, 14 Key Nations Commit To Protect Oceans

When the heads of state of 14 nations sat down together in late 2018 to discuss the grim condition of the world’s oceans, there was no certainty that anything consequential would result. The leaders planned 14 gatherings, but met only twice before the pandemic upended their talks. So when the group announced this week the world’s most far-reaching pact to protect…

New marine protection zone will help endangered penguins and more

Plans are in place to create the world’s 4th-largest fully protected marine reserve at the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/new-marine-protection-zone-tristan-da-cunha-penguin…

Potent new antifungal discovered in the microbiome of marine animals

A new antifungal compound that is effective against multidrug-resistant fungi has been isolated from bacteria living in filter-feeding marine animals called sea squirts Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2260392-potent-new-antifungal-discovered-in-the-microbiome-of-marine-animals/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Triassic period ended with ‘lost’ mass extinction and a million-year rain storm, study claims

The Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE) ushered in 1 million years of rain and killed as many as 33% of all marine life, a new study suggests. Source: https://www.livescience.com/carnian-pluvial-episode-mass-extinction.html

Curiosity takes selfie with ‘Mary Anning’ on the red planet

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has a new selfie. This latest is from a location named “Mary Anning,” after a 19th-century English paleontologist whose discovery of marine-reptile fossils were ignored for generations because of her gender and class. The rover has been at the site since this past July, taking and analyzing drill samples. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-11-curiosity-selfie-mary-anning-red.html…