Tag: species

Why Do We Assume Extraterrestrials Might Want To Visit Us?

Avi Loeb, former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University and who chairs the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies, writing at Scientific American: It is presumptuous to assume that we are worthy of special attention from advanced species in the Milky Way. We may be a phenomenon as uninteresting to them as ants are to us;…

A quarter of all known bee species haven’t been seen since the 1990s

The number of bee species appears to have declined sharply in the past 30 years, which could mean many types of bee are extinct or so rare that no one has recording a sighting Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2265680-a-quarter-of-all-known-bee-species-havent-been-seen-since-the-1990s/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Scientists Use Satellite Imagery To Count Elephants

Scientists from a trio of universities have combined satellite imagery with deep learning to detect elephants from space. The goal is to help protect these endangered species from poachers or habitat destruction. Their study was published in the journal Ecology and Conservation. Interesting Engineering reports: The team’s method proved comparable to human detection accuracy and could help solve a number of…

Seagrass ‘Neptune Balls’ Sieve Millions of Plastic Particles From Water, Study Finds

Underwater seagrass in coastal areas appear to trap plastic pollution in natural bundles of fiber known as “Neptune balls,” researchers have found. The Guardian reports: With no help from humans, the swaying plants — anchored to shallow seabeds — may collect nearly 900 million plastic items in the Mediterranean alone every year, a study reported in the journal Scientific Reports said….

Megalodon shark’s enormous babies ate their siblings in the womb

Megalodons – the extinct giant sharks that lived in most of Earth’s oceans about 3 million years ago – gave birth to babies that were larger than adult humans, scientists say. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/megalodon-extinct-giant-shark-enormous-babies…

The First Pig-to-Human Organ Transplants Could Happen This Year

Every day in the United States, 17 people die waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. To address this crisis, one biotech company is turning to an unlikely source: pigs. Maryland-based United Therapeutics says it plans to begin transplanting organs from genetically modified pigs into people as soon as this year. From a report: “We’re right on that cusp. We’re looking to…

Treasure trove of ancient human remains hint at undiscovered species

A haul of more than 100 ancient human bones found in a cave in South Africa may belong to a previously undiscovered human species Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2263973-treasure-trove-of-ancient-human-remains-hint-at-undiscovered-species/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…