22 articles from SATURDAY 11.1.2020
Beware a closing of the British mind if we abandon European endeavours | Nick Cohen
Post-Brexit, we should be wary of spurning joint projects in science and educationLeaving the EU will produce the greatest loss of freedom since the Second World War. The freedom of businesses to trade with Europe dominates politics. But I suspect the loss of the freedom of the individual to live and work where they want in the EU, to fall in love and bring home whoever they choose and, above all,...
2 Aussie wildfires merge into inferno; man seriously burned
Two wildfires merged to form a massive inferno in southeastern Australia and a man suffered serious burns protecting a home, in a night of treacherous conditions during the nation's unprecedented wildfire crisis, officials said Saturday.
How astrology paved the way for predictive analytics
Astrology has influenced science for millennia, argues a new book – and it endures in algorithmic data modellingIf you type “Why are millennials” into Google, the top result completes the question with “obsessed with astrology”. Never mind the answer; the question alone is likely to incite exasperation among scientists, most of whom would condemn astrology as pseudoscience at its most...
Sri Lanka elephants: 'Record number' of deaths in 2019
Officials warn that human activity is resulting in rising numbers of elephant deaths.
I thought I needed alcohol to enjoy sex… but being sober made it so much better
Drunk sex was the only kind I could have with a new guy – until I quit drinking and focussed on sexual satisfactionI never expected I’d be proud of myself for having a one-night stand. Before I quit drinking, I’d always say I “loved dating”. Truthfully, I loved drinking and drunk sex was often the logical conclusion of the evening. I’d convince myself that having four or five drinks on...
Fossil Reveals Earth's Oldest Known Animal Guts
They say you should trust your gut, which is what Emmy Smith did when she went hunting for fossils in 2016. Smith, a field geologist, had a hunch she would find something interesting at a site north of Pahrump, Nevada, and she did. But what her gut hadn't told her was that some of those fossils would turn out to contain the oldest known animal guts on the planet."It was just really...
Scientists Warn Almond Milk Is Destructive for the Environment
Billions and billions of bees are dying at the hands of the almond...
Residents of San Francisco's Treasure Island believe nuclear contamination has made them sick for years. The site is getting 8,000 new homes.
A developer is planning to build 8,000 residential units on Treasure Island, a formal Naval site that once hosted nuclear-training...
Scientists detected ripples in space and time from a potentially new class of collision in the universe. Their observatory cracked a 100-year-old mystery posed by Einstein.
The collision might have produced hundreds of Earths' worth of gold and platinum. But some signs indicate the metals disappeared into a black...
New project aims to build zero-emission car entirely designed, made in Canada
Building a zero-emission concept car that's entirely designed and made in Canada — that's the goal for the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers'...
Species-saving Galapagos giant tortoise Diego can take a rest
Job done, prolific Galapagos giant tortoise Diego is being released back into the wild after being credited by authorities with almost single-handedly saving his species from extinction.
Climate at mercy of politics in 2020, experts warn
2020 is the most crucial year yet for humanity's plan to dodge the bullet of catastrophic global warming, experts said Saturday, warning that the narrow path to safety was riddled with pitfalls, from the US election to Brexit.
Gold bar found in Mexico was Aztec treasure: study
A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says.
Australia fires 'long way from over' but rain brings relief
Massive bushfires in southeastern Australia still have a "long way to go", authorities have warned, even as colder conditions brought some relief to exhausted firefighters and communities on Saturday.
Historic German island is nursery for North Sea seals
The birthplace of Germany's national anthem and a practice bombing range for British airmen after World War II, Helgoland island in the North Sea turns cuddly at the turn of the year as grey seals arrive to give birth.
Drought ignites human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean villager Dumisani Khumalo appeared to be in pain as he walked gingerly towards a chair under the shade of a tree near his one-room brick shack.
Paleolithic diet may not have been that 'paleo', scientists say
Researchers at Wits University suggest humans in southern Africa were eating carbs up to 170,000 years ago – a blow to gym vloggers everywhereIn a blow to gym vloggers who pretend to be scientists everywhere, the paleo diet may not be all that paleo. According to a new study, humans were eating carbs up to 170,000 years ago.The paleo diet is based on the assumption that modern farming and...
Voyager scientist Ed Stone on the search for extraterrestrial life: 'We need to get back to Enceladus'
Physics professor reflects on career ranging from most distant object to closest approach to the sunThe Voyager mission has not lacked for highlights, having beamed back the first glimpses of methane oceans, erupting volcanos on a Jovian moon and a thunderstorm on Saturn. But Prof Ed Stone, who has been at Voyager’s scientific helm since 1972, says there is one place above all that he longs to...
Tortoise with species-saving sex drive returns to Galápagos
The 100-year-old tortoise of legendary libido is credited with saving his species from extinction.
Specific insulin-like peptide regulates how beetle 'weapons' grow
A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University and coworkers have discovered that a specific insulin-like peptide called ILP2 regulates the size of 'weapons' in Gnatocerus cornutus beetles in different nutritional environments. They found diminished mandible size when expression of the peptide was suppressed, and that it was specifically expressed in the 'fat body', where beetles store nutrients....