22 articles from SATURDAY 1.10.2022
What's Up: October 2022 Skywatching Tips from NASA
What are some skywatching highlights in October 2022? Enjoy giant planets Jupiter and Saturn all night throughout the month. Then watch as Mars begins its retrograde motion, moving westward each night instead of eastward, for the next few months. Finally, check out the Orionid meteors overnight on Oct. 20.
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What's Up, along...
Vladimir Putin’s latest frightening gambit lies at the bottom of the ocean
If the Russian president has finally started listening to his military chief, you can bet he’ll soon target all those poorly protected internet cables at the bottom of the sea“Once is happenstance,” wrote James Bond’s creator. “Twice is coincidence. Three times, it’s enemy action.” As European politicians and security agencies ponder the three explosions that caused leaks in the two...
New data reveals severe impact of European contact with Pacific islands
- ScienceDaily
- 22/10/1 16:43
Pacific island nations suffered severe depopulation from introduced diseases as a consequence of contact with European vessels, a new study shows. The research indicates population declines were a lot larger than previously thought and shows a big reassessment of the impact of globalization in the 19th century.
Land tenure drives deforestation rates in Brazil, study finds
- ScienceDaily
- 22/10/1 16:43
Tropical deforestation causes widespread degradation of biodiversity and carbon stocks. Researchers have now tested the relationship between land tenure and deforestation rates in Brazil. Their research shows that poorly defined land rights go hand in hand with increased deforestation rates. Privatizing these lands, as is often promoted in the tropics, can only mitigate this effect if combined...
How are birdsongs composed? Listening to the Australian pied butcherbird
- ScienceDaily
- 22/10/1 16:43
An international collaboration between musicians and birdsong scientists has found that in the Australian pied butcherbird songs surveyed, the order of song elements is strongly related to rhythmical timing.
Latest Covid surge a ‘heavy straw on camel’s back’ for every hospital in UK
Health leaders urge vaccination and return to mask-wearing as hospitalisations rise by 37 per cent in a weekEvery hospital in the UK is under significant pressure and a new Covid surge is “a very heavy straw on the camel’s back”, health leaders have warned.At least eight hospitals declared a critical incident, cancelled operations or asked people not to come to A&E unless they were...
Fish fossil catch from China includes oldest teeth ever
A big catch of fish fossils in southern China includes the oldest teeth ever found—and may help scientists learn how our aquatic ancestors got their bite.
Glass beads in lunar soil reveal ancient asteroid bombardments on the moon and Earth
In 2020, China's Chang'e 5 mission sampled more than a kilogram of moon rock and soil and brought it back to Earth. The samples contain countless tiny beads of glass, created when asteroids hit the moon and splashed out droplets of molten rock around the impact site.
A kung-fu kick led researchers to the world's oldest complete fish fossils. Here's what they found
Some of the world's most significant fossil discoveries have come from China. These include amazing feathered dinosaurs, the earliest modern mammals, and some of the oldest-known animals on Earth.
Discovery of new microscopic species expands the tree of life
Scientists have discovered several very rare species of microorganisms, some of which have never been seen before and others which have escaped the curious eyes of scientists for over a hundred years.
NASA eyes November for launch attempt of Moon rocket
NASA said Friday it would try to launch its Moon mega-rocket in November, without committing to a precise date for the much-delayed Artemis 1 mission.
What reptile's bones can teach us about Earth's perilous past
An extinct reptile's oddly shaped chompers, fingers, and ear bones may tell us quite a bit about the resilience of life on Earth, according to a new study.
The EU wants to put companies on the hook for harmful AI
The EU is creating new rules to make it easier to sue AI companies for harm. A bill unveiled this week, which is likely to become law in a couple of years, is part of Europe’s push to prevent AI developers from releasing dangerous systems. And while tech companies complain it could have a chilling effect on innovation, consumer activists say it doesn’t go far enough.
Powerful AI...
Eurasian Beaver now legally protected in England
Wildlife groups praised the move making it illegal to capture, kill, injure or disturb them.
Sleeping in barns - homeless in the countryside
Rural rough sleepers face harsh conditions as a taskforce warns of a hidden homelessness "crisis".
This robot ran a world record — but its trainer says it's 'not dangerous yet'
Cassie first made a name for itself in 2021 by completing a 5K on campus with a time of 53 minutes. After months of training, the machine has now established a Guinness World Record for the fastest 100-metre dash by a bipedal...