The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) derives its name from it’s planned thirty meter mirror. The TMT has drawn criticism from Native Hawaiians because of it’s proposed placement on the mountain Mauna Kea on the big island, sacred land in Hawaiian culture. The mountain is already home to multiple other observatories; these are viewed as previous desecrations. […]
Osceola, a Seminole leader during the Second Seminole War, was taken prisoner after showing up to peace talks under a white flag of truce. This was a deliberate breach by US forces of accepted laws of war. The perpetrator, General Thomas Jessup, was supported by the US government and received no punishment for the deceit. The […]
Colonizers first brought cats to the island in the 18thcentury. Their numbers have grown so large--estimates range from 2-6 million--that they are decimating native wildlife. Per day, cats are estimated to feed on millions of birds, reptiles, and small mammals throughout the continent. Feral cats are attributed to approx. 750 native animals deaths per year. Additionally, […]
The contact lens was developed by scientists at the University of California San Diego. Double blinks control the level of zoom. It works like this: the polymers which make up the lens change their shape when an electric current is applied. Electrodes around the eye detect when users blink, expanding of contracting the polymers, which makes […]
The 2 meter (6.5 feet) bone belonged to a Sauropod, some of the largest dinosaurs to ever live. It was unearthed in southern France. Sauropods were a group of dinosaurs characterized by long necks, long tails, and small heads. Perhaps the most famous Sauropod was the Brontosaurus. These dinosaurs used their long necks to reach plants […]
A team from the University of Washington has researched the pocket of seawater and found marine bacteria. These microbes could have been trapped for as long as 50,000 years. The researchers are interested in these pockets because they could provide clues as to how life could be sustained in extremem conditions. This particluar pocket of seawater […]
On July 22nd, 2019, India launched Chandrayaa-2, their second mission to the moon. It’s set to arrive in late August and will launch India into rare company as the fourth country to visit. While the United States’s Apollo missions flew to the moon in a straight shot with large rockets, Chandrayaa-2 will orbit the earth in […]
Twenty-two year old Sam Bencheghib plans to run 20 miles a day, 6 days a week, for six months to raise awareness for ocean plastics pollution. The run will cover approx. 3,100 miles. He will use shoes made with up-cycled plastics. His passion began as a surfer in Bali, where he would paddle in trash alongside […]
By modifying cows to burp and fart less, scientists hope to cut the amount of methane emissions from cattle. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is a large problem in the agricultural industry and the contribution from digesting cattle is a major source. The rate of methane gas production has been linked to inherited gut microbes and if cattle […]
The ashes of 152 deceased were onboard the third ever launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket. SpaceX doesn’t deal with the family members directly; a company called Celestis Memorial Spaceflights coordinates the launch. It can cost $5,000 for one gram of human ashes and families can choose from between 1-7 grams. The ashes are loaded into […]
