Notices by Flipboard Science Desk (sciencedesk@flipboard.social)

Super Rat: the record-setting rodent sniffing out landmines and saving lives.

From @CNN: "Rats don’t always have the best reputations, but one named Ronin with a super sense of smell is working to change that."

https://flip.it/oyPvly

#Animals #Rat #Landmines #Science #Cambodia

After another explosive start to tornado season, twisters are cropping up in unexpected places around the United States. In a 48-hour period earlier this month, 31 tornadoes were reported across the country. Scientists are baffled. Read more from @sciencefocus:

https://flip.it/DS6_YH

#Science #Earth #Storms #Weather #USA

Who doesn’t love a good baby picture? The clearest and most precise images yet of the universe in its infancy — the earliest cosmic time accessible to humans — have been produced by an international team of astronomers. Phys.org has the story:

https://flip.it/I5yrwZ

#Space #Science #Universe #Astronomy

Newborn babies have been exposed to measles at a Texas hospital and are receiving antibodies to protect them, NBC reports. The virus was brought into the University Medical Center Children's Hospital by a mother in labor — doctors didn't realize until after her admission that she was infected, and it's unclear when she tested positive. The immunoglobulin injections have been given to babies as young as three days old. A 2021 study found this therapy is highly effective in protecting exposed newborns who are too young to be vaccinated. Emergency masking procedures have also been implemented.

https://flip.it/0.ZRbx

#MeaslesOutbreak #Health #Medicine #Vaccination #Texas #Children

Ducks were once a conservation bright spot. Now they’re declining in the U.S., new report shows.

@AssociatedPress reports: https://flip.it/1YqDfg

#Ducks #Birds #Conservation #Wildlife #Animals

Good news has emerged in the fight against cancer. Just two servings of yogurt a week may protect your bowels from some specific types of cancer, according to a new long-term study in the United States. @ScienceAlert has more:

https://flip.it/eweTXu

#Science #Health #Cancer #Humans

Archaeologists in London have uncovered a section of Roman masonry that belongs to a nearly 2,000-year-old town hall, in what historians say is one of the most significant discoveries in the British capital since an ancient amphitheater was unearthed in the 1980s. @npr reports:
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/18/g-s1-49317/london-roman-basilica-archaeology-roman-empire-discovery

#Archaeology #London #RomanEmpire #Basilica #Britain

As bird flu concerns grow, scientists race to develop new vaccines.

From NBC News: "The [U.S.] Department of Health and Human Services on Friday awarded $590 million in funding to Moderna in part to fast-track the development of an mRNA bird flu vaccine."

https://flip.it/-SKIuf

#BirdFlu #Pandemic #Vaccines #PublicHealth #Science

An enormous reservoir holding more than twice the amount of water in Lake Mead sits inside the volcanic rocks of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, scientists have revealed. The discovery likely makes the entire range the largest aquifer of its kind in the world. @LiveScience reports:

https://flip.it/_vG3Lv

#Science #Geology #Volcanoes #Earth

A NASA satellite has spotted frozen "kidney beans" on Mars sand dunes trapped in place until springtime. Photographing them can help us determine if there was ever enough water on Mars to sustain life. Live Science reports:
https://www.livescience.com/space/mars/giant-kidney-beans-spotted-in-mars-satellite-images-could-point-to-signs-of-water-and-life

#NASA #Mars #Water #Space

We’ve known for some time that the Yellowstone supervolcano will eventually erupt. Now we have a good understanding of where. Why the northeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park is the most likely place for an eruption, from @LiveScience.

https://flip.it/2wLW_C

#Science #Volcanoes #Eruptions #YellowstoneNationalPark #Geology

Three ways Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could use the language of science to weaken pollution controls, from @ConversationUS.

https://flip.it/TA-h6a

#ClimateChange #Environment #Trump #Science #USPolitics

"A NASA spacecraft has made history by surviving the closest-ever approach to the Sun."

@BBCNews reports: "Scientists received a signal from the Parker Solar Probe just before midnight EST on Thursday after it had been out of communication for several days during its burning-hot fly-by."

https://flip.it/ZVrHTr

#Sun #NASA #Space #Science

The COVID-19 pandemic affected how humans behaved. But it also had an effect on zoo animals in a variety of ways, including the amount of time they spent resting and eating. @ScienceAlert explains:

https://flip.it/BryEWW

#Science #Health #COVID #Animals #Humans #Zoos #Nature #Behavior

"Earth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a report Monday by European climate service Copernicus."

@AssociatedPress reports: https://flip.it/5bR7iv

#ClimateChange #Climate #Weather #Science

In a corner of space 290 million light-years from Earth, four galaxies are closely interacting, filling the region with detritus of past collisions. @ScienceAlert tells us more, including how these findings will help scientists understand how giant galaxies interact, collide, and merge to produce even bigger galaxies.

https://flip.it/iFmdF7

#Science #Space #Earth #Galaxies

One in five colorectal cancer patients in the United States is under 55, nearly twice the rate in 1995. Half of the 34 most common types of cancers are on the rise among younger people, leaving scientists alarmed and perplexed. Why are Gen X and millennials seeing soaring cancer rates? @Vox takes a look at what we know so far.

https://flip.it/V1R5aR

#Medical #Cancer #Millenial #GenX #Health

A homemade rocket constructed by a group of college students has smashed a series of world records after launching farther and faster into space than any amateur rocket. @LiveScience reports: https://flip.it/Tzy5KS
#Space #Science #Rockets #SpaceTravel #SpaceShips #SpaceExploration

How long is a light-year? Here are some ways to think about it.

From @Mashable: "This astronomer's unit measures distance, not time."

https://flip.it/FinBTn

#Astronomy #Space #Time #NASA #Science

Can cats associate human words with images? A study suggests they might.

From Earth.com: "The study builds upon earlier research that suggested cats could discern when humans called their names, and even recognize photos of familiar people."

https://flip.it/QEZOUD

Here's the full study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-74006-2

#Cats #Animals #Science #Pets