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Mercury Could Be Smaller Than Its Ancient Size By Miles
Mercury has been shrinking for billions of years, but scientists may have seriously underestimated how much the planet has contracted. A new analysis suggests its roughest terrain has been hiding evidence of that dramatic change. The revised estimate puts Mercury’s radial contraction between 6.9 and 11.6 kilometers. At the upper end, that could mean the…
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A 1,500-Foot Tsunami Hit Alaska. Scientists Warn It Could Happen Again
The mountain gave way at 5:26 on a Sunday morning, sending more than 63 million cubic metres of rock crashing into Alaska’s Tracy Arm fjord. The impact forced the water upward with such force that it climbed 481 metres up the opposite mountainside, creating a wave roughly 1,578 feet high. Nobody died, but researchers say…
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The Atlantic’s ‘Monster Web’ of Currents Could Be Heading Toward a Dangerous Collapse
Far beneath the surface of the Atlantic, a gigantic network of ocean currents is constantly moving heat, salt, carbon and oxygen around the planet. Now scientists are racing into some of the most hostile waters on Earth to determine whether this enormous system is becoming dangerously unstable, with consequences that could eventually reach the United…
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Homeowner Finds Massive Viking Silver Hoard Beneath New Patio
A homeowner in Denmark thought they were about to spend a few ordinary hours preparing the ground for a new patio. Instead, a strange sound beneath the soil led to a discovery containing roughly 18.5 kilograms of Viking Age silver, making it the largest known hoard of its kind ever found in Denmark. The anonymous…
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Earth Has Lost 12 Trillion Tons Of Ice In 47 Years, And Scientists Say The Melt Is Speeding Up
A staggering amount of ice has vanished from Earth’s polar regions, and the numbers are far larger than most people can imagine. Scientists have calculated that Greenland and Antarctica have lost around 12.5 trillion tons of ice since 1979, creating enough melted water to cover the entire continental United States with a layer of ice…
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The Elk Who Spent 15 Minutes Trying To Save A Trapped Marmot
Nobody at the Pocatello Zoo could work out why Shooter had suddenly become obsessed with his water tank. The four-year-old bull elk kept circling it, sniffing around the edges and dipping his hooves into the water, leaving staff wondering what had caught his attention. They watched for around 15 minutes before the mystery finally became…
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More Than 20 Percent Of Americas Butterflies Have Vanished In Two Decades
For every five butterflies that could have been seen across the United States in 2000, researchers estimate that only four remain today. A massive national analysis has found that butterfly abundance dropped 22% between 2000 and 2020, with some species suffering losses of more than 90%. The study brings together decades of observations from scientists…
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Congress Takes On The Companies Controlling Americas Seeds
For generations, farmers could save seeds from one harvest and use them to plant the next. Now, a new congressional proposal is taking aim at the legal protections that have helped major agricultural companies control how some commercially important seeds are used. Representatives Jim McGovern and Greg Casar have introduced the Fair Seeds for Farmers…
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Nancy Mace Targets High Fructose Corn Syrup With New Food Bill
A familiar ingredient found in everything from soft drinks to cereal has suddenly become the target of a federal political fight. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced legislation that would prohibit food containing high-fructose corn syrup from entering interstate commerce, potentially forcing manufacturers across the country to rethink thousands of products. The proposal gives companies…
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This Strange Orange Shark Was Found Swimming Off Costa Rica
A shark pulled from the waters off Costa Rica looked as though someone had dropped it into a bucket of orange paint. Its body was a vivid yellow-orange, its eyes were strikingly white, and nothing about it resembled the ordinary nurse sharks fishermen were used to seeing. The strange animal was photographed during a sport…
