The beautiful island country of Madagascar has a dire school shortage. About a third of Malagasy children have no access to education because the schools are too far away or severely overcrowded. Thinking Huts, a non-profit dedicated to increasing global access to education, believes that 22,000 new schools are needed to fulfill the demand. The organization plans to tackle the issue with a series of 3D-printed schools, the first of which was completed in April 2022....
Read news articleA sprawling seagrass meadow has just been declared the "world's largest single living organism" based on area. The Poseidon’s ribbon weed seagrass (Posidonia australis) is located in Shark Bay, a protected body of shallow water in Western Australia. It covers an impressive 77 square miles (200 square kilometers) — the equivalent of about 280 soccer fields! The record was previously held by a 3.7 square-mile mushroom, dubbed "Humongous Fungus," in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon, USA....
Read news articleThere are over 30 meteor showers annually. However, few are as spectacular as the Perseids. The "shooting stars" have been blazing through the sky at a rate of about a dozen an hour since mid-July. But the best time to watch the natural fireworks show will be between August 11 and August 12, 2022. That's when the pace of the meteors will escalate to between 50 and one hundred an hour....
Read news articleFreya, a 1,300-pound (589 kg) walrus, has been on an epic adventure since leaving her home in the Arctic Ocean in 2019. Over the past three years, the juvenile female has visited the coasts of Sweden, Denmark, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Shetland Islands. Freya, who is identified by her small tusks, white scar on her right nostril, and previous injury on her flipper, has now arrived in Norway....
Read news articleA Roman-era cargo ship that sank near the Greek island of Antikythera over two thousand years ago has been yielding abundant ancient treasures since its discovery in 1900. In late June 2022, researchers revealed their latest find — a marble head depicting the Greek and Roman demigod Hercules. The expedition team believes it belongs to a headless sculpture of Hercules found during the first visit to the shipwreck....
Read news articleOver the years, there have been numerous attempts to document the surface of the Moon. However, none have been as comprehensive as the map released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on June 14, 2022....
Read news articleThe residents of Leye County in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are no strangers to sinkholes. The area's 29 majestic sinkholes and underground caves have earned themselves a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. But the one explored by scientists in early May 2022 harbored an extraordinary secret — a pristinely-preserved ancient forest....
Read news articleFew countries can measure up to Egypt when it comes to fascinating archaeological discoveries. A collection of 250 beautifully painted sarcophagi with well-preserved mummies is the latest to make headlines. The 2500-year-old artifacts, unveiled on May 31, 2022, were unearthed at Saqqara's "Cemetery of Ancient Animals," near Cairo. The temple complex was dedicated to Bast, the Egyptian goddess of protection and the bringer of good health. It was the burial place of choice for affluent residents of Memphis, the capital city of the Old Kingdom of Egypt....
Read news articlePresident Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law on June 25, 2022. The legislation aims to stop dangerous people from obtaining firearms and to provide much-needed funds to improve the nation's mental health system. It is the most significant gun control regulation approved by the US Congress since the now-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994....
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