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William Lai Ching-te has been sworn in as president of Taiwan in a ceremony that included a 21-gun salute, as he later praised the self-governing island’s democracy and urged China to stop its “intimidation”. Lai and Vice President Hsia Bi-khim took their oaths on Monday beneath a portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China (ROC), the formal name for Taiwan’s government, in a ceremony at the presidential building in 
Taipei . READ MORE
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Researchers Mari Kawakatsu, Taylor A. Kessinger, and Joshua B. Plotkin from the Department of Biology created a model that uses two types of gossip to explore indirect reciprocity. A new study has found that gossip can enhance cooperation by improving consensus on reputations, though biased gossip has varying effects. Their model provides insights into how different gossip sources impact cooperative behavior. Future research will delve into gossip’s interaction with altruism and group biases. Gossip often has a negative connotation, but imagine you are part of a group deciding on a job candidate to hire or local political candidate to back. Candidates who get a good reputation by helping others may be more likely to receive help in the form of a job offer or endorsement, a feedback loop known as indirect reciprocity. Gossip can facilitate cooperation. READ MORE
William Lai Ching-te has been sworn in as president of Taiwan in a ceremony that included a 21-gun salute, as he later praised the self-governing island’s democracy and urged China to stop its “intimidation”. Lai and Vice President Hsia Bi-khim took their oaths on Monday beneath a portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China (ROC), the formal name for Taiwan’s government, in a ceremony at the presidential building in Taipei . READ MORE
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Stressed about your office commute? Burnt out from long weeks at your desk? Maybe a move is on the cards. Remote, a global HR platform used by some of the world’s largest brands, has studied the working culture of the 60 highest GDP nations around the world, to highlight countries that seemingly get it right when it comes to a healthy life-work balance. While you’re more likely to see the term styled as ‘work-life balance’, the stylistic choice here reflects Remote’s view that this is a miscalculation – “the attitude should be life first, work second”. Remote’s study factors in statutory annual leave, minimum statutory sick pay percentage, paid maternity leave and payment rate, minimum wage, healthcare system, happiness index, average hours worked per week, and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Below are the 10 countries in the world right now that strike the balance perfectly. READ MORE
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Solid-state batteries store and release electric charge by moving ions back and forth between two electrodes. From our typical perspective, the ions flow through the battery’s solid electrolyte like a gentle stream. But when seen on an atomic scale, that smooth flow is an illusion: Individual ions hop erratically from one open space to another within the electrolyte’s roomy atomic lattice, nudged in the direction of an electrode by a steady voltage. Those hops are hard to predict and a challenge to trigger and detect. Now, in the first study of its kind, researchers gave the hopping ions a jolt of voltage by hitting them with a pulse of laser light. To their surprise, most of the ions briefly reversed direction and returned to their previous positions before resuming their usual, more random travels. It was the first indication that the ions remembered, in a sense, where they had just been. The research team from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Oxford University, and Newcastle University described what they found in the January 24 issue of the journal Nature. READ MORE
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The Dalai Lama once famously stated that “the purpose of life is to be happy.” As rightly said, pursuing happiness is a universal endeavour and a fundamental part of being human. The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network annually publishes the World Happiness Report, in partnership with Gallup, the 
Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, and the WHR’s Editorial Board. In addition to providing valuable insights into the well-being of its citizens, this report also helps governments, policymakers, and organisations understand the factors that contribute to people’s contentment and identify areas that may need improvement. READ MORE
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Michael Hoffen is a new author, and like him, the protagonist of his book is a teenager. But there’s quite an age gap between them—about 4,000 years. That’s because Hoffen brought to life the story of a young Egyptian from ancient times named Pepi, whose father, Kheti, is intent on getting his son a job in the royal court. Hoffen, who has been translating ancient texts since middle school, became fascinated by a 4,000-year-old or so piece of literature from ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom known as The Instruction of Khety, or The Satire of the Trades. READ MORE
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Researchers have uncovered the mechanism of a crucial enzyme, described as “hidden in nature’s blueprint,” illuminating how cells control key processes in carbon fixation, a process fundamental for life on Earth. The discovery could help engineer climate-resilient crops capable of sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficiently, helping to produce more food in the process. The breakthrough was made by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Newcastle (UoN). The research, published on May 10 in the journal Science Advances, demonstrates a previously unknown function of an enzyme called carboxysomal carbonic anhydrase (CsoSCA), which is found in cyanobacteria – also called blue-green algae – to maximize the microorganisms’ ability to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. READ MORE
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English 17-year-old Phoebe Gill ran an astonishing 800 metres time of one minute 57.86 seconds to clinch victory at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet in Northern Ireland. The St Albans athlete’s time in sweltering conditions at the 
Mary Peters Track was almost four seconds inside her previous personal best and broke the European Under-18 record of 1:59.65 set by East Germany’s Marion Geissler-Hübner 45 years ago. Gill's performance was comfortably inside the Olympic qualifying standard of 1:59.30 although the huge strength of British 800m running means the teenager, who has Irish family connections, will face a tough task in securing a place in Paris at the UK trials. READ MORE
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It seems related to something that had perhaps never happened before, and certainly has never happened since: a near-total collapse of the Earth’s magnetic field. 650 million years ago, there was little going on across the Earth worth writing about, but shortly after, when multicellular life did begin to emerge and diversify in a period known as the Edicarian, it started within a 26 million-year window of time when the Earth’s magnetic field plummeted to one-thirtieth its current strength. Study author Professor John Tarduno and the co-authors describe the association between the earliest forms of complex life and this fall in the magnetic field, which they discovered through a particular kind of crystal called plagioclase which records magnetic signatures superbly well, as “tantalizing but unclear.” In their study, the scientists point out that oxygen content in samples of life from the Edicarian period is significantly higher than in samples from previous periods. READ MORE
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A new catalyst made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and common table sugar has the power to destroy carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. In a new Northwestern University study, the catalyst successfully converted CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), an important building block to produce a variety of useful chemicals. When the reaction occurs in the presence of hydrogen, for example, CO2 and hydrogen transform into synthesis gas (or syngas), a highly valuable precursor to producing fuels that can potentially replace gasoline. READ MORE
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Raining fish is a fascinating phenomenon triggered by waterspouts that lift small marine life. The rare event has been reported in Iran amid heavy rainfall in the Yasuj area on Monday. Videos of the occurrence are doing rounds on social media and have left users intrigued. READ MORE
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In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, a group of researchers documented the first observed instance of a wild Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) actively treating a facial wound with a medicinal plant, offering insights into the origins of human wound care. READ MORE
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America’s first high-speed rail line between LA and Las Vegas The Brightline West will travel at 320 kilometers per hour or around 200 mph, which for American readers is standard for high-speed rail around the world. Expected to be finished in four years, Brightline is envisioned as being a crucial piece of tourist infrastructure for the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics. READ MORE
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A remote outcrop in Scotland is covered with garden gnomes but nobody knows exactly how they got there. The gnomes beam their mischief from the rock of Swallow Craig which sits just off Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth. The gnomes first appeared there in 2010, with some people speculating they were left by a local fisherman. But one local legend muses the gnomes escaped from a local garden centre attempting to flee up the Forth under the cover of night. READ MORE
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Donna Jean Wilde realized that a plank was an excellent exercise to do in a cast after she broke her wrist 10 or so years ago and needed something to do to get her heart rate up. Jean from 
Alberta just set a new world record for the longest time spent in an abdominal plank position, managing 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 11 seconds. READ MORE
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A fibrous adsorbent selectively recovers high-purity gold from waste. Dramatically reduces the cost and time of the recovery process and enables material to be mass-produced and repeatedly recycled. Korea relies on imports for most of its metal resources, and in recent years, due to resource depletion and rising raw material prices, ‘circular resources’ that recycle waste metal resources have emerged. READ MORE
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One of the most hotly anticipated concept cars in recent history, the Aptera solar-powered car took a large step towards reality recently as the first-ever production-grade body arrived at the company’s headquarters in 
San Diego . This three-wheeler is advertised as containing 34 square feet of solar paneling that actually powers the car as it drives or while it’s parked, but so many aspects are completely new in a commercial automobile designed for mass production that extra precautions and preparations are needed before it can hit the road. READ MORE
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New research conducted by the University of Western Australia has discovered a new species of subterranean ant that shares some traits with a well-known Harry Potter villain. The research, published in Zookeys, describes the new species Leptanilla voldemort as a pale ant with a slender build, spindly legs, and long, sharp mandibles. Lead researcher Dr Mark Wong, a Forrest Fellow from UWA’s School of Biological Sciences, said its name (L. voldemort for short) paid homage to the dark wizard Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. READ MORE
The world gets a new and surprising insight into the world of distant beaked whales through a scientific study of a population of Baird’s beaked whales. The population has unexpectedly been found near the coast and in shallower waters than previously observed. The study is led by whale biologists Olga Filatova and Ivan Fedutin from the University of Southern Denmark/Fjord&Bælt, and it is published in the journal Animal Behaviour. READ MORE
Despite a huge amount of political opposition from the chemical industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its first regulations aimed at limiting quantities of PFAs, or ‘forever chemicals,’ in American drinking water. For decades, Polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAs have been used for coatings that resist fire, oil, stains, and water and are now found in a wide variety of products like waterproof clothing, stain-resistant furniture, food packaging, adhesives, firefighting spray foams, and non-stick cooking surfaces. READ MORE
A video shared by Instagram user @panteleenko_svetlana showcases a 
Russia n man guiding a bear to play a harmonica. The bear’s seemingly flawless performance has sparked amusement online, sparking several memes and theories. Endearing and funny animal antics caught on tape are a surefire hit on the internet. In one such viral video clip, a bear is seen playing a musical instrument with great finesse. READ MORE
A new study shows that you can learn to be happy but practice is crucial for lasting benefits. The findings highlight that doing a course— be that at the gym, a meditation retreat or on an evidence-based happiness course— is just the start as consistency is the key. "It's like going to the gym—we can't expect to do one class and be fit forever. Just as with physical health, we have to continuously work on our mental health, otherwise the improvements are temporary,” senior author Bruce Hood said in the university's statement. READ MORE
As Felipe Nystrom approaches the hill, the cheers swell. His bike sliding and squelching through the mud, he reaches the bottom and jumps off, shouldering the frame. Hundreds of fans urge him on as he struggles up the steep slope, cycling shoes sliding backwards as he edges forwards and upwards. Far behind the other competitors, Nystrom reaches the top. He pauses, standing in silhouette against the wintery sun, and acknowledges the crowd. They return his salute with yet more cheers. READ MORE
In 1977 it was a golden record, now scientists are sending a “message in a bottle” into space to communicate with aliens. NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry a message from Earth in the form of an inscribed plaque when it launches in October, 2024, and heads toward Jupiter’s moon Europa. On one side is an engraving of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten work In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa, along with a picture of a bottle bobbing in the ocean, at the center of which sits a silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public. READ MORE
New research published on Tuesday revealed that remote coral reefs across the Seychelles are closely related despite being scattered across more than a million square kilometres. Scientists used genetic analyses and oceanographic modelling to show that ocean currents scatter larvae between these distant island, creating a kind of “coral superhighways.” READ MORE
The incontestable Oppenheimer made a clean sweep at the 96 Academy Awards taking home 7 trophies out of its 13 nominations. Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster which chronicles the life and times of the father of the atomic bomb, J Robert Oppenheimer, was an inevitable win in the major categories. The film bagged the Best Picture award, as well as Best Director for Nolan. READ MORE
Once a housewife in rural India, Sharmila Yadav always wanted to be a pilot. She is now living her dream somewhat, remotely flying a heavy-duty drone across the skies to cultivate the country’s farmland. Yadav is among the first batch of 300 women trained by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the largest manufacturer of chemical fertilisers in the country. The women trained as pilots are given the 30kg (66-pound) drones for free along with battery-run vehicles to transport them. READ MORE
New research published in journals of the American Meteorological Society indicate changes in ocean-sea ice interactions, moderated temperature variations, and varied reactions to sunlight. The research recently published in journals of the American Meteorological Society demonstrates changes at the Earth’s poles, including altered ocean-sea ice dynamics, dampened temperature extremes, and differing responses to solar radiation at the north and south poles, and suggests that long-term warming trends may have played more of a role in 2023’s record-low Southern Ocean ice than previously supposed. Three papers in the Journal of Climate (JCli) find that the Arctic and Antarctic appear to be adjusting to a warming climate with fundamental changes in regional climate dynamics. READ MORE
Shehbaz Sharif on March 4 took the oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan, taking over the country’s reins for a second time since 2022, amidst staggering economic and security challenges. President Arif Alvi administered the oath to the 72-year-old Mr. Shehbaz in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, the presidential palace. The ceremony was attended by the three services chiefs, senior officials, diplomats, leading business people, members of the civil society and media organisations. The caretaker premier Anwaarul Haq Kakar was also present. The brief ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by the oath-taking. The ceremony was attended by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and other PML-N workers and Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah was also present on the occasion. READ MORE
Hundreds of robots zip back and forth across the floor of a colossal robotic warehouse, grabbing items and delivering them to human workers for packing and shipping. Such warehouses are increasingly becoming part of the supply chain in many industries, from e-commerce to automotive production. However, getting 800 robots to and from their destinations efficiently while keeping them from crashing into each other is no easy task. It is such a complex problem that even the best path-finding algorithms struggle to keep up with the breakneck pace of e-commerce or manufacturing. READ MORE
UAE rider Pogacar claimed a statement victory in his first race of the 2024 season in which he will attempt a Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double for the first time. Pogacar finished just under three minutes ahead of the chasing pack, smashing the previous record winning margin of 42 seconds set by Fabian Cancellara in 2012 to win the race for the second time. READ MORE
Social media trends keep on evolving, but amid the chaos, one intriguing yet silly song has become a global sensation. The children’s song Chipi Chipi Chapa Chapa, accompanied by its catchy beats and lyrics is on everyone’s lips, it is even dominating social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram for its charm and mysterious lyrics. The song came into existence in 2003, but it garnered popularity in 2022, especially on TikTok, where videos featuring people dancing and lip syncing to the tune quickly received millions of views. Users have added their unique choreography, and even used the phrase into memes and various internet challenges. The origins of its popularity remain unclear, but reports suggest that an animation video played a pivotal role in pushing Chipi Chipi Chapa Chapa to viral fame. READ MORE
The widow, Dr. Ruth Gottesman, was left the money by her late husband ‘Sandy’ Gottesman, who was an early investor in Berkshire Hathaway, and when her gift to the school was announced, the cheers—and tears—filled the auditorium of Albert Einstein Medical College. READ MORE
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently took a sword-making lesson from 
Japan ese sword master, Akihira Kokaji. He shared a video of himself making a katana—a traditional Japanese sword known for its sharpness. Zuckerberg shared a series of posts on February 24 wherein he can be seen posing with the sword master. In another picture, he created the sword with the help of his master. He also shared a video of himself using the sword. Sharing the post, Zuckerberg wrote, “Really special afternoon learning about making katanas with master akihira.kokaji — thank you for sharing your craft with us!” READ MORE
The Kenya Wildlife Service celebrated the successful transfer of 21 eastern black rhinos to establish a new viable breeding population for the species that was on the brink of extinction decades ago. In an 18-day exercise executed by highly trained capture and veterinary experts, the 
Loisaba Conserva ncy received the 21 rhinos from three different locations, becoming the 17th sanctuary in Kenya where the mammoth animals can roam and intermingle. READ MORE
Newly-discovered fossils have allowed scientists to reveal a 240-million-year-old “dragon” in its entirety for the first ever time, National Museums Scotland (NMS) said in a statement on Friday. The five-meter-long reptile from the Triassic period in China was first identified in 2003 but, after studying five newer specimens for ten years, scientists were able to depict the entire creature, which is named Dinocephalosaurus orientalis. READ MORE
Thailand ’s capital Bangkok has long attracted tourists from all over the world who seek fun and adventure. Bangkok is known for its vibrant nightlife and scrumptious food markets. Despite being a popular tourist destination many people are unaware of Bangkok’s real name which is 168-letter long. It is composed of Pali and Sanskrit words and is listed as the ‘longest place name’ by the Guinness World Records. Now a video is going viral that shows a tour guide speaking the Thai capital’s long name in one breath. The clip, which appears to be taken on a tour bus, shows the woman say, “krungthepmahanakhonamonrattanakosinmahintharaayuthayamahadilokphopnoppharatratchathaniburiromudomratchaniwetmahasathanamonpimanawatansathitsakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit" in one go. When she finishes, the tourists burst into cheers and laughs. READ MORE
Inevitably enough, Taylor Swift was the biggest-selling artist in the world last year - but new figures from the recording industry suggest that Western artists have lost their grip on the charts. Four of 2023's top 10 best-selling acts came from 
South Korea , with bands such as Stray Kids and Seventeen outselling stars like Drake and The Weeknd.
The international sales figures were compiled by the IFPI, which represents the global music industry. Bad Bunny and Lana Del Rey also made the top 10. Although none of the South Korean bands in the list have broken the UK Top 40, they are responsible for millions of streams around the world, as K-Pop continues its phenomenal growth. READ MORE
Quasars are the bright cores of distant galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, and 12 billion light years away, one has been found that is shining brighter than 500 trillion suns. Growing in mass by the equivalent of one Sun per day, it’s the fastest-growing black hole to date, but at 12 billion light years away, it probably burnt out long ago. The light detected today is merely the echo of its existence. READ MORE
Researchers at the University of 
Bristol have discovered that tiny external structures within the wax coating of blueberries are responsible for their blue color. This applies to lots of fruits that are the same color including damsons, sloes, and juniper berries. In the study, published today in Science Advances, researchers show why blueberries are blue despite the dark red color of the pigments in the fruit skin. Their blue color is instead provided by a layer of wax that surrounds the fruit which is made up of miniature structures that scatter blue and UV light. This gives blueberries their blue appearance to humans and blue-UV to birds. The chromatic blue-UV reflectance arises from the interaction of the randomly arranged crystal structures of the epicuticular wax with light. READ MORE
In some countries, executive government action is what creates big protected areas of wild lands, but in Bolivia , with the announcement of the establishment of a truly gargantuan patch of protected forest, credit must be given to the ordinary people of the country. In the municipality of Sena (pop. 2,500) a law was just created to protect 452,639 hectares (1.1 million acres) of Amazon rainforest. Called the Gran Manupare Integrated Management Natural Area, the law was overseen by, and passed for the benefit of, “peasants and indigenous communities,” per a statement from the mayor’s office. READ MORE
Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr and director Christopher Nolan were all honoured for their work on Oppenheimer as the film dominated the Bafta Awards. Murphy was named best actor for playing J Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb, while Downey Jr won best supporting actor. The drama won seven Baftas including best film. Poor Things picked up five, including Best Actress for Emma Stone. The best supporting actress went to Da'Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. READ MORE
The brown bear is one of the largest terrestrial carnivores alive today, with a broad distribution throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast to numerous other large carnivores that faced extinction by the end of the last Ice Age (cave bear, sabretoothed cats, cave hyena), the brown bear is one of the lucky survivors that made it through to the present. The question has puzzled biologists for close to a century – how was this so? Brown bears are ecologically flexible and have a broad dietary range. While they are carnivores, their diets can also consist primarily of plant matter making them adaptable to environmental changes. However, brown bears also experienced extensive range reductions and regional extinctions during the last Ice Age. Brown bears used to occupy a much wider range including Ireland, Honshu, the largest island of Japan, and Quebec (Canada). READ MORE
All of us have that one teacher we used to adore back in our school days. The individual not only made the subject interesting but also made learning a fun activity and not just about exams. One such video showing the wonderful bond between the students of a boarding school in Nepal and their teacher Sujan sir is viral. The video was recorded at Gandaki Boarding School (GBS) in 
Pokhara . It was a special day for the teacher named Sujan sir, as his students planned a surprise to celebrate his birthday in the most memorable way. READ MORE
Kiwifruit has proven itself as a powerful mood booster and new research from the University of Otago has shown just how fast its effects can be. In a study, published in The British Journal of Nutrition, researchers found the furry fruit improved vitality and mood in as little as four days. Co-author Professor Tamlin Conner, of the Department of Psychology, says the findings provide a tangible and accessible way for people to support their mental well-being. READ MORE
Former general Prabowo Subianto claimed victory in Indonesia's presidential election on Wednesday as preliminary results put him well ahead of his two rivals to lead Southeast Asia's biggest economy. "All counts, all pollsters... showed figures that Prabowo-Gibran won in one round," he told a cheering crowd at a packed arena in central 
Jakarta , referring to his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka. "This victory should be a victory for all Indonesians." Official results are not due until next month but at least four government-approved groups — making projections based on official early tallying — showed Mr. Subianto winning a clear majority in one round. READ MORE
The third day of the much beloved Valentine’s Week, 9th February, is celebrated as Chocolate Day, where people treat their loved ones with chocolates to add more sweetness to their lives and display their sweet affection towards them. Whether it’s a token of love for your significant other, a sweet gesture for a friend, or a caring gift for a family member, chocolate has the unique power to bring smiles and warmth to everyone’s day, hence, holding special significance among all during Valentine’s week. READ MORE
In October, it was reported that the first winner of the Vesuvius Challenge, which sought to inspire young people to use AI technology to decode burnt scrolls found in a Pompeii library. Now, the grand prize has been collected by Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger, who will split an amazing $700,000 bounty for their efforts. 21-year-old Luke Farritor, college student and SpaceX intern from Nebraska, was the first person in history to read an entire word from the inside of a Herculaneum scroll (????????, “purple”). This won him the first-place ‘First Letters Prize,’ a few weeks before Youssef’s results. READ MORE
Researchers have discovered genes that impact obesity risk differently in men and women and across various ages, revealing potential new pathways for understanding and treating obesity. From influencing how our body stores fat to how our brain regulates appetite, hundreds of genes, along with environmental factors, collectively determine our weight and body size. Now, researchers add several genes, that appear to affect obesity risk in certain sexes and ages, to that list. The study, published in the journal Cell Genomics, may shed light on new biological pathways that underlie obesity and highlight how sex and age contribute to health and disease. READ MORE
NASA and all space lovers were able to bid a final farewell to the boundary-breaking Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, after a lonely, far-off glimpse of the little craft was captured by the Perseverance Mars Rover on Sunday. A stark picture shows Ingenuity in its final resting place among the Martian dunes after needing to execute an emergency landing and damaging one of its rotors. Perseverance captured the scene on its Left Mastcam-Z Camera, one of a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast. READ MORE
In the age of viral sensations and innovative sports, one X user has shared an interesting video which quickly began to garner views for showcasing a unique version of cricket, which arguably involves a higher dose of athleticism. Calling the innovation ‘swimket’, a blend of swimming and cricket, the user @Madan_Chikna posted, “We should add this Cricket + Swimming sport in olympics calling it Swimket. This is brilliant”. READ MORE
“The new stick insect Nesiophasma sobesonbaii n. sp. from the island of Timor is described and illustrated from both sexes and eggs,” the authors noted. “It is the first species of the genus Nesiophasma Günther, 1934 to be recorded from Timor and the second species of Phasmatodea known from the island.” The female’s body size reaches around 20-35 centimeters (8-14 inches). Davis said he and the foreign scientists chose the name Nesiophasma sobesonbaii in honor of Sobe Sonbaii III, the last ruler of the Sonbai Besar kingdom, which fought the Dutch colonial forces in Timor for much of the 19th century. READ MORE
“The new stick insect Nesiophasma sobesonbaii n. sp. from the island of Timor is described and illustrated from both sexes and eggs,” the authors noted. “It is the first species of the genus Nesiophasma Günther, 1934 to be recorded from Timor and the second species of Phasmatodea known from the island.” The female’s body size reaches around 20-35 centimeters (8-14 inches). Davis said he and the foreign scientists chose the name Nesiophasma sobesonbaii in honor of Sobe Sonbaii III, the last ruler of the Sonbai Besar kingdom, which fought the Dutch colonial forces in Timor for much of the 19th century. READ MORE
Hayato Ueda, a geologist from Niigata University, embarked on a submarine journey alongside pilot Chris May into the heart of the Japan Trench, the epicenter of the catastrophic 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake and tsunami on September 4, 2022. Descending to the trench’s floor at a depth of 7,500 meters, they encountered a 26-meter-tall near-vertical cliff on the eastern side of a ridge standing 60 meters tall.
Previous bathymetric surveys from the sea surface have revealed that the ridge did not exist before, and appeared just after the megaquake accompanied with a fault on its eastern flank. He and his colleague scientists on deck thus concluded that the cliff was a surface expression of a coseismic movement of the fault. The cliff consisted of unconsolidated soft mud. The lower slope than the cliff was occupied by abundant debris of the same soft mud blocks, which obviously supplied from the cliff. The observed sharp fracture surfaces and highly angular edges, both on the cliff and debris blocks, imply very quick increase of stress that fractured the soft muds before they plastically flowed, and thus support a coseismic origin of the cliff. READ MORE
In 1609, the area was declared the Captaincy General of Guatemala by the Spanish, which included the territory that would become El Salvador until its independence from Spain in 1821. It was forcibly incorporated into the First Mexican Empire, then seceded, joining the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. The geography of El Salvador can be divided into two regions, the first region includes the mountain ranges and the central plateaus while the second region is made up of the coastal plains, commonly known as the Pacific lowlands. Two parallel mountain ranges cross through the country to the west. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has declared himself the winner of national elections that revolved around the trade-off between security and democracy. Bukele on Sunday claimed to have won more than 85 percent of the vote despite electoral authorities not yet releasing the official results. READ MORE
Cameron Mason, Anna Kay and Zoe Backstedt lead British hopes at the Cyclo-Cross World Championships in the Czech Republic this weekend. Cyclo-cross involves laps around a course which lasts an hour, consisting of ramps, muddy bends and flat road surfaces. Britain's Tom Pidcock - world champion in 2022 - is not competing in Tabor . Belgium and the Netherlands are the most successful nations, with Fem van Empel and Mathieu van der Poel leading the favourites. READ MORE
Every dog has its day – but some clock up more years than others. Now research has revealed that when it comes to longevity, small, long-nosed breeds are top dog, while flat-faced ones are more at risk of an early death. Once size, face shape and sex were taken into account researchers found that overall small, long-nosed female dogs tended to have the longest lifespans among pure breeds, notching up a median of 13.3 years. However, breeds with flat-faces – a trait that has become fashionable in recent years – had a median lifespan of 11.2 years, and a 40% increased risk of shorter lives than dogs with medium-length snouts, such as spaniels. READ MORE
Amid a frigid cold front in Grand Prairie , Alberta, a mother and her son embarked on an experiment on January 13 involving a steaming bowl of ramen noodles exposed to sub-zero temperatures, a video of which had gone viral. This challenge has taken the online world by storm, leaving many wonder what makes this experiment so captivating. READ MORE
An international research team led by astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has meticulously mapped expansive cold and dense gas regions, the future stellar nurseries, in a galaxy outside the Milky Way with unprecedented detail. Utilizing the NOEMA interferometer, these observations cover a vast expanse within the galaxy, providing insight into varying conditions conducive to star formation. The data marks a ground-breaking achievement in this type of measurement, allowing researchers, for the first time, to scrutinize the early phases of star formation beyond the Milky Way on scales as minute as individual gas clouds birthing stars. READ MORE
Electrolysis is a process that uses electricity to create hydrogen and oxygen molecules from water. The use of proton exchange membrane (PEM) and renewable energy for water electrolysis is widely regarded as a sustainable method for hydrogen production. Sustainable electrolysis for green hydrogen production is challenging, primarily due to the absence of efficient, low-cost, and stable catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in acidic solutions. A team of researchers has now developed a ruthenium catalyst by doping it with zinc, resulting in enhanced stability and reactivity compared to its commercial version. The proposed strategy can revolutionize hydrogen production by paving the way for next generation electrocatalysts that contribute to clean energy technologies. READ MORE
William Lai Ching-te has been sworn in as president of Taiwan in a ceremony that included a 21-gun salute, as he later praised the self-governing island’s democracy and urged China to stop its “intimidation”. Lai and Vice President Hsia Bi-khim took their oaths on Monday beneath a portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China (ROC), the formal name for Taiwan’s government, in a ceremony at the presidential building in Taipei . READ MORE
In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, a group of researchers documented the first observed instance of a wild Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) actively treating a facial wound with a medicinal plant, offering insights into the origins of human wound care. READ MORE
Mont Saint-Michael
France
 (1).png "Spider-Man Beyond the Spider-Verse: Everything to know")
