Daily Brief for March 23th, 2020

On this day in 1775, American Revolutionary hero Patrick Henry proclaimed "Give me liberty, or give me death!" while addressing the House of Burgesses

Massive shells found of prehistoric armadillos the size of a VW Beetle

A farmer living near Buenos Aires in Argentina was putting his cattle out to pasture when he noticed two strange lumps in a dried up riverbed.

The strange orbits of "Tatooine" planetary disks
Astronomers have found striking orbital geometries in protoplanetary disks around binary stars.

Experts amazed after "incredibly rare" Roman artifact found in Lincolnshire field.
A metal detectorist has amazed experts after finding an incredibly rare Roman artifact in a Lincolnshire field.

Stolen collection of Persian poetry found with help of "Indiana Jones of the Art World" goes on auction
The 15th-century edition of Hafez's "divan" will be sold at Sotheby's next month

A secret tunnel found in Mexico may finally solve the mysteries of Teotihuacan
The chance discovery beneath a nearly 2,000 year old pyramid leads to the heart of a lost civilization

Urban Coyotes eat a lot of garbage - and cats
a new study shows how city-dwelling coyotes thrive by feasting on human-linked food sources

Water balloon physics is high-impact science
Water balloons may seem like a trivial matter - a toy for mischievous kids in the summer.  For scientists, the behavior of balls of liquid wrapped in thin elastic membrane is critical

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Daily Brief for March 20th, 2020

On this day in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte enters Paris from exile, which triggers the 100 day war

These 3-D models offer a digital glimpse into 3,000 years of Athens' history
Photographer-animator Dimitris Tsalkanis built the city from scratch and posted it online for free

Keeping cats indoors could blunt adverse effects to wildlife
House cats have a large and detrimental effect on local wildlife, according to a new study that tracked domestic car movement and counted cat prey

Rescued from rot, 19th-century naval figureheads to feature in new exhibit
A collection of 14 restored wooden states, including a two-ton William IV, wil be shown at the Box Museum in England

7 things you might not know about San Francisco's cable cars
Cable cars are a symbol for San Francisco, but they're also a big part of the city's history

NASA fixes Mars lander by telling it to hit itself with a shovel
NASA's InSight lander, which is currently on the surface of Mars, has faced some unexpected problems during its mission to explore and study the planet

"Wonderchicken" fossil from the age of dinosaurs reveals the origin of modern birds
The oldest fossil of a modern bird yet found, dating from the age of dinosaurs, has been identified by an international team of palaeontologists.

The moon is different than earth at its core
Similarities between lunar samples and Earth's makeup were throwing off a leading theory of the moon's origin

Monkeys outperform humans when it comes to cognitive flexibility, Georgia State study finds.
When it comes to being willing to explore more efficient options to solving a problem, monkeys exhibit more cognitive flexibility than humans.

6 crazy attempts to geoengineer the weather
These scientists and inventors set out to change the planet with these out-of-the-box ideas

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Daily Brief for March 19th, 2020

On this day in 1822, Boston is incorporated as a city

"It's like you have a hand again": An ultra-precise mind-controlled prosthetic
In a major advance in mind-controlled prosthetics for amputees, University of Michigan researchers have tapped faint, latent signals from arm nerves and amplified them to enable real-time, intuitive figer-level control of a robotic hand.

Showing robots how to do your chores
By observing humans, robots learn to perform complex tasks, such as setting a table.

Honeybee dance dialects
Honeybees use their waggle dance to tell their friends where to find food.  Depending on the honeybee species, there are different dances.

Two new shark species have been identified and they look like nothing you've seen before
Scientists have identified two new species of shark that live in the depths of the West Indian ocean.

Before "Baby Shark" made the Hot 100, "Silly Symphonies" were all the rage
Children's music has been part of the music industry since the get go.

Immerse yourself in Jane Goodall's wondrous chimpanzee-filled life
A new multimedia show includes the primatologist's childhood possessions, a 3-D film and a "Chimp Chat" station

You can now download 1,700 free 3-D cultural heritage models
A new Sketchfab collection brings models of fossils, artwork and more into the public domain

Graduate student discovers one of the world's oldest swords in mis-labeled monastery display
At 5,000 years old the weapon predates the era when humans first started using tin to make bronze

Found: Two bombs from 1935 stuck in Hawaii volcano
After 85 years, officials plan to remove the old, undetonated bombs that were part of a 1935 plan to divert lava flow on Mauna Loa

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Daily Brief for March 18th, 2020

Looking to take a virtual field trip? Check this list out! Click Here


Leaf-inspired surface prevents frost formation New design could conserve energy used for defrosting airplanes, appliances and more.

How plants sound the alarm about danger

Team led by Salk University scientists provides a detailed picture of how plant hormones communicate through gene regulation

At 8 months, babies already know their grammar

Even before uttering their first words, babies master the grammar basics of their mother tongue.

Study finds gorillas display territorial behavior
New research provides important clues for the evolution of human behavior

Dino stomping ground in Scotland reveals thriving Jurassic ecosystem

Dozens of footprints expand the list of dinosaurs known to have lived in the region

How artificial kidneys and miniaturized dialysis could save millions of lives

After decades of slow progress, researchers are exploring better treatments for kidney failure.

Scientists have discovered the origins of the building blocks of life

Rutgers researchers have discovered the origins of the protein structures responsible for metabolism

Discovery in tomb reveals ancient game of donkey polo

Archaeologist in China have unearthed a tomb belonging to a 9th-century noblewoman was was buried alongside her donkey, which she likely rode while playing an ancient version of polo.

New minor planets discovered beyond Neptune
These new discoveries could aid in future searches for undiscovered planets in the far reaches of the solar system.

Astronomers detect biggest explosion in the history of the universe

Scientists studying a distant galaxy cluster have discovered the biggest explosion seen in the Universe since the Big Bang.

Large exoplanet could have the right conditions for life

Astronomers have found an exoplanet more than twice the size of Earth to be potentially habitable, opening the search for life to planets significantly larger than Earth, but smaller than Neptune.

Unraveling the puzzle of Madagascar’s forest cats

The cats of Madagascar may not be newcomers, but instead the cats seemed to have hitched a ride to the island on trade ships from as far away as Kuwait hundreds or even more than 1,000 years ago.

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