Paula White, a wildlife biologist, was examining lion skulls to estimate the animals’ ages when she noticed something strange about their teeth. Instead of just showing the normal, gradual wear that happens over time, a sharp, V-shaped notch was cut into the back edge of some of the big cats’ canines. The bizarre markings, it […]
WASHINGTON — The White House has been meeting with outside health experts to plan a pandemic exit strategy and a transition to a “new normal,” but the behind-the-scenes effort is crashing into a very public reality: A string of blue-state governors have gotten ahead of President Biden by suddenly abandoning their mask mandates. Two of […]
Over the past three years, SpaceX has deployed thousands of satellites into low-Earth orbit as part of its business to beam high-speed internet service from space. But the company’s latest deployment of 49 new satellites after a Feb. 3 launch did not go as planned. As a consequence of a geomagnetic storm triggered by a […]
Gov. Kathy Hochul will drop New York’s stringent indoor mask mandate on Wednesday, ending a requirement that businesses ask customers for proof of full vaccination or require mask wearing at all times, and marking a turning point in the state’s coronavirus response, according to three people briefed on her decision. The decision will eliminate a […]
Of all the strange creatures unearthed from the Burgess Shale — a cache of remarkable Cambrian fossils deposited in the Canadian Rockies — none has been quite as transfixing as Opabinia. And for good reason — with five compound eyes and a trunk-like nozzle that ended in a claw, Opabinia seems otherworldly, like something imagined […]
We already knew the asteroid 130 Elektra was special. Astronomers previously discovered it had two moons, making it a rare triple asteroid system. Now a third moon may have been found, making it even more uncommon — the first-known quadruple asteroid in the solar system. Elektra was first discovered in 1873, orbiting in the asteroid […]
Something had drawn a crowd of bundled-up onlookers to a snowy spot just off the main road that runs through Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park. Clad in ski hats, wool scarves and mittens — and bulky necklaces of cameras with hefty telephoto lenses — the line of about a dozen people seemed to be waiting. I […]
White-tailed deer on Staten Island have been found carrying the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, marking the first time the variant has been reported in wild animals. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that white-tailed deer are easily infected by the virus. The results are likely to intensify concerns that […]
Fur, bones, feathers and scales can be murder on the digestion. So predators that gulp their prey down whole face a conundrum: What do you do with the indigestible bits? Owls and other birds of prey cough up anything unusable. If you’ve been to a science museum, you may have dissected one of the products […]
The world’s glaciers may contain less water than previously believed, a new study has found, suggesting that freshwater supplies could peak sooner than anticipated for millions of people worldwide who depend on glacial melt for drinking water, crop irrigation and everyday use. The latest findings are based on satellite images taken during 2017 and 2018. […]
