Biologists Create Beetle With Functional Extra Eye

2,000-Year-Old Killer Whale Geoglyph Found in Peru Desert

Archaeologists rediscovered a giant geoglyph of a killer whale, etched into a desert hillside in the remote Palpa region of southern Peru, after it had been lost to science for more than 50 years.

The 230-foot-long (70 meters) figure of an orca — considered a powerful, semimythical creature in ancient Peruvian lore — may be more than 2,000 years old, according to the researchers.

They said it may be one the oldest geoglyphs in the Palpa region, and older than those in the nearby Nazca region, which is famous for its vast collection of ancient ground markings — the Nazca Lines — that include animal figures, straight lines and geometrical shapes.

Archaeologist Johny Isla, the head of Peru’s Ministry of Culture in Ica province, which includes the Palpa and Nazca valleys, explained that he saw a single photograph of the orca pattern for the first time about four years ago. He’d seen it while researching studies of geoglyphs at the German Archaeological Institute in Bonn. Read more.

Sand Dollar: It’s Alive!

Huge Magma Bubble May Be Rising Under New England

If the findings hold up, the northeastern U.S. may be more geologically active than anyone realized.

The findings, recently published in the journal Geology, suggest that New England may not be so immune to abrupt geological change.

People react to fear, not love – they don’t teach that in Sunday school, but it’s true.

Richard Nixon, circa 1975. That year he was questioned by the Watergate Grand Jury, the Vietnam War ended, and OPEC raised oil prices by 10% worldwide. (via historical-nonfiction)

Jimmy Kimmel sends a message to the Anti-Vaccine movement.

He invited some real medical professionals to address the issue of the anti-vaccine movement, watch the full clip here.

A Helium-Resistant Material Could Finally Usher in The Age of Nuclear Fusion

"We were blown away by what we saw."

A collaboration of engineers and researchers has found a way to prevent helium, a byproduct of the fusion reaction, from weakening nuclear fusion reactors.

The secret is in building the reactors using nanocomposite solids that create channels through which the helium can escape.

Researchers from Texas A&M University, working with a team from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, have tested a new method for creating the materials used in nuclear fusion reactors and found that it could eliminate one of the obstacles preventing humanity from harnessing the power of fusion energy.

Continue Reading.

Massive whale faces extinction with just 100 breeding females remaining

Despite legal protection, North Atlantic right whales keep getting struck accidentally by fishing boats and entangled in gear.

For decades, whaling ships targeted right whales. Now that they’re protected, they are still victims of human activity, and it may be too late to save them. The WWF says that their population shows no sign of recovery.