New Articles

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  Tree rings reveal summer 2023 was the hottest in 2 millennia Last year's summer was the hottest in 2,000 years, ancient tree rings reveal. Researchers already knew that 2023 was one for the books, with average temperatures soaring past anything recorded since 1850. But there are no measurements stretching further back than that date, and even the available data is patchy, according to a study published Tuesday (May 14) in the...
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  Sacred College of Cardinals 　　Also called: College of Cardinals (Show more) Sacred College of Cardinals, the group of bishops and archbishops in the Roman Catholic Church who have been created cardinals by the pope. Its members serve as the pope’s key advisers and assistants in his administration of the church. According to the Code of Canon Law, the two most important functions of cardinals...
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  A voyage through the systems of the human body 　　The human body is a complex structure made up of several systems that work together to enable it to function. Each system is made up of one or more organs, along with cells and tissues. These systems complement one another, each performing a critical function and, ultimately, sustaining a person’s life. The intricacy and complexity of the body’s systems have...
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  cardinal camerlengo 　　In full: cardinal camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church (Show more) Camerlengo also called: chamberlain (Show more) cardinal camerlengo, in Roman Catholicism, one of the cardinals and key prelates of the Vatican who is appointed by the pope and is tasked with a specific series of functions in the crucial time of transition from one pope to his successor, including...
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  Earth may have had freshwater and continents just 200 million years after forming, ancient crystals reveal Earth's first continents may have emerged from the planet's primordial oceans much earlier than we thought, just six hundred million years after the planet formed, new research suggests. The researchers found that ancient zircon crystals from the Jack Hills in Western Australia contain evidence of fresh water, which indicates that patches of land must have been present as fresh water...
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  Why do earthquakes happen far away from plate boundaries? It's commonly assumed that earthquakes occur only near the boundaries of tectonic plates, and roughly 90% of earthquakes do happen in these areas. These boundaries include, for example, the San Andreas Fault, which runs roughly along the west coast of California, where the North American and Pacific plates meet. But not all earthquakes occur along plate boundaries. For example, an...
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  'The most critically harmful fungi to humans': How the rise of C. auris was inevitable Fifteen years ago, scientists discovered a new species of deadly, drug-resistant fungus: Candida auris. It is now considered one of the most dangerous fungal pathogens on Earth. In this excerpt from What if Fungi Win? (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024), author Arturo Casadevall looks at the rise of this deadly fungus, which could be the first to have emerged as...
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  dairy cattle breeds 　　Cattle, at the initial stages of their domestication, produced a relatively small amount of milk, sufficient only to rear their calves. Early cattle breeding focused largely on meat production, and the development of high milk yield in cows was a later development. Dairy cattle breeds were eventually established by years of careful selection and mating of animals to attain desired...
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  beef cattle breeds 　　All modern domestic cattle are believed to belong to the species Bos taurus (European breeds such as Shorthorn and Jersey) or Bos indicus (Zebu breeds such as Brahman) or to be crosses of these two (such as Santa Gertrudis). Beef cattle breeds as they are known today did not always exist, and many are of recent origin to meet an...
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  Odd earthquake swarm in Central Europe hints at magma bubbling below the surface An odd earthquake swarm on the border of Germany and the Czech Republic may hint at magma moving deep below the surface. The quakes are in Vogtland, a region known for regular, low-level earthquake swarms. These swarms tend to last several weeks and lead to mostly mild shaking. The largest known quakes from the area are around magnitude 4.5, said...
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  paramilitary 　　paramilitary, group or organization that operates outside a country’s formal military structure. Paramilitaries are typically modeled after military organizations and may have similar training and equipment. These groups often have political or ideological aims and may be involved in activities such as counterinsurgency, anti-terrorism, or internal security. They are often associated with governments but can also be used by non-state...
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  NREM sleep 　　In full: non-rapid eye movement sleep (Show more) Also called: non-REM sleep (Show more) NREM sleep, one of two phases in the sleep cycle, considered the restful or quiet sleep phase. The other phase of the human sleep cycle is known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. A single sleep cycle, with both NREM and REM phases, lasts about 90...
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  Birkin bag 　　Birkin bag, handbag produced by French luxury retailer Hermès and named after English model, actress, and singer Jane Birkin. First debuting in 1984, the Birkin bag (or simply “Birkin”) became a status symbol in the 1990s and has become known for its sizable price tag and its difficulty to purchase. The origin story of the Birkin bag has gained many...
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  Fairy Chimneys: The stone spires in Turkey that form 'the world's most unusual high-rise neighborhood' QUICK FACTSName: Fairy Chimneys Location: Cappadocia, Central Anatolia, Turkey Coordinates: 38.660576078243686, 34.81971335767199 Why it's incredible: Both the place and its name are straight out of a fairy tale Turkey's fairy chimneys are natural yet surreal-looking spires up to 130 feet (40 meters) tall that were carved out of soft volcanic rock by the elements over millions of years. Thousands of...
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  Weird blobs lurking near Earth's core may have been dragged from the surface Strange blobs deep in Earth's middle layer may be chunks of ancient continental crust that have been dragged down by tectonic forces, new research suggests. These blobs, known as ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs), have long puzzled scientists. They're deep in the mantle, near the boundary with Earth's core, so researchers can only glimpse them by studying earthquake waves as they...
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  Collapse of Earth's magnetic field may have fueled evolution of life 600 million years ago A near collapse of Earth's magnetic field may have paved the way for life to evolve past the microscopic stage. New research on ancient rocks from South Africa and Brazil suggests that Earth's magnetic field underwent a major weakening about 591 million years ago. This corresponds to a time period called the Ediacaran (about 635 million to 541 million years...
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  Havana syndrome 　　Also known as: anomalous health incidents (Show more) Havana syndrome, largely discredited medical condition reported among U.S. diplomats and other government employees stationed internationally. Havana syndrome was first publicized in 2016 following reports of an unidentified condition in officials at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba. Reported symptoms of Havana syndrome include tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and headaches, often...
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  sheep breeds 　　Sheep were first domesticated from wild species by at least 5000 bce and are raised for their fleece (wool), milk, and meat. The flesh of mature sheep is called mutton while that of immature animals is called lamb. Of more than 200 breeds of sheep in existence in the world, the majority are of limited interest except in the localities...
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  hardcore punk 　　Also called: hardcore (Show more) Key People: Henry Rollins (Show more) hardcore punk, a genre of punk music defined by its speed and intensity, aggressive sound, and DIY (do-it-yourself) ethics. Hardcore came to the fore in a number of American cities during the late 1970s and early ’80s and spread to many other countries. It spawned several subcultures that subscribe...
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  The Gulf Stream stopped pumping nutrients during the last ice age — and the same could be happening now The Gulf Stream slowed dramatically at the end of the last ice age with dire effects on organisms in the Atlantic, scientists have found. This discovery could help researchers forecast how Atlantic currents will change in response to climate change today. The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current that originates in the Florida Straits between Florida and Cuba, before...

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