Science

The Manitoba government says monitoring has shown a significant increase in the number of zebra mussels in Lake Winnipeg and the Red River. The aquatic invasive species has popped up in Lake Winnipeg at Victoria Beach, Grand Beach and the Winnipeg Beach area on beaches, boats and docks. In the Red River, they’ve been found at St. Andrews Lock and …

For years, scientists have obsessively monitored Arctic sea ice: how it expands in the winter months and how much of it shrinks in the summer. Now, a study that zeroed in on a big chunk of the Northwest Passage, says sea ice there remains too thick and treacherous to be a regular commercial shipping route for decades. The first-ever study …

Three polar bears nearly ruined an Arctic research expedition when one of them gnawed on a very, very expensive cable earlier this month. Jay T. Cullen has been working with fellow colleague Kathryn Purdon, a student at the University of Victoria, aboard the icebreaker CCGS Amundsen. The team has been working with other scientists in the middle of the Arctic …

A leopard got its head stuck in a metal pot after venturing into a North Indian village. According to NDTV, it seems the leopard was looking for a drink of water and just went a bit too deep into the pot, unable to pull its head out.

New Zealand on Monday unveiled a plan to create a massive marine sanctuary in the South Pacific Ocean in order to protect one of the world’s most pristine marine environments. The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary around 600 miles off the antipodean nation’s northeast coast will contain 240,000 sq. mi. of ocean that is considered one of the world’s most pristine environments …

A novel technique is being developed that makes it possible to imitate the fine and complex structure of seashells, teeth and other biological composite materials in order to mimic their hardness. André Studart, a professor of complex materials at ETH Zurich, led the team that created the teeth using a technique called magnetically assisted slip casting (MASC).

Researchers have found the first biofluorescent, or “glowing” reptile: the hawksbill sea turtle. The team were filming a piece on biofluorescence in coral and small sharks off the coast of the Solomon Islands, when they stumbled upon a neon glowing sea turtle (and no, it wasn’t glowing because it was radioactive).

Nasa’s discovery of water on Mars “points to environments that could potentially be habitable to certain kinds of bacteria”, according to an expert. Scientists said today in the journal Nature Geoscience that long, dark streaks found on the Martian terrain consisted of mineral salts that easily absorb moisture, and that flowing water on the surface is the likeliest explanation for …

Boaters navigating the Long Island Sound last Saturday received the experience of a lifetime—three humpback whales going about their business, occasionally slapping their gigantic flukes on the serene waves or jumping completely out of the water to onlookers’ delight. But while the creatures provide perfect photo ops (especially breaching humpbacks), NOAA warns people to keep their distance, the AP notes. …

NASA to Make Mystery Announcement about Mars. The space agency will gather a host of experts to its headquarters in Washington for a briefing where it promises to announce it has solved a huge mystery surrounding the Red Planet. NASA’s previous announcements have revealed groundbreaking findings, such as that in July of the discovery of Earth-life planet Kepler-452b, outside of …

“Bei Bei” means “precious treasure”. The month-old giant panda cub at the National Zoo officially has a name: Bei Bei. Michelle Obama and Madame Peng Liyuan, the first lady of China, announced the name and also had a hand in choosing it. Reports the Washington Post).