Chia-jung Tsay

Scientists In South Africa Have Discovered The World’s Oldest Active Termite Mounds, Over 34 Kyrs Old, Along The Buffels River In Namaqualand. These Mounds, Called “Heuweltjies,” House Southern Harvester Termites (Microhodotermes Viator). Their Foraging Promotes Carbon Sequestration By Forming Calcium Carbonate, Locking Carbon Deep In The Soil.

Donald Trump Became The First Former U.S. President Convicted Of Felony Crimes When A New York Jury Found Him Guilty Of 34 Charges Related To Illegally Influencing The 2016 Election. Sentencing Is Set For July 11, Just Before The Republican RNC. Despite This Significant Legal Challenge, Trump Can Still Vote And Run For The 2024 Presidency.

Nvidia’s New Blackwell B200 GPU Is The World’s Most Powerful Chip For AI. The B200, Which Offers 20 Petaflops, When Combined With The GB200 (Featuring Two B200 GPUs And A Grace CPU), Boosts AI Computing Efficiency And Performance. Nvidia Claims The B200 Cuts Costs And Energy Use By Up To 25x Over The H100 And May Cost $30,000 To $40,000.

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Climeworks Launched “Mammoth,” The World’s Largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) Plant In Iceland, Which Is 10x Bigger Than Orca. It Aims To Remove 36,000 Tons Of CO2 Annually, Using Geothermal Energy To Capture And Store Carbon Underground. While Promising, DAC Tech Faces High Costs, Scalability Issues, And Fossil Fuel Distraction Concerns.

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Fossilized Bones Found In Somerset, England, In 2020, Identified As Part Of A Giant Ichthyosaur From 202 Myrs Ago, And Linked To An 8-Year Prior Find Of A 3 Ft Long Bone, Led To The Identification Of A New Species Of Ichthyosaur, Ichthyotitan Severnensis, Said To Be The Largest Marine Reptile Ever Found. The New Species Was ~82 Ft Long.

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A Wild Animal, An Orangutan In Indonesia, Was Observed For The First Time Applying A Potent Medicinal Plant Directly To A Wound And Then Covering It With The Chewed Plant, Like A Bandage In A Likely Form Of Self-Medication. Other Primates Have Also Been Known To Use Plants For Healing, Which Raises Questions About The Evolution Of Medicine.

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Mercedes Became The First To Sell Autonomous Cars In The US, In CA & NV, Allowing Drivers To Do Other Activities While Car Drives At Low Speeds On Approved Freeways. Their “Level 3” Tech, Drive Pilot, Surpasses Tesla’s Level 2 Tech But Trails Waymo Or GM’s Cruise Near-Total Autonomy Level 4 Tech. Mercedes Aims For Level 4 By 2030.

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In 2024, Brood XIX (13-Year–Largest Periodical Cicada Brood) And Brood XIII (17-Year) Cicadas Will Co-Emerge Across 17 US States, In A Rare Event Seen Every 221 Years. The Adult Cicada Will Mate, Lay Eggs, Then Die, While The Nymphs Will Burrow Into The Ground For The Next Cycle. There Are 3,000 To 5,000 Species Of Cicadas Around The World.

A Researcher, In Queensland, Australia, Has Discovered A Potentially World’s Hairiest Beetle, Excastra Albopilosa, In Dec., 2021. With Long Fluffy White Hairs, It’s Believed To Mimic Fungus-Infected Insects, A Possible Deterrent To Predators. This cm-Long Longhorn Beetle Is Said To Be Of A New Genus, And Only One Specimen Has Been Found.

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A New Tiny 38 cm Tall Species Of The World’s Smallest Deer, Pudella Carlae, Found In Peru‘s Central Andes, Marks The First Cervid Species Discovery In South America In 60+ Years. P. Carlae, A Jack Russell Terrier-Size Deer, Is A Separate Species From The Northern Pudu, & Inhabits Diverse Habitats: The Andean Grasslands To The Cloud Forest.

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Chinese Scientists Created One Of The Stretchiest Materials Known To Science By Linking Polymer Coils With Carbon Atoms. The Elastic Hydrogel (HG) Stretches Up To 15x Its Size Before Reverting To Its Original Shape, Unlike Traditional HGs. The HG, Tested With Robot Grippers, Proved Gentle On Fragile Items, Hinting At Wide Commercial Use.

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In Peru‘s Amazon, A 16-Myr-Old Fossil Of Pebanista Yacuruna (PY), The Largest Freshwater Dolphin (FWD), Was Found. ~3.5m Long, It’s ~25% Larger Than Modern FWD. PY Is Said To Be Related To The Modern South Asia FWD. PY Extinction May Be Linked To Ancient Amazon Lake Drainage. This Find Highlights FWD Evolution And Ecosystem Vulnerability.

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Saudi Arabia, With Rumy Alqahtani, Will Make History By Entering The Miss Universe Pageant (MUP) For The First Time. Alqahtani, A 27-Year-Old Seasoned Pageant Contender & Influencer, Has Competed Globally In, E.G., Miss And Mrs Global Asian. The 2023 MUP Was Historic As A Nicaraguan Contestant, Sheynnis Palacios, Won The Pageant For The First Time.

Harvard Researchers Have Developed A Breakthrough Eco-Friendly Solid-State Lithium Metal Battery That Is Rechargeable In 10 Mins And Can Be Recharged Over 6,000 Times, More Than Any Pouch-Shaped Battery. The Battery Could Significantly Enhance Electric Vehicle Range. Harvard Would Lease The Battery To Adden Energy To Commercialize It.

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A Farm In Australia Breaks World Record, Certified By Guinness World Records, For Growing The Largest Blueberry Which Is ~4cm-Wide And Weighs 20.4g. The Fruit Breed, An Eterna Breed, Developed By Costa Group, Yields Consistently Large Fruits That Maintain Flavor And Firmness. The Farmers May Preserve The Giant Berry Via A Resin Cast.

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Elizabeth Francis, Aged 114, Is America’s Oldest Resident And 5th Oldest Person On Earth. Francis, A Houstonian, Took The Title After 116-Year-Old Californian Edie Ceccarelli Passed Away. Francis Has 3 Grandchildren, 4 Great-Grandchildren, And 2 Great-Great-Grandchildren. She Lives With Her Daughter Dorothy Williams, 94, And Granddaughter.

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Researchers Found, In Ecuador‘s Rainforest, The World’s Largest Snake– A Green Anaconda Of Species Eunectes Akiyama, Which Split From Its Relatives, Eunectes Murinus, 10m Yrs Ago. Despite Identical Looks, Genetic Analysis Revealed A New Species. This Find Was Made During A Study Of Anacondas As A Key Indicator For Ecosystem Health Due To Oil Spillage.

A 14-Foot (4.3 Meters) Odysseus Lander, Built By Intuitive Machines And Sponsored By NASA For $118 Million, Successfully Touched Down Near The South Pole Of The Moon, Marking The First U.S. Landing In Over 50 Years Since NASA’s Famed Apollo Moonwalkers. This Achievement Also Made Intuitive Machines The First Private Company To Achieve A Lunar Landing.

Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘EM” Not Only Made Her The First Black Woman And 2nd Solo Female Artist, After Taylor Swift, To Top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs But Also The First Woman To Lead Both Hot Country Songs And Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Charts Since The Charts Began In 1958. Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus, ETC., Have Also Led Both Charts.

Scientists Innovated Aerogel Glass Bricks With The Highest Insulation For Bricks, Plus Light Transmission. The Product Excels In Thermal Insulation Without Added Thickness, Reducing Lighting/HVAC Energy. This Is A Breakthrough In Building Materials, Even In Space. Eco-Friendly Brick Alternatives Include Ferrock And Sugarcrete Bricks.

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