Zhang Wei

Geneticists, For The First Time, Have Extracted RNA From An Extinct Animal—A 130-Yr-Old Tasmanian Tiger. This Achievement Offers Insights Into The Genetic Functioning Of Thylacine, Which Vanished 2k Years Ago, Except In Australia, Where It Went Extinct Primarily Due To Hunting. This Research Could Aid Thylacine De-Extinction Efforts.

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A 127 Myr-Old Fossil Of A Side-Necked Turtle (SNT), Said To Be UK’s First SNT, Was Discovered On The Isle Of Wight. SNT Is Known For Retracting Its Neck Sideways When Threatened. The Fossil, Dubbed ‘Burby,’ Missing Only The Skull, Was Radiometrically Dated & Analyzed Via Micro CT Scan. The Findings Were Donated To The Dinosaur Isle Museum.

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A Live Invasive Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) Was Spotted For The First Time In The US, Near Savannah, GA. YLHs, Native To SE Asia & Cousin To Murder Hornet, Pose Major Threats To Honeybees & Agric, As They Are More Predatory Than Native Hornets, Jeopardizing Honey Prod. & Pollination, Valued At $15 B. Efforts Are Underway To Eradicate Them.

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A Spotless Female Reticulated Giraffe Was Born At Brights Zoo, Tennessee, On July 31, 2023—A Rarity Seen Only Once Before In A 1970s Japanese Birth. The Public Is Helping To Name The Calf From 4 Swahili Name Options. Reticulated Giraffes’ Population, In The Wild, Has Declined From 36,000 To 16,000 In 35 Years, Raising Conservation Concerns.

Spain Makes History By Winning Its First Women’s World Cup Title, In 2023, In A Final (1- 0) Against England. Yet, Their Path Was Marred By Year-Long Internal Conflicts Involving Players, Coach Jorge Vilda, Technical Staff, And The Soccer Federation. Key Player Boycotts Due To Disputes Highlight Off-Field Discord, Despite On-Field Success.

Heba Saadieh, 34, Is The First Palestinian, Male Or Female, To Officiate In A FIFA Women’s World Cup In 2023. She Honed Her Skills In Various Countries, Received International Recognition, And Became An Inspiration To Women, Like Yasmine Nairoukh, In Palestine And Beyond. Her Success Highlights The Progress Of Gender Inclusion In Sports.

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Researchers Have Discovered, In Peru’s Ica Valley, Fossils Of Perucetus Colossus, A Prehistoric Whale Said To Be The Heaviest Animal To Have Ever Lived On Earth—Possibly Weighing 2-3x The Blue Whale. The Colossal Nature Of The Creature, Which Swam The Seas About 39 Mya, Suggests That It Navigated Shallow Waters Using An Undulating Swimming Technique.

Larry Fitzgerald Solidified His NFL Status As A Top Wide Receiver (WR) With An Unmatched Earning Of $182,490,000, After A 16-Year Career At Arizona Cardinals. This Earning Surpasses Julio Jones, The Second-Highest Paid WR, By $36,170,956. Calvin Johnson Is The Only Other WR To Exceed $100 M While Playing For A Single Team, Detroit Lions.

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Earth’s Oceans Are Becoming Greener, Especially Near The Equator, Likely Due To Human-Induced Climate Change. Scientists Studied 20+ Yrs Of Nasa Data, Revealing Changes In Plankton Popu. These Shifts Signal Broader Ecosystem Changes. The Jan 2024 Satellite Mission, Pace, Will Further Investigate Ocean Colors & Ecological Implications.

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A Record-Breaking 111 Python Eggs, From A Burmese Python Nest, Was Removed In The Florida Everglades. The Previous Record Was 96 Eggs Found In 2022 In Big Cypress. The Large Reproductive Capacity Of The Species–Can Lay 50 To 100 Eggs At A Time, Has Contributed To Their Success As Invasive Creatures, With Over 16,000 Being Removed From Florida Since 2000.

US FDA Has Approved The First OTC Birth Control Pill, Opill, From Perrigo; With The Aim To Increase Access To Contraception & Reduce Unintended Pregnancies, Which Accounts For 50% Of All US Pregnancies. The Pill, Available In Early 2024, Needs Consistent, Same Time, Daily Use. Side Effects Include Irregular Bleeding, Headaches & Nausea.

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Scientists Found 50 Tiny Microscopic Sphere Fragments Of A Mysterious Meteor, From Outside Our Solar System, Which Crashed Into The Pacific Ocean, Near Papua New Guinea, In 2014. Further Testing Is Required To Determine If These Spheres, Made Of A Unique Metallic Substance, Are Natural Or Of Technological Origin, Which Could Signify Alien Life.

Taylor Swift‘s (TS) Eras Tour Is Projected To Become The Highest-Grossing Tour Of All Time, With An Estimated $1 B In Sales. The Tour Features, E.G., Elaborate Staging, And Over 40 Songs. The Top 3 Highest-Grossing Concert Tours Include Elton John ($853 M), Ed Sheeran ($776 M), And U2 ($736 M). Total Spending On TS Tour In 2023 Is ~$5 B.

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A Recent Study Suggests That Excessive Groundwater (GW) Extraction Is Causing The Earth’s Rotational Axis To Drift East, At A Rate Of ~14.3 cm/ Yr, Contributing To Sea Level Rise. Computer Models And Data Indicate GW As The 2nd Most Notable Driver In Long-Term Axis Variations, After Mantle Flow. GW Is Crucial For, E.G., Drinking & Farming.

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The World’s Largest Cruise Ship (WLCS), Royal Caribbean’s (RC) “Icon Of The Seas,” Has Conducted Its First Sea Trials. It Spans 365 M And Weighs ~250,800 Tones; Can Hold 5,610 Passengers And 2,350 Crews. The Ship, Which Boasts The World’s Largest Waterpark At Sea, Will Begin Its Caribbean Sail In Jan. 2024. The Previous WLCS Is RC’s “Wonder Of The Seas.”

Regulators, For The First Time, Approved The Sale Of Lab-Grown Meat (LGM) In The US, With Upside Foods And Good Meat Authorized To Sell Chicken Made From Animal Cells. LGM Will Be Served In Some Restaurants Initially. Supermarket Availability May Take Time. LGM Aims To Reduce Harm To Animals And The Envir. But Public LGM Skepticism Remains

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Researchers Have Discovered That Chitin, From Crustacean Shells, Can Power Batteries When Combined With Zinc. The Shellfish Batteries Can Decompose In Soil After 5 Months, Leaving Recyclable Zinc. They’re 99.7% Efficient After 400 Hrs Of Usage And Can Be Produced Cheaply, Offering A Clean Sustainable Alternative To Lithium-Ion Batteries.

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The Recently Discovered World’s Oldest-Known Burial Site, Within The Cradle Of Humankind, Dating Back To At Least 200,000 BC, Contains The Remains Of Homo Naledi, A Small-Brained Human Relative. The Findings, Yet To Be Peer-Reviewed, Challenge The Belief That Complex Behaviors Like Burial Were Exclusive To Species With Larger Brains.

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Astronomers Discovered Asteroid 2023 FW13, A 50-Ft-Wide Quasi-Moon That Orbits The Sun With Earth, Coming Within 9 Mil Miles Of Our Planet. It Is The Longest-Known Fake Moon Dating Back To ~ 100 B.C. And Will Continue Circling Earth For 1,500 Yrs. It Poses No Collision Threat. A Prior Quasi-Moon, Kamo’oalewa, Found In 2016, May Be A Piece Of Earth’s Moon.

The World’s 2nd Deepest Blue Hole, Taam Ja’, Was Discovered Off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula In 2021. It Measures ~900 Ft Deep And Spans 147,000 Square Ft. Taam Ja’ Lacks Oxygen And Sunlight But Supports Diverse Life Adapted To Low-Oxygen Conditions. It’s The 2nd, After The ~980 Ft China’s Dragon Hole. Blue Holes Are Underwater CaCO3 Cave Fm.

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