Latasha Pettway

Nepal Saw Its First Same-Sex Marriage Between Maya Gurung, 35, And Surendra Pandey, 27, In The Lumjung District On Nov. 29, 2023. Following Nepal’s Supreme Court Order Allowing The Registration Of Such Marriage 5 Months Prior, This Marks A Significant Stride, With Taiwan Being The Sole Other Asian Region To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage.

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Geophysical Findings Reveal Deniliquin, A 520km-Wide Impact Structure Submerged Beneath NSW, Australia, Surpassing The Largest Known Impact Crater (IC), South Africa’s Vredefort Crater. Sediment Analysis Suggests An Impact 440-500 Myrs Ago. Rock Sample Recovery Is Crucial To Confirm Its Meteoritic Origin. Most IC Are Less Than 200 Myrs Old.

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Researchers Observed Aurora-Like Radio Waves For The First Time On The Sun, Lingering 25,000 Miles Above A Sunspot For A Week, Resembling The Northern Lights. While Solar Auroras Have Been Seen On Distant Stars, This Discovery Offers New Methods Of Studying The Sun’s Solar Activities With The Potential Of Finding Past Solar Auroras.

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Norse Atlantic Airways, For The First Time On An Antarctica’s Ice Runway In Queen Maud Land, Landed The Largest Aircraft, A Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Carrying Scientists And Gear For The Norwegian Polar Institute, The Flight Departed Oslo, Stopped In Cape Town, And Showcased The Aircraft’s Efficiency, Marking A Milestone For Antarctic Research Efforts.

Surgeons At NYU, In May 2023, Performed The World’s First Full Eye Transplant On Aaron James, 46, Post-Face Transplant Due To A High-Voltage Accident. Early Signs Show Success, But Vision’s Return Remains Unsure. The 21Hr Surgery, A Leap In Optic Nerve Healing, Offers Hope For Treating Blindness, Fueling Prospects For Breakthroughs.

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Isaac Hayes III Made History As The First Black Entrepreneur To Raise $10 M In Equity Crowdfunding For His Social Media Platform, Fanbase. The Subscription-Based Platform Surpassed $4.5 M In Its Latest Campaign, Boosting Total Capital To Over 8 Figures. The Funds Will Enhance User Experience, Develop Creator Tools, And For Marketing.

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Dictador, A Spirits Producer, Appoints Mika, The First Humanoid Robot CEO Developed By Hanson Robotics (Creators Of Sophia). Mika, Powered By Advanced AI, Prioritizes Data-Driven Decisions. But Public Opinions On AI Leadership Vary, Especially On Respect & Job Displacement. Even President Biden Recently Addressed AI Security Concerns.

Missy Elliott Became The First Female Rapper Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Queen Latifah Introduced Her, Highlighting Her Impact On Music And Her Barrier-Breaking Role For Women In Hip-Hop. Afterward, Elliott Performed Iconic Hits Like “Get Ur Freak On,” & “Work It.” And Shared Her Gratitude & Reflections In Her Acceptance Speech.

Researchers Have Produced The Largest Human Brain Cell Map, Encompassing Over 3,000 Cell Types, Through Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Of 3 Million Brain Cells. This Groundbreaking Map Reveals Regional Variations And Gene Regulation Mechanisms, Aiding The Study Of Brain Disorders And Genetics And Providing Deep Insights Into Brain Complexity.

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Scientists, For The First Time, Thawed And Grew Mammalian, Frozen Mouse, Embryos Under ISS Microgravity Conditions For 4 Days, With No Significant Developmental Issues. This First-Ever Research Suggests Mammals Could Survive/Reproduce In Space, Impacting Future Space Missions And NASA’s Artemis Program For Lunar And Mars Exploration.

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The World’s Largest Hindu Temple, Outside India, Was Inaugurated In Central New Jersey. The Hindu Temple, Akshardham, Is The Second Biggest Globally, Spanning Over 183 Acres And Taking Over 10 Years To Construct. The Temple Involved Extensive Stone Extraction, Skilled Artisan Work, And Over 12,000 Volunteers Dedicating Millions Of Hours To Its Creation.

Stella Terra, An SUV Created By TU/e Students, Is The World’s First Off-Road Solar Vehicle. The Solar Panels On Its Roof Charge The Battery, Enabling Long-Distance Travel Without Charging Stations, Up To 710 Km On Roads & 550 Km Off-Road In Sunny Conditions, With A Top Speed Of 145 Km/H. The Goal Is To Inspire Sustainable Vehicle Innovation.

A Massive Lithium Deposit Of 20-40 MMT, Found Along The Nevada-Oregon Border In The McDermitt Caldera, Is Potentially One Of The World’s Largest. This Find Could Greatly Impact The EV Industry, Affecting Lithium Prices, Supply, & Geopolitics. As EV Demand Outpaces Lithium Supply, Increased Production & Processing Capabilities Are Essential.

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Simone Biles, Aged 26 And A 19-Time World Champion, Made History As The First Woman To Nail A Highly Challenging Vault, Yurchenko Double Pike, With A 6.4 Difficulty Score At The 2023 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships In Antwerp, Belgium, Following A Two-Year Hiatus Due To Mental Health Concerns. Her Team Is Favored To Win The Women’s Team Final.

A Recent Study Suggests Earth’s Core May Be Enveloped By An Ancient Ocean Floor Hosting Mountains, 5x Taller Than Mt. Everest. This Find Comes From The Most Detailed Geological Map Of The Southern Hemisphere, Showing A Vast Ultra-Low Velocity Zone, Likely Containing Subducted Oceanic Materials, Influencing Heat Flow & Geological Activities.

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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Released A Capsule 63,000 Miles From Earth. The Capsule, Containing The First Asteroid Sample Collected In Space By NASA, Landed In Utah, On 9/24/2023, After A 4-hr Journey. OSIRIS-REx Will Now Divert To The Asteroid Apophis, With The Same Mission To Better Understand Similar Asteroids From The Early Solar System.

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.