Notices by Flipboard Science Desk (sciencedesk@flipboard.social), page 26

Deep in northern Alaska’s Brooks Range, a network of pristine rivers normally run a cool, crystal blue. But scientists have recently observed that dozens of the waterways have turned an eerie shade of muddled orange. Atlas Obscura explains what's going on: https://flip.it/7UagFM
#Science #Geology #Alaska #Rivers

A black hole discovered lurking in the Cosmic Dawn is just way too big to easily explain. Sitting at the center of a galaxy called J1120+0641, it tips the scales at well over a billion Suns' worth of mass. How did it get so big so fast? ScienceAlert takes on this question. https://flip.it/R7YWui
#Science #Space #SpaceExploration #Planets #BlackHoles

For more space coverage, follow @space-ScienceAlert

Could vitamin supplementation be the breakthrough in Parkinson’s research that millions of patients suffering from the neurodegenerative disease have been waiting for? A new study just identified gut microbes likely to be involved and linked them with decreased riboflavin (vitamin B2) and biotin (vitamin B7), pointing the way to an unexpectedly simple treatment that may help: B vitamins. Science Alert explains: https://flip.it/0eskP-
#Science #Health #Brain #Disease #Parkinsons

For more health coverage, follow @health-ScienceAlert

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were forced this week to take shelter inside the docked Boeing Starliner spacecraft after a defunct satellite broke apart in orbit, sending potentially dangerous debris racing around Earth. Read more from Live Science: https://flip.it/b3S8rE
#Science #Space #ISS #SpaceExploration #Starliner

The Yakama Nation holds treaty rights to gather food in Pushpum, a ridgeline overlooking the Columbia River in Washington. When a new green energy project was proposed for the land, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) talked to leaders of the tribal nation, but asked them to disclose exactly why the land was considered sacred — knowledge that could make it vulnerable to desecration. Eventually, the project was moved forward without consultation. For @ProPublica and High Country News, @Toastie reports on the question of whether and how the U.S. government should protect tribal privacy and cultural resources.

https://www.propublica.org/article/yakama-nation-green-energy-federal-government

#Indigenous #IndigenousCulture #LandDevelopment #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Three months into a bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, experts see deep-rooted problems in response.

@STAT reports: "The country still does not have a sufficient testing infrastructure in place, nor a full understanding of how the virus is moving within herds and to new herds, experts say."

https://flip.it/V22GlB

#BirdFlu #Pandemic #Agriculture #Disease #PublicHealth #USPolitics #Science

@mtrigo @ClimateNewsNow We believe the image is meant to illustrate polluted skies caused by wildfires last summer, but the caption is missing.

South African researchers test use of nuclear technology to curb rhino poaching.

AP reports: "The research, which has included the participation of veterinarians and nuclear experts, begins with the animal being tranquilized before a hole is drilled into its horn and the nuclear material carefully inserted."

https://flip.it/jpZKq5

#Animals #Rhino #Poaching #Conservation #Science

The planet's last woolly mammoth population was killed by a random and sudden mystery event, a new study has revealed. The giant creatures survived on what's now Russia's Wrangel Island, between the Chukchi Sea and Siberian Sea, for 6,000 years after their mainland brethren died off. The discovery rules out “the idea that the population was simply too small and that they were doomed to go extinct for genetic reasons.” Read more from Live Science: https://flip.it/jhv9Kw
#Science #Animals #History #Biology

Were Neanderthals driven by altruism? A fossilized ear bone of a child with Down syndrome supports the idea, a recent study says. The findings suggest that Neanderthals practiced collective caregiving and parenting without the expectation of reciprocity and that “both prosocial behaviors were part of a broader social adaptation of high selective value,” co-authors wrote. Here’s more from Mental Floss: https://flip.it/55DAxz
#Science #Humans #History #Health

High-intensity wildfires are ravaging the Arctic Circle for the third time in the past five years, Copernicus, the EU’s climate change monitor, said in a statement. As climate change raises Arctic temperatures, wildfires have shifted north where they burn through boreal forest and tundra, releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases from carbon-rich organic soils. "What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay there," Professor Gail Whiteman from the University of Exeter warned. Here’s more from BBC News: https://flip.it/EGTE38
#Science #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #ClimateScience

Follow @sciencefocus for more science news.

It’s not often you have the chance to watch live as an asteroid zips by Earth. This week, two space rocks will fly by at about 1,000 MPH, according to the European Space Agency. Grab a telescope or a pair of binoculars, or read this Science Alert article to find out how to livestream both asteroids. https://flip.it/DvVnqF

For more space news, follow @space-ScienceAlert.

Discovery of a Bronze Age dye workshop reveals secrets of history’s most precious pigment.

From CNN: "Tyrian purple was a highly prized pigment developed in the Bronze Age, and it retained its status into the late medieval period. The ancient Greeks and then the Romans revered the royal color, produced from Mediterranean sea snails, for its resistance to the inevitable fading of plant-based dyes used at the time."

https://flip.it/XAnipq

#Archaeology #History #BronzeAge #Fashion #Color #Science

The brain makes a lot of waste. Now scientists think they know where it goes.

NPR reports "two teams of scientists have published three papers that offer a detailed description of the brain's waste-removal system. Their insights could help researchers better understand, treat and perhaps prevent a broad range of brain disorders."

https://flip.it/rZd_U_

#Brain #Science #Health #Neuroscience #Medicine

Climate change is increasing stress on thousands of aging dams across the U.S.

@TheConversationUS reports: "There are more than 91,000 dams across the U.S., in all 50 states, with diverse designs and purposes. The average dam age is 57 years, and more than 8,000 dams are over 90 years old."

https://flip.it/8tG1Vd

#ClimateChange #Infrastructure #Dam #Climate #Environment

Yes, humans are still evolving ... but maybe not in the way you think.

@popsci talks to scientists about what's happening and why: https://flip.it/CONG88

#Human #Evolution #Biology #Science #Anthropology #Genetics #Humanity

Astronomers think they’ve figured out how and when Jupiter’s Red Spot formed.

@arstechnica reports that scientists now believe the spot we see today is not the same as the one observed by Giovanni Cassini in the 1600s.

https://flip.it/nFFIpc

For similar content, follow @space-news-science

#Jupiter #Astronomy #Space #Cassini #Planet #Science

How many blue animals have you seen? @popsci explains why they're so rare in nature.

"According to scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia, this is partially because a true blue color or pigment doesn’t really exist in nature."

https://flip.it/0TP4ug

#Animals #Nature #Science #Wildlife

South Sudan says its 6 million antelope make up world’s largest land mammal migration, but poaching is on rise.

AP reports on the country’s first comprehensive aerial wildlife survey: https://flip.it/vPu3LF

#SouthSudan #Animals #Mammals #Wildlife #Sudan #Africa #Conservation #Science

Chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants to treat injuries and illnesses, study finds.

CBS News reports: "The scientists observed sick or injured animals eating certain plant items that were not part of their normal diet. They collected samples of those plants to test for pharmacological properties."

https://flip.it/ISFZf0

Original study in PLOS ONE journal: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0305219

#Chimpanzees #Primates #Animals #Biology #Science