Good News Notes: “Researchers have identified a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy. Scientists say the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard-to-recycle plastics that are ending up in the world’s landfills and polluting oceans. A team from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in…
Tag: discovery
Scientists discover two new shark species with chainsaw-like noses
Good News Notes: “Researchers have identified two new species of shark in the waters off eastern Africa. The rare little creatures range from about three to four-and-a-half feet in length and belong to a group called sixgill sawsharks. Their discovery came as a surprise to scientists, who previously knew of only a single species of…
Planet 9 discovery gets closer as astronomers discover 139 ‘minor planets’ past Neptune
Good News Notes: “Astronomers are getting closer to discovering the elusive and mysterious Planet Nine after 139 ‘minor planets‘ were discovered past Neptune’s orbit. These objects, ones “that were not previously published,” are not officially planets or comets, but rather space objects that orbit the Sun. In total, the discovery is five percent of the trans-Neptunian object…
World’s largest cave fish discovered in India
Good News Notes: “About 250 species of subterranean fish are known on Earth, eking out a living in a world of permanent dark and scant food. They are usually small, generally a few inches long, since there’s usually little food or prey to eat. But in an underground chamber in northeastern India, researchers have discovered a cave…
Native American 14th century ‘sweat lodge’ discovered in Mexico City
Good News Notes: “A native American sauna has been discovered in Mexico City dating back to the 14th century. The so-called ‘sweat lodge’ was found at an archaeological site in the neighbourhood of La Merced in Mexico City. It is believed the room was used to purify the body of locals in various circumstances, including for medicinal…
Sharks in Kentucky? Scientists make significant discovery in Mammoth Cave | News | wdrb.com
Good News Notes: “Among the dangling bats, vibrant orange salamanders and plentiful cave crickets that call Mammoth Cave home, the profile of a new type of animal is starting to emerge after a recent discovery.” “Over the past few years, Toomey and a colleague started noticing brownish fragments embedded in the wall. Typically, fossils are…
Ship believed to be lost in Bermuda Triangle in 1920s, found off St. Augustine’s coastLost in the Bermuda Triangle. That’s what people thought happened to one ship that vanished in the 1920s. However, scientists have just determined that the old ship is actually on the ocean floor just off of St. Augustine. The ship was called the Cotopaxi. It was a 250-foot-long cargo steamship that sailed from Charleston, South Carolina, heading for Havana in 1925. “
Good News Notes: “Lost in the Bermuda Triangle. That’s what people thought happened to one ship that vanished in the 1920s. However, scientists have just determined that the old ship is actually on the ocean floor just off of St. Augustine. The ship was called the Cotopaxi. It was a 250-foot-long cargo steamship that sailed…
Ancient sea turtle fossil found in Alabama named new genus, species
Good News Notes: “A study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have revealed that fossils found in west Alabama belonged to a turtle who swam the seas 75 million years ago. The discovery of the new genus and species of sea turtle may fill a gap in the animal’s evolution, according to…
Strange New Organelle That Helps Prevent Cancer Discovered in Our Cells
Good News Notes: Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered a strange new organelle inside our cells that helps to prevent cancer by ensuring that genetic material is sorted correctly as cells divide. The researchers have connected problems with the organelle to a subset of breast cancer tumors that make lots…
Vast Mayan palace discovered by archaeologists in Mexico
Good News Notes: “Archaeologists in Mexico have unearthed the remains of a huge Mayan palace that’s estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. Located in the city of Kuluba, which is about 100 miles west of Cancun, the building itself is 180 feet long, 49 feet wide and 19 feet high, according to an…