Briefs

February 1, 20242min readA missing mammal rediscovered in Indonesia, a speedy new species of dinosaur in Brazil, Ivory Coast chimpanzees that snoop on their neighbors, and much more in this month’s Quick HitsBy Lori Youmshajekian THE BALKANSActions to reduce poisoning and electrocution from power lines have stabilized the endangered Egyptian Vulture's population in the Balkans. These birds are often killed across their 14-country migration route; only about 50 breeding pairs remain.BRAZILFossilized dinosaur footprints…

January 1, 20242min readDeciphering a scorched scroll from ancient Herculaneum, unlikely flavors in climate-change-affected wine, an undiscovered ore found in China, and more in this month’s Quick HitsBy Lori Youmshajekian ANTARCTICAIce-penetrating radar has revealed a landscape of valleys and ridges hidden under nearly two miles of ice in East Antarctica. Before the continent froze over about 34 million years ago, the region might have hosted tropical-like forests and wildlife.CHINAGeologists have discovered a new ore…

December 1, 20232min readThe explosive secret behind Saturn’s rings, a Scandinavian arrow frozen for 4,000 years, the world's deepest-known virus, and much more in this month’s Quick HitsBy Lori YoumshajekianCHINAScientists discovered a previously unknown ninth species of pangolin by using contraband bits of the animals' natural armor confiscated in Hong Kong and Yunnan. The anteaterlike creatures are among the world's most trafficked animals, prized for meat and distinctive scales that some believe have medicinal…

AUSTRALIA Officially the last known Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, died in 1936, but the species' potential survival has become an urban legend. By analyzing 271 reported sightings deemed relatively credible, researchers found the marsupial might have lasted decades longer than previously thought—but is probably indeed extinct today. BRAZIL The endangered frog Xenohyla truncata may be the first known amphibian pollinator. Most frogs are carnivores, but after finding plant matter in X. truncata's guts, researchers…

BULGARIA, HUNGARY AND ROMANIA The Yamnaya people, long associated with horses, are now the earliest known riders. Skeletons from around 3000 B.C.E., unearthed from burial mounds in Eastern Europe, show wear patterns consistent with “horseman syndrome,” providing the oldest direct evidence of humans on horseback. CHINA The Mamenchisaurus, a massive sauropod, may have once munched treetop leaves in what is now China thanks to its 50-foot neck—possibly the longest of any known animal. Researchers estimated its neck length…

AUSTRALIA Male quolls, endangered Australian marsupials, die after one mating season—and new research using radio trackers shows why. Scientists found the quolls sacrifice sleep and travel long distances to find a mate, likely making them weak and reckless. One walked 6.5 miles in one night—equivalent to 24 miles for a human. FRANCE Cryptographers decoded 57 hand-encrypted letters from Mary, Queen of Scots, who was arrested and later beheaded as a rival to Queen Elizabeth I. The 16th-century letters were mostly…

GUATEMALA Scientists fired lasers from an airplane to map nearly 1,000 ancient Maya settlements underneath the rain-forest canopy. The technique revealed pyramids, reservoirs and canals, laying bare the stunning breadth and interconnectivity of the civilization around the millennia-old city of El Mirador. INDIA Geologists discovered 92 fossilized nests filled with 256 titanosaur eggs—one of the largest dinosaur hatcheries ever found, researchers say. Six species of these massive, long-necked herbivores laid eggs there,…

CZECH REPUBLIC Centuries-old tree rings in today's Czech Republic and southeastern Bavaria suggest drought may have driven Attila the Hun's invasion of the Roman Empire. The rings helped researchers to reconstruct the fifth-century climate, identifying dry spells that may have forced the Huns to move on. GREENLAND Scientists have identified two-million-year-old DNA, the oldest ever recovered, from Arctic permafrost. The DNA fragments come from more than 100 species, revealing that Greenland's environment was once much…

Sharks wielding research cameras in the Bahamas, Mexico’s spider monkey diplomacy, a carbon “time bomb” in the Republic of Congo, and much more in this month’s Quick Hits Credit: NASAAdvertisement BAHAMAS Biologists strapped small cameras onto tiger sharks to study seagrass in the Caribbean. The footage helped expand estimates of the global area of seagrass coverage by 41 percent—a good sign for the climate because seagrass stores carbon. CHINA Scientists have struggled to identify the creatures that left behind…

Synchronizing chimpanzees in Zambia, a plankton-trapping ecosystem in the Maldives, Neandertal teeth from Spain, and much more in this month’s Quick Hits Credit: NASAAdvertisement CANADA Narwhals seem to be migrating later every year as ice-coverage patterns change in Arctic waters. The unicornlike whales were thought to be particularly vulnerable to climate change because of their 100-year life spans and slow evolution, so this behavioral shift bodes well for their adaptability. MALDIVES Researchers have…