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New book reveals Ice Age mariners from Europe were America’s first inhabitants

New book reveals Ice Age mariners from Europe were America’s first inhabitants

Some of the earliest humans to inhabit America came from Europe according to a new book "Across Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America's Clovis Culture." [...more]

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Leap Day the Frog Way

Leap Day the Frog Way

To celebrate leap day, here are some fun facts about frog leaping. [...more]

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Waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere is new class of planet

Waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere is new class of planet

Observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have come up with a new class of planet, a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. It’s smaller than Uranus but larger than Earth. [...more]

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Black hole came from a shredded galaxy

Black hole came from a shredded galaxy

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found a cluster of young, blue stars encircling the first intermediate-mass black hole ever discovered. The presence of the star cluster suggests that the black hole was once at the core of a now-disintegrated dwarf galaxy. [...more]

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Is obesity predestined at infancy? Marmoset study may help scientists find out.

Is obesity predestined at infancy? Marmoset study may help scientists find out.

A new study of marmosets, small South American monkeys, indicates that obesity may begin very early in life and suggests that marmosets may be a helpful model for obesity in humans. [...more]

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Uganda park rangers with cell phones may help stop next world influenza epidemic

Uganda park rangers with cell phones may help stop next world influenza epidemic

Today, Marra is helping launch an Animal Mortality Monitoring Program in Africa intended to serve as an early warning system for emerging infectious diseases that can pass from animal populations into the human population. [...more]

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Why did the tortoise cross the road? A recent study indicates few do.

Why did the tortoise cross the road? A recent study indicates few do.

Scientists studying genetic variation and gene flow in a population of tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in California’s Mojave Desert, were surprised recently to discover that two roads built in the desert in the 1970s had a noticeable impact on the population’s genetic structure. [...more]

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Two Earth-sized planets discovered orbiting a distant Sun-like star

Two Earth-sized planets discovered orbiting a distant Sun-like star

Astronomers using NASA's Kepler mission have detected two Earth-sized planets orbiting a distant star. This discovery marks a milestone in the hunt for alien worlds, since it brings scientists one step closer to their ultimate goal of finding a twin Earth. [...more]

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Science Spotlight

Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)

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