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A huge asteroid may have hit the Earth 12,800 years ago causing global climate change and extinction, according to new evidence found in South Africa. Scientists analysed ancient soil at a site called Wonderkrater and found high levels of platinum - which they say supports the The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis that a disintegrating meteor hit Earth and caused a mini ice age. The resulting ice age is believed by many scientists to have wiped out dozens of mammals species including the Mammoth and giant wildebeest and decimated the human population. Scientists believe 'platinum spikes' found in ancient soil samples...

Agricultural officials in Southern California are battling an active infestation of red imported fire ants that are "highly aggressive in nature," and pose a risk to California's agricultural economy. The infestation occurred at a private property in Montecito, in Santa Barbara County, according to a recent press release from the Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office. Located over 90 miles north of Los Angeles, Montecito is best known as a celebrity enclave with Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle among the town's residents. Officials did not name the owners of the private property. Venom released from the...

Prehistoric humans hunt a woolly mammoth. More and more research shows that this species – and at least 46 other species of megaherbivores – were driven to extinction by humans. Credit: Engraving by Ernest Grise, photographed by William Henry Jackson. Courtesy Getty’s Open Content Program ================================================================== Researchers at Aarhus University have concluded that human hunting, rather than climate change, was the primary factor in the extinction of large mammals over the past 50,000 years. This finding is based on a review of over 300 scientific articles. Over the last 50,000 years, many large species, or megafauna, weighing at least 45...

On July 24, 1969, Apollo 11 was 47,000 miles from Earth and rapidly accelerating toward its home planet when astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins awoke for their last day in space, preparing for their splashdown in the Pacific Ocean 950 miles southwest of Hawaii. The previous day, managers were forced to move the splashdown point by 250 miles to the northeast due to inclement weather at the original recovery site. The aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CVS-12), the prime recovery ship for Apollo 11, was speeding for the new splashdown target area. Overcast skies made...

A young black bear with different coloring that looked more like a Muppet than an apex predator freaked out Yellowstone tourists. But the bear, which had shaggy fur and racoon-like markings, was just a regular bear, an expert says. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) Sylvia Borgonovo and her husband, David, were trying to enjoy some quiet fishing on the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park when suddenly, somebody yelled “grizzly!” and tourists started to stampede. She shouted to them that panicking and running was not the thing to do if a grizzly is approaching, but they wouldn’t listen. Then the critter...

Sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine, scientists say. Marine biologists tested 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks taken from the shores near Rio de Janeiro and found they tested for high levels of cocaine in their muscles and livers. The concentrations were as much as 100 times higher than previously reported for other aquatic creatures. Experts believe the cocaine is making its way into the waters via illegal labs where the drug is manufactured or through excrement of drug users. Packs of cocaine lost or dumped by traffickers at sea could also be a source, though this...

A hiker's yesterday morning turned precarious after a significant fall on the Makiki Valley Trail in Honolulu. The 59-year-old man, who was hiking with a companion, fell from a 40-foot ledge, rendering him unable to continue without assistance. Honolulu Emergency Medical Services (EMS) reported that the accident occurred just after 9:30 a.m., resulting in the man sustaining injuries to his chest and back. Responding to the distress, the Honolulu Fire Department teams reached the site at 9:42 a.m. and commenced a ground search for the hiker. In a statement obtained by KITV, it was reported that a rescue basket was...

July 22 (UPI) -- A Florida sheriff's office is reminding residents not to approach bears after onlookers were seen trying to snap selfies with a "depressed" bear at the side of a highway. The Walton County Sheriff's Office said on social media the bear was spotted late last week on the north side of Highway 98 near County Road 83 in Santa Rosa Beach. "Famous last words, 'If not friend, why friend shaped?'" the post said. "Because this black bear is stressed depressed lemon zest." The sheriff's office said members of the public were seen getting dangerously close to the...

FARGO, Ga. — Amazing video shows what looks like hundreds of alligators congregating in the Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia. The video, shared by Marty Welch via ABC News, shows the perspective from a motorboat as a man tries to navigate his way through the water “There’s gators everywhere,” he says. “They’re laying on the banks. You might want to sit down!” The gators appear unphased by their visitor. “I would be panicking! Imagine that boat flips over. Instantly you will become a happy meal!” one Facebook user wrote. The Okefenokee is known for its abundance of amphibians and reptiles...

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. (WSVN) — A Central Florida woman is on the road to recovery after surviving an alligator attack on the Fourth of July. Rachél Thompson said she went for a morning run and decided to take a dip in the river when danger struck. “I’m basically standing in shallow water and I look from the dark water, out of nowhere appear the ripples of a giant alligator head,” Thompson recounted. The gator lunged and bit down on Thompson’s leg. She started fighting for her life, punching the animal in the snout and trying to free herself. “The thought...

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday voted to eliminate the catch limit on most lake trout at Flaming Gorge Reservoir because they are diminishing the kokanee salmon population. Lake trout at Flaming Gorge (Tony Valdez, Buckboard Marina) ========================================================================================= Lake Trout in Flaming Gorge Reservoir have gotten so numerous they’re out-competing other fish species, and even each other, prompting Wyoming and Utah to call for no-limits and a fishing free-for-all for them. If things go as planned, starting Oct. 1 there will be no limit on how many lake trout under 28 inches anglers can pull from the reservoir,...

July 16 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida are trying to solve the mystery of a plane found abandoned at the side of a Bay County road. The Springfield Police Department said on social media that "a portion of a plane" -- the cockpit, nose and front propeller -- was found abandoned at the side of Transmitter Road. The plane bears markings from ZooWorld in Panama City Beach, including giraffe logos on its seats, but the business said it got rid of the plane about a week ago. "That used to be part of an exhibit, but it was removed to...

Whale watchers were treated to a rare sight on Sunday afternoon. After a trip to Monterey Bay to see humpback whales, the captain aboard a Discovery Whale Watch boat noticed a spout and saw it belonged to a sperm whale. Sperm whales spend between 30 and 60 minutes underwater at a time and can be hard to predict, but the company's drone was able to catch a video of the whale surfacing, per a spokesperson from Discovery Whale Watch. When it dove underwater, they could hear it on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute hydrophone, an underwater microphone that can...

Notice is being given to swimmers, kayakers and paddleboarders to "swim at your own risk" after five harbor seals were attacked by a shark or sharks in Pacific Grove. “Any time we see that and we see multiple ones, we like to set out an advisory to the swimmers in the local areas just to protect them and let them know that we've seen this. Now, the shark may not even be in the waters here anymore,” said Kim Akeman, a shoreline docent at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries. Advertisement Those monitoring the harbor seal population say five were attacked...

Crews work to lift car out of the Semi-Centennial Geyser Image credit: National Park Service ================================================================== t wouldn’t be a day ending in “y” without a tourist having a mishap at Yellowstone National Park. The latest snafu comes courtesy of five visitors who accidentally drove their SUV into the Semi-Centennial Geyser – a hot, acidic pond located near the park’s Roaring Mountain, between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Junction. The geyser has been inactive since 1922, when it experienced a series of eruptions so violent that water was reportedly ejected more than 300 feet (91 meters) into the air. Nevertheless,...

NANTUCKET - The U.S. Coast Guard came to the rescue of Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy after his boat lost power off Nantucket Monday. "Captain Dave almost was lost to the ocean," said Portnoy, who thanked the Coast Guard "for saving my life." The Swampscott native explained in social media posts that he unhooked his boat in Nantucket before realizing that it had lost power. "No power, no radio, no anchor" "No power, no radio, no anchor, no nothing; heavy, heavy winds," Portnoy said. "Next thing you know, Captain Dave is lost at sea." Portnoy said he was trying not...

Scientists have looked back in time to reconstruct the past life of Antarctica’s “Doomsday Glacier” — nicknamed because its collapse could cause catastrophic sea level rise. They have discovered it started retreating rapidly in the 1940s, according to a new study that provides an alarming insight into future melting. The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is the world’s widest and roughly the size of Florida. Scientists knew it had been losing ice at an accelerating rate since the 1970s, but because satellite data only goes back a few decades, they didn’t know exactly when significant melting began. Now there is...

File Photo: An alligator suns itself at Jarvis Creek Park on Hilton Head Island. Staff photo After taking an excess of acid and avoiding sleep for multiple days a man took a swim in Jarvis Creek Park’s pond looking to fight an alligator. At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to the Hilton Head Island park about a man acting erratically and swimming in the pond. The man, who wasn’t arrested, told deputies that he was in the water and “wanted to see if he could take on an alligator,” the incident report says. The man...

Don't be so blue, buddy. Image credit: J. Barker / AWC The aptly named magnificent tree frog is typically green with a yellow belly, so you can imagine the surprise when scientists stumbled across a member of the species with blue skin. The shocking blue frog is an incredibly rare discovery, most likely caused by a rare genetic mutation that affects the production of yellow pigments. It was recently photographed by a team from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) while exploring the Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary along the Kimberley coast of north-western Australia. “It was after dark when we...

The new spacesuit design (illustrated) that collects urine and recycles it into drinking water weighs around 8 kilograms and can purify half a liter of water in five minutes. ================================================================ In the science-fiction series Dune, the desert-dwelling Fremen of the arid planet Arrakis recycle their body’s moisture using specially designed outfits called stillsuits. Inspired by such imaginings, a new prototype spacesuit converts astronauts’ urine into drinkable water, researchers report July 12 in Frontiers in Space Technology. “I’ve been a fan of the Dune series for as long as I can remember,” says Sofia Etlin, a space medicine and policy researcher...