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Science (General/Chat)

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  • From Morocco to the Coast of England: The Story of the Dom van Keulen and its Remarkable Cargo [wreck off Devon]

    06/27/2026 6:28:58 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 2 replies
    British Museum Research Publications ^ | 2026 | David Parham, Venetia Porter, et al
    In 1995, remarkable contents of a 17th-century shipwreck began to be discovered by divers of the South West Maritime Archaeological Group off Salcombe Bay. The finds consist of over 400 gold coins of the Sa'dian Sharifs of Morocco in addition to ingots, jewellery as well as other items including Dutch pewter and pottery subsequently acquired by the British Museum. Although the ship has not survived, the divers discovered remnants of wood, rope and lead that were parts of its infrastructure. The finds from this shipwreck are significant for several reasons: the gold is clearly a bullion hoard and the number...
  • A Star Passed So Close To The Sun 2.5 Million Years Ago That It May Have Set Off A Comet Shower – And It's Still Messing With Them

    06/26/2026 9:23:14 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 19 replies
    IFL Science ^ | June 26, 2026 | Dr. Alfredo Carpineti
    The orbits of long-period comets suggest a star passed by our Sun and caused some havoc we're still seeing. Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, is a very famous long-period comet. Image Credit: ESO/E. Slawik ================================================================= The closest star to the Sun is Proxima Centauri, about 4.2 light-years away. This has not always been the case, as all stars in the galaxies move about. Observations suggest that just 2.5 million years ago, there was a star that passed very close to the Solar System, and this passage might still have consequences we can see today. Data from the ESA Gaia...
  • America Must Face China’s Continuing Medical Atrocity(Organ Harvesting)

    06/27/2026 3:41:23 AM PDT · by Kid Shelleen · 8 replies
    Real Clear Religion ^ | 06/26/2026 | Ethan Gutmann & Nina Shea
    Samal escaped China to her native Kazakhstan in 2018. It was there that she, amid bouts of sobbing, described night-shifts at a Xinjiang province detention center, removing intestines from corpses. Many bodies were still warm. Many bore the marks of torture. ---SNIP--- The reports of Falun Gong and Uyghurs remarkably corroborate the other. Separated by religion, ethnicity, language, and geography, they attest to identical evidence of forced organ harvesting. Testimony from surgeons, prison guards, and international investigators provide further substantiation. Chinese medical journals revealed that many were executed on the operating table.
  • SpaceX just put every US carrier on notice - Entering consumer market to challenge AT&T and Verizon

    06/27/2026 2:11:10 AM PDT · by srmanuel · 32 replies
    The Street ^ | 6/26/26 | Tobi Opeyemi Amure
    Ever since SpaceX announced that Starlink had partnered with T-Mobile to support direct cell phone to satellite communication, it seemed only a matter of time before SpaceX challenged existing carriers like AT&T and Verizon directly in the consumer cell phone service market. Directly from the President of SpaceX - President Gwynne Shotwell told investors during a recent IPO roadshow that SpaceX could build its own terrestrial mobile network Now an analysist is speculating that SpaceX could acquire T-Mobile instead of building it's on terrestrial network of cell towers. https://www.investors.com/news/technology/spacex-stock-spcx-elon-musk-acquire-tmobile-wireless-firm/ If this turns out to be true, it would be a...
  • 5 human heads found stuffed inside medical freezer in Moscow — and linked to grisly black-market body parts ring

    06/26/2026 3:07:23 PM PDT · by Libloather · 18 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/26/26 | Anna Young
    Five human heads wrapped in plastic were found gruesomely stashed in a freezer at a Russian medical center — with the troubling discovery reportedly tied to a body parts operation on the black-market. The severed remains were allegedly stolen from hospital morgues before turning up tightly wrapped in polyethylene in a grim underground room at a Moscow anatomy training center on Suzdalskaya Street Friday, the US Sun reported. Harrowing footage captured officers peeling back the plastic wrapping to shockingly uncover the heads. Authorities said the body parts were snatched from area morgues before being used as medical training specimens to...
  • Iran, Egypt outraged over ‘Pride Match’ designation for World Cup faceoff — urge FIFA to scrap LGBTQ+ affiliations

    06/26/2026 2:24:00 PM PDT · by Libloather · 19 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/25/26 | Daniel Cody
    The Iranian and Egyptian soccer federations have urged FIFA to strip any “Pride Match” displays and rainbow symbols from Friday’s World Cup match in Seattle. The contest, slated for June 26 at Lumen Field, is scheduled during the city’s Pride weekend and has been referred to as the “Pride Match.” While FIFA confirmed to the New York Times that rainbow flags remain permitted at all World Cup matches this summer, its president, Gianni Infantino, has previously distanced the governing body from the event’s promotional themes. He insisted there would be no official “Pride Match” at the tournament in an interview...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Milky Way Urban Style

    06/26/2026 12:22:41 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 9 replies
    NASA ^ | 26 Jun, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Shingoo Lee
    Explanation: In a cosmic vista you can never see, the Milky Way arcs through the night above Seoul, South Korea. Remarkably, this urban night skyscape reveals our galaxy's faintly luminous central region and dark obscuring dust clouds in spite of the brilliant city lights. To overcome the extreme light pollution of the metropolitan area and record faint cosmic details, an infrared filter was used to capture the night scene in a single exposure. While the filter transmits predominately infrared light, it still passes some visible light to give the scene a natural appearance. The view is from Seoul's Ttukseom Hangang...
  • The Cube Root Rule (Expand The House)

    06/26/2026 11:04:35 AM PDT · by CathyWhite · 78 replies
    LinkedIn ^ | 6/19/2026 | Scott Whipkey
    In Part 1 (link below), I argued that the House of Representatives was designed to grow. For most of American history, it did. Then, in 1929, Congress froze the House at 435 seats. It has remained there ever since. Part 2 asks a different question: If the House is supposed to grow, how large should it be? At first, I thought the answer might have something to do with human nature. Maybe there was something buried deep in our DNA — some limit on how many people we can know, trust, manage, or represent. I was wrong. The deeper I...
  • Forgotten Revolution: The 1689 Boston Revolt [16:32]

    06/26/2026 10:07:16 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 5 replies
    YouTube ^ | June 26, 2026 | The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered
    80 years before Lexington and Concord, before the founding fathers were even children, Americans used events in the mother country to engineer a little remembered revolution that transformed the colonies and helped to define the nation we know today. Forgotten Revolution: The 1689 Boston Revolt | 16:32 The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered 1.64M subscribers | 4,480 views | June 26, 2026
  • One of Leonardo da Vinci's Greatest Unsolved Mysteries [8:34]

    06/25/2026 10:04:18 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 22 replies
    YouTube ^ | June 12, 2026 | Secessio
    For more than 500 years, historians have debated the mysteries hidden within this famous Renaissance painting. A remarkable glass rhombicuboctahedron, an unidentified young man, and a strange inscription have led some researchers to question whether Leonardo da Vinci may have played a role in its creation. One of Leonardo da Vinci's Greatest Unsolved Mysteries | 8:34 Secessio | 11.9K subscribers | 79,939 views | June 12, 2026
  • EXCLUSIVE: 'It's Not Political. It's Just Science' – Greenwater Services Spox Explains How Their Company is Killing Algae in the Reflecting Pool as Democrats Lose It (VIDEO)

    06/25/2026 9:07:08 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 15 replies
    The Gateway Pundit ^ | June 25, 2026 | Jordan Conradson
    The algae in the Reflecting Pool has been almost completely removed despite liberal activists' best efforts to impede the removal of algae and destroy the pool's renovations. Greenwater Services was contracted in April by the Department of the Interior for the "procurement and installation of a fully integrated Nano Bubble Filtration System designed to replace the existing, failing filtration infrastructure at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool." But the company has come under fire from left-wing media outlets, who claim a conflict of interest because a part-owner of the company is a GOP donor, and that the company has a lack...
  • Grotesque ‘zombie squirrels’ with oozing warts spotted roaming through US backyards

    06/25/2026 7:14:32 PM PDT · by Libloather · 26 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/25/26 | Zoe Hussain
    Zombie-esque squirrels covered in oozing, wart-like tumors have been invading backyards across the United States and the reason behind the deformities is likely caused by the species’ version of herpes, according to experts. The grotesque-looking gray squirrels have been increasingly photographed this summer in US states, including Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, the Daily Mail reported, citing a flurry of social media posts reporting the bizarre sightings. “What is going on with the squirrels lately?! This is the third one I’ve seen looking like this, and it’s honestly freaking me out,” one user posted on Facebook on June 9, alongside...
  • What made the deadly Venezuelan earthquakes different

    06/25/2026 3:54:31 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 25 replies
    npr ^ | 06/25/2026 | Katia Riddle
    [I]t appears these two quakes may have occurred on two separate faults. Several faults intersect in this tectonically complex region. Historically, when experts evaluate earthquake risk, they haven't necessarily accounted for this multifault scenario, says Chris Goldfinger, a paleoseismologist at Oregon State University. "We always tend to kind of assume that earthquakes will just be on one fault and only on one fault," he says. In 2016, a multifault event — the Kaikōura earthquake in New Zealand — took people by surprise, says Goldfinger, and changed scientists' understanding of how interconnected faults can trigger multiple ruptures. Assuming the Venezuelan quakes...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Anticrepuscular Rays over Sicily

    06/25/2026 1:43:19 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 9 replies
    NASA ^ | 25 Jun, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Marcella Giulia Pace Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
    Explanation: The Sun has just set... in the opposite side of the sky. Pictured here are anticrepuscular rays apparently converging in the east in this image of the limestone plateau in the heart of the Hyblaean Mountains of southeastern Sicily, in Italy. How were these anticrepuscular rays formed, if the Sun wasn't there? After the Sun set (in the west, as usual) its light still illuminated a cloud higher up in the sky. Partially blocked by the cloud, the sunlight produced patterns of light and shadow, crossing the sky in parallel lines. Perspective makes it look like they converge in...
  • Human DNA can survive on cave walls for thousands of years, opening new window into prehistory

    06/25/2026 5:49:00 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 30 replies
    Phys dot org ^ | June 24, 2026 | Max Planck Society, edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan
    ...Although the researchers found traces of ancient human DNA in one pigmented calcite crust sampled in Escoural Cave (Portugal), to their surprise they also found ancient human DNA in several nonpigmented parts of the cave wall in Escoural as well as in Covarón Cave (northern Spain), which had initially been sampled as negative controls.The study shows that human DNA can be preserved on cave walls long after the populations that visited the cave have disappeared...Of the 54 samples collected, only five yielded authentic ancient human mitochondrial DNA...two of these samples showed no detectable faunal mitochondrial DNA, a rare finding that...
  • Ancient hilltop structure in Albania may be linked to lost city

    06/25/2026 5:08:15 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 4 replies
    Yahoo! ^ | June 24, 2026 | Cam Deal
    At a hilltop site in northern Albania, archaeologists have uncovered remains of what researchers believe is the region's first identified Illyrian temple, a find that may help resolve the mystery of the lost city of Bassania.According to Arkeonews, researchers from the University of Warsaw and the University of Tirana made the discovery at Bushat, roughly 10 kilometers south of Shkodra. There, on the acropolis of a settlement rediscovered in 2018, they exposed the full stone foundations of a large rectangular building at a site that may be the long-sought Bassania.Measuring 13.6 meters by 9.6 meters, the building has proportions similar...
  • Trump to ask Congress to make 15% ethanol-gas blend permanent

    06/25/2026 4:41:19 AM PDT · by Libloather · 93 replies
    CBS News ^ | 6/24/26 | Jennifer Jacobs
    The Trump administration intends to ask Congress to allow E15, an ethanol-gas blend, to be sold at the pumps year-round, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told CBS News. The 15% ethanol blend is usually only available part of the year under a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency as temperatures rise to help ease high gas prices. The administration plans to make the request when it submits a supplemental funding request to lawmakers, the official said. Several requests on budget matters and non-budgetary matters were scheduled to be sent to the Hill on Wednesday. A lower 10% ethanol...
  • Lions’ Terrion Arnold arrested, faces possibility of life in prison in armed robbery case

    06/25/2026 4:02:03 AM PDT · by Libloather · 14 replies
    NY Post ^ | 6/25/26 | Christian Arnold
    Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold was arrested and booked on four counts of kidnapping and four counts of armed robbery on Wednesday, and is now facing up to life in prison if convicted. Arnold, 23, turned himself in to authorities on a warrant at the Orient Road jail in Tampa, Fla., the Detroit Free Press reported. He remained in custody as of 10:46 p.m. In a statement released through Arnold’s representative, Arnold “categorically denies any involvement in the matters underlying the allegations made against him and maintains his innocence.” The Lions released a statement that said they are aware of the...
  • Ancient curse tablet bears rare Greek inscription with binding spell intended to harm enemies

    06/24/2026 11:25:49 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 12 replies
    Phys.org ^ | June 17, 2026 | Katrina Jordan, edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan
    Heidelberg University researchers have deciphered the inscription on an ancient curse tablet, which was once used to invoke deities and demons in order to harm an enemy. The "magical" artifact from the Roman province of Lower Germania was discovered during excavations carried out in the Dutch municipality of Heerlen. The lead tablet, which dates to the 2nd century A.D., is distinctive...Heerlen, the site of the former Roman military settlement of Coriovallum... artifact, which measures 9.3 by 4.8 centimeters (3.7 by 1.9 inches), contains three distinct groups of characters, as revealed by an analysis conducted at the Institute for Papyrology using...
  • More Than 60 Million Stars Glimmer In The Largest Visible Light Photo Ever Taken Of The Milky Way's Beating Heart

    06/24/2026 8:04:59 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 35 replies
    IFL Science ^ | June 24, 2026 | Dr. Alfredo Carpineti
    This image will help us discover countless new exoplanets. The full Euclid image. Image credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CFHT, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre and E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay) Pointing the telescope to look at the central region of the galaxy wasn't just because it’s pretty or because Euclid can. The research team will use this incredible image and the data behind it to discover and characterize planets. This is possible thanks to a technique known as microlensing. Any object with mass warps spacetime. Galaxies, clusters, and black holes can create a strong gravitational lensing effect: space-time warps so much that...