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<td style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold;" colspan="3">                    NEWS - New &amp; Old </td></tr>

<td style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold;" colspan="3">                    NEWS - New &amp; Old </td></tr>

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<td style="width:30%><b> Geminids Peak—What Causes Them </b></center>

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<p> Since the middle of the 1800s, scientists have known that all but very few meteor showers are created when the Earth passes through the trail left by an icy comet. One of these visitors from deep space is heated by the Sun and its ices change from the solid to the gas state. This is what creates the beautiful tail of a comet. Sometimes, Earth crosses through the streams of debris on its journey around the sun. As the planet plows through the cometary leftovers, rocky bits slam into our atmosphere and burn up, creating a spectacular display in the night sky. And we are not alone; meteor showers also occur on Mars, though the red planet witnesses various displays depending on the cometary paths it passes through. A couple of meteors can fall on any given night, but the best time to watch for them is during the peak of an annual meteor shower. This is when Earth crosses through a particularly dense part of a comet's debris stream, an event that happens at predictable times each year. Seen from Earth's surface, the meteors in annual showers appear to radiate from particular points in the night sky. Most showers are therefore named after the constellation from which they seem to fall. For example, the August-perennial Perseid meteor shower gets its name from the source of the display in the region of the constellation of Perseus, the hero of Greek mythology. In order to enjoy a natural meteor shower, one has to go to the darkest countryside - as far as possible from city lights - and wait until the radiant constellation of that particular shower is high in the sky. Let your eyes get used to the dark, then keep alert for the flashes of light in the air.<br/>Source: <b><i>[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/meteor-showers(Full article...)]</i></b>

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<td style="width:30%"><b> Humans Outrun Horses—How? </b></center>

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<p> Nicole Teeny's legs were lead, her lungs ablaze with every breath, as she hit the last stretch of a 50-mile ultramarathon. It gnawed at her-bruised by fatigue-yet she knew she had to keep running because behind her were her competitors. To the 35-year-old, this race marked the peak of a five-year struggle to do the seemingly impossible: race a horse and win. As she was nearing the finish line, "my body was on autopilot," she says. "I knew that if I stopped, it would be difficult to keep going." But she did keep going. She kept pushing, and when she crossed that fifty-mile mark, she had done it: She beat a horse. While Teeny isn't the first to outrun a horse-there is Welsh marathoner Huw Lobb, for one-her feat was hardly a sure thing: Teeny had grown up running, but five years earlier she'd been diagnosed with epilepsy. The condition had sidelined her running career as she struggled to find the proper medication to control her seizures. This race, to Teeny, was more about her fight for control over her body and a test of its physical and mental limits. Running also prompts our brains to release opioids and endocannabinoids, which is probably what gives rise to the so-called "runner's high." These chemicals may have made it more rewarding for our hominid ancestors to spend energy and be a big part of our motive to run and push past pain, Raichlen says. Not everyone buys into the endurance running hypothesis, though. Running uses far more energy than walking, and few, if any, contemporary cultures continue to hunt for food using this endurance method. In fact, research indicates that ultra-running is frequently linked to a psychological need to push oneself to the limit. For most ultrarunners, motivation and setting goals are critical elements in completing a race. Besides, researches prove that internal states significantly affect race performance: self-belief and positive self-talk are crucial factors for getting through a race. "It takes a certain amount of harnessing your mind in addition to your body," Teeny says. <br/>Source: <b><i>[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/outrun-horse-ultramarathon-nicole-teeny(Full article...)]</i></b>

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<td style="width:30%><b> Oceanic Mystery Predicts the Future </b></center>

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<p> Pickart and a team of Icelandic scientists were studying the water flowing between Greenland and Iceland, but popping up in the data was something unexpected: a current no one knew was there, flowing the other way. This past summer, Pickart and an interdisciplinary group of researchers hunted down the current, now known as the Iceland Faroe Slope Jet (IFSJ). In six weeks, and one major storm, we zigzagged north into the Arctic, following where the current was headed through the Nordic seas. The important part is finding where it starts, because scientists do know where the current ends up. The IFSJ—a deep, dense-water current—starts somewhere in the Nordic seas and flows south and east, eventually hurtling through the Faroe Bank Channel, a gap in the undersea ridge that runs from Greenland to Scotland. From there, the waters feed into the lIn the end, the watchstanders conducted 212 CTD casts, with Pickart stitching together the data in real time, capturing a vertical snapshot of the current. Using that snapshot and weather forecasts, he and the captain would occasionally adjust the ship's course; the Armstrong sailed to 75 degrees north, far above the Arctic Circle, before turning back for port.ower limb of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or AMOC. Pickart won't be the one answering the questions this raises. After more than 30 years going to sea, he's planning to retire in the next few years. Instead he passed the questions along to a new generation of physical oceanographers. With input from Semper, the onshore analysis will be led by Jie Huang; the 31-year-old postdoc worked alongside Pickart on the expedition. The finding of the IFSJ opened new perspectives into ocean currents. Having followed this previously unknown current that feeds into the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, Pickart and his team laid the foundation for further research. As Pickart retires, the next generation of oceanographers, including Jie Huang, will continue to answer the questions this discovery brings forth. This breakthrough highlights the importance of ongoing exploration and collaboration in understanding the ocean's complex dynamics. <br/>Source: <b><i>[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/amoc-ocean-current-collapse-research(Full article...)]</i></b>

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<td style="width:30%><b> Amazonian Mercury Tracking </b></center>

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<p> Many species of animals reside in the diverse Amazon River. However, the animals are currently being threatened by toxic mercury in their water. Excess mercury has appeared in the Amazon River in recent times due to the use of the element to assist in the obtaining of gold. This process then taints the river with harmful, but no longer toxic metal downstream of the Amazon. Jennifer Angel-Amaya is a woman who tracks down where Mercury is located throughout the Amazon and finds the largely affected locations of the river. Angel-Amaya has many plans for the river, including the removal of mercury in the Amazon basin<br/>Source: <b><i>[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/amazon-river-basin-mercury-jennifer-angel-amaya(Full article...)]</i></b>

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<td style="width:30%"><b> National Geographic Explorers: </b></center>

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<p> In 2002, National Geographic photographer Chin joined the ranks of those capturing extraordinary moments. He witnessed his friend Alex Honnold's ropeless ascent of El Capitan in 2017, which became the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, directed by Chin and his wife, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. Their new series, Photographer, features remarkable visual storytellers and explores the human experience. Photographer Krystle Wright and her team captured an unpredictable supercell storm in May 2019, and National Geographic Explorer Anand Varma documented a ladybug playing host to a wasp larva-a photograph that may change the way readers regard insects. His work illustrates how powerful photography might transform views and evoke emotions. National Geographic Explorers use their photography to transform perspectives and evoke emotions. From capturing Alex Honnold's free solo climb to storm chasing and intricate studies of nature, their work makes a highlight of the beauty and complexity of our world, enabling viewers to engage in the human experience and the natural world in transformative ways. <br/>Source: <b><i>[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/story-behind-images-photographer(Full article...)]</i></b>

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<td style="width:30%><b> Is it Time to Finally Ban Glue Traps </b></center>

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<p> Animal rights groups, most notably PETA, have been pushing for several years for U.S. cities and businesses to discontinue the use and sale of glue traps. In response to those kinds of efforts, in 2023 and 2024 West Hollywood and Ojai, California enacted glue trap bans.A smattering of large American businesses, such as CVS and Dollar Tree, also don't sell the products in store or online. Joan Schaffner, faculty co-director of the Animal Legal Education Initiative - a George Washington University program focused on developing animal law - supports the current House bill. An animal that attempts to free itself from a glue trap can suffer bone fractures or torn skin. They suffocate when their nose or mouth becomes stuck to the sticky surface. "Once people see the cruelty of these traps, they often bring in the mice they intended to trap and ask us to help," Gillespie says. "We believe that every animal deserves compassion, no matter how small. While mice don't make up the majority of the patients we treat, we give each one the same care and respect as any other animal. <br/>Source: <b><i>[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/seals-pinnipeds-walruses-sea-lions(Full article...)]</i></b>

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<td style="width:30%><b> Dragons with Iron Teeth </b></center>

<td style="width:30%><b> Dragons with Iron Teeth </b></center>

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