Shortly after graduating in 2012, Dutch fashion designer Bas Timmer heard some distressing news. While he had been busy sketching designs for warm weather clothing for his new brand, a friend's father, who was homeless, had died of hypothermia just meters away from his studio. The young innovator set aside his personal ambitions and instead used his design skills to create Sheltersuit — a waterproof, insulated jacket that doubles as a sleeping bag to protect the world's homeless and refugees, living in makeshift camps, against extreme weather....
Read news articleComic book lovers, or anyone who enjoys free things, will be pleased to know that Saturday, May 4, 2019, is Free Comic Book Day. This means that you and your friends can walk into any one of the 2300+ participating vendors worldwide and obtain a copy of one, or more, of the 51 graphic novels that have been specially published for the event, without paying a cent....
Read news articleFinding a rare or unusual coin in the spare change you receive from your local grocery store, gas station, or restaurant may sound a little far-fetched and even absurd. However, don't rule out the possibility, at least until the over one million collectible coins given to retailers across the country by US coin dealers in honor of the 96th National Coin Week (April 21, 2019 to April 27, 2019), have been discovered. Called the Great American Coin Hunt, this first-of-its-kind treasure hunt is designed to inspire a new generation of kids and adults to start coin collections of their own....
Read news articlePaleontologists had long believed that ancient humans used land bridges to migrate from one country to another. Hence, Luzon, the largest of the 7,641 islands that comprise the Philippine archipelago in the Western Pacific Ocean, appeared to be entirely out of reach for our ancestors. Now, there is evidence that a previously unknown human species managed to overcome the ocean currents and settle on the island between 50,000 and 67,000 years ago — around the same time as our species, the Homo sapiens and our closest ancestors, the Neanderthals, dwelled on Earth....
Read news articleResearchers have long known that the ancestors of the mighty whales were nimble, four-legged creatures that were comfortable both on land and in the sea. However, given that the only evidence of the early mammals had been found in present-day Pakistan, India, and parts of Africa, scientists were unsure of how the mammals had dispersed to the Western Hemisphere. Now, thanks to the aptly-named Peregocetus pacificus (P.pacificus), or "traveling whale that reached the Pacific," paleontologists finally have an answer to this all-important migration mystery....
Read news articleLooking for a fun Earth Day activity? You may want to try plogging, or picking up litter while jogging. Odd as it may sound, the new "sport" is becoming extremely popular with runners worldwide, many of whom are posting images of themselves and friends holding bags of trash on social media....
Read news articleAfter almost twenty years in space — thirteen of which were spent making extraordinary discoveries about the Saturn system, including its rings and natural satellites — NASA's Cassini spacecraft finally ran out of fuel. However, shortly before plunging into Saturn's atmosphere on September 15, 2017, the probe completed one final important mission: six close flybys of tiny moons located inside, or near, Saturn's rings....
Read news articleOver the years, NASA has successfully deployed several rovers, landers, and orbiters to Mars. While the science laboratories continue to provide invaluable data about the Red Planet, their limited, or zero — as is the case with landers — mobility, restricts the space exploration vehicles to areas close to the original landing site. To obtain a more comprehensive view of Mars, the US Space Agency plans to send a fully-autonomous miniature test helicopter with the Mars 2020 rover, scheduled for launch in July 2020....
Read news articleTermites are famous for their superior architectural skills. The mounds created by the industrious insects contain an elaborate network of tunnels with a series of chimneys that help regulate oxygen levels, temperature, and humidity to ensure the queen, who sits in a chamber underneath, is comfortable....
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